…as Oyedemi discusses regulation of real estate
Oluwabunmi Fache
On Saturday, October 3, Nigeria’s gospel music icon, Pastor Nathaniel Bassey, led three other ministers of the gospel to perfect the ground breaking of Cedarwood Luxury Apartments and Terraces powered by PWAN Plus and Business Concerns.
For the Managing Director of the leading estate real estate outfit, Dr. Julius Oyedemi and his hardworking staff, the day was a mixture of spirituality and an occasion for showers of accolades as Pastor Nathaniel released some sounds of jubilee and pronounced aggressive anointing on the PWAN Plus squad.
Perfecting the ground breaking, the gospel artiste also praised Dr Oyedemi, describing him as a Christian brother who takes special interest and care of other people’s business with a high sense of responsibility.
Speaking with THISDAY during an interview, Dr Oyedemi said that until Lagos State regulates its flourishing real estate sector, the state government would continue to loose huge income that should accrue to it from the sector.
He expressed the view in support of Lagos State government’s recent expression of intention to regulate the real estate sector in the state.
He said: “It’s a dream come true, a good one. You cannot overlook the real estate industry in Nigeria, especially in a place like Lagos where we have over 20 million people occupying the land space.
“There are housing deficits, I learn from a reliable source that real estate is contributing a little to the GDP of Lagos State.”
Oyedemi, however, added that if there is a proper regulation of what he described as “the robust activities of estate developers in the state”, real estate contribution to the state’s GDP would definitely increase far and above what it’s currently doing.
He believes that the current showing is infinitesimal; and attributable to poor data collation regarding real estate activities and players in the state.
His words: “What this (regulation) will do is that the state government can collate the data of all players in the state; data will also be available and it can also improve the state’s revenue generation from the real estate sector.
“For me, it’s a welcome idea; because it will stimulate a rapport between the government and the stakeholders, who are the private developers. If both parties are not coming together things may not go in the proper direction.”
The real estate whizkid also expressed some worries saying, “our own expectation is that government should do it without being biased. They should do it well and give the necessary support because we also have our own complaints.
“We have our itches, we have our disturbance, we have the taxes, omo oniles, title issues and all of that. So collaborating with private developers is a welcome idea because this will help in the smooth running of real estate affairs of Lagos State.”
He added that his own concern is primarily getting the industry right. “If we can’t develop Lagos in the right way then what ever the certificate issue is, it’s all irrelevant,” he stressed.
Oyedemi said the ground breaking event was a special day to PWAN Plus Business Concern.
“Cedarwoods Luxury Apartments Terraces is located at kilometer 35 Ajayi Apata Town in Sangotedo area of Lagos State. As you can see there are a lot of people; buyers and realtor are here to witness the ground breaking.
“You can also observe that a client is already building and quite a lot is happening. This is the beginning of a new dawn for us; another record setting in reducing housing deficit,” he explained.
Cedarwood Luxury Apartments and Terraces sits on 10,500 square kilometers. The estate consists of 18 units of terraces, 32 units of apartments (16 units of one bedroom, 16 units of two bedroom); and 8 units of three bedroom Terrace buildings.
“What we are building here are apartments and terraces and our apartments are very affordable. We also have few service plots here and for those who want to build personal homes the option is very limited.
“It is actually a turning point because it is shooting us into the real deal, taking us into fulfilling our vision which is making home ownership a reality. Now we are building it, we hope and we know that this will serve Nigerians really well. Like I said, we are very affordable because we want people to own homes without stress,” the PWAN Plus boss further explained.
