James Sowole
The Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Ogun State, Mr Wale Ojo, has blamed low contribution of the Real Sector to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the fact that mortgage institutions were not well established.
Ojo who is also the General Manager of the State Housing Corporation, said this in Abeokuta, shortly after his investiture and other executive members to lead the NIESV in Ogun State, for the next two years.
Quoting the recent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) figure, Ojo said it was disturbing that the sector contributes only 7.5 percent to the Nigeria’s GDP.
The chairman lamented that the real estate sector in the country has not grown to the extent of “making meaningful contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”
He said the real estate industry should be a major contributor to the nation’s GDP, but the reverse has been the case in Nigeria.
Ojo blamed the situation on the fact that Nigeria’s mortgage industry has not been well established to drive the real estate sector’s contribution to the GDP.
He also blamed the situation on the investors and the government for failing “to explore the secret of the sector.
Ojo said, “It is not an overstatement that the real estate sector is expected to be a major contributor to the GDP of any nation, but this is currently not so in Nigeria. The reasons are obvious.
,”Our mortgage industry is not well established and of course, any nation that is not doing well in the mortgage standard, there is no way the real estate sector will contribute meaningfully to its GDP.
“The real estate in Nigeria is yet to grow to the extent of making a real impact to the GDP. The reason is not far-fetched. It is because the secret of the sector is yet to be explored by both the investors and the government.
“As a result, the government is losing greatly at realising the full potentials of the natural endowment in land and all natural resources.
The Chairman promised that his administration would ensure members make their skills and professional services available to the state government in order to enhance its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
Speaking with newsmen, the Commissioner for Housing, Mr Jagunmolu Omoniyi said the state government in the last two years built 1,331 housing units spread across the state, as part of efforts to address the housing deficit.
“And if we have to look at the empirical figure compared with what the last two administrations had done over sixteen years, we have more than surpassed that within the two years of this administration and I think we are rightfully on course to deliver according to our promise,” Omoniyi said.
