By Grace Alegba
Mrs Rolake Akinkugbe-Filani, Chief Financial Officer, Mixta Africa, a real estate firm, has advised civil servants to take advantage of home ownership opportunities offered by both states and Federal Government in Nigeria.
Akinkugbe-Filani, in a virtual interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday commended efforts of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) in subsidising homes acquisition for Nigerians.
She said the shelter gap in Nigeria and Africa was huge hence the need for deliberate sustained policies by both governments and the private sector to tackle the housing deficit.
She listed various housing programmes under the National Housing Fund (NHF) being supported by the FMBN and other primary mortgage institutions available to civil servants with long term mortgages as low as seven per cent
She said that opportunities were available to civil servants and other contributors to the NHF hence the need for workers to partake in the housing schemes opportunities to own homes.
Akinkugbe-Filani called for increased collaboration of the public and private sector to increase housing stock nationwide and across the continent.
“There are several opportunities for civil servants and others who are contributors to the NHF for affordable houses,’’ she said.
She said Mixta Africa was focused and prepared to close the shelter gap in Nigeria and Africa by constructing roads and other infrastructure in new settlements and its estates to make them accessible.
She noted that Africa infrastructure gap was huge and offered a 100 billion Dollars opportunity for investors in the real estate sector.
According to her, private sector involvement is needed to build infrastructure to make housing accessible, hence Mixta Africa’s collaboration with the Nigerian Government.
She said the firm would collaborate with Nigerian and global stakeholders to close the continent’s annually widening shelter gap. (NAN)
