Lagos pledges sustainable infrastructure for state-owned housing estates

The Lagos State Government has promised to provide sustainable infrastructure to improve the well-being of residents of state government-owned housing estates across the state.

The Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, stated this during the monthly stakeholders' meeting and public enlightenment programme with residents of government-owned estates in the Lagos Island Division, held at LagosHoms Ikota, Lekki Phase 2. The commissioner, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Housing, Abdulhafiz Toriola, said it was the government's responsibility to collaborate with stakeholders and provide world-class infrastructure that would make life meaningful for citizens.

Toriola said the high cost of living in the country called for a switch to alternative measures, particularly in addressing the cost of energy consumption. He said the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has consistently activated support to cushion the effect of electricity tariffs on state housing estates, and that government is looking at taking common estate services such as sewage plants and water treatment plants off the national grid by introducing renewable energy, such as solar.

Toriola addressed issues of sinking funds, service charges, electricity tariffs and waste management raised by participants during the forum. The Director of the Estate Department, Olukemi Fosudo, said the stakeholders' forum was meant to strengthen direct communication between the ministry, allottees and facility managers and to guide adherence to estate rules and regulations.

"As a ministry, we believe that housing is more than shelter. When we build communities, we build markets and when we create homeowners, we create assets. And when families acquire assets, we begin to build intergenerational wealth," Fosudo said, adding that the engagement is used to give updated housing policies, review operational challenges and receive feedback from resident executives.

Officials from the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources urged residents to participate in the monthly environmental sanitation exercise, while the Fire and Rescue Service asked allottees to familiarise themselves with the laws guiding buildings in the state. Other agencies at the meeting included the Lagos State Health Management Agency, the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority and insurance firms. Kayode Smith, chairman of Ikota Housing Estate in Lekki Phase 2, thanked the state government for addressing residents' concerns.