The Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) in Ogun State, Wale Ojo, has said Nigeria’s real estate sector has not grown to the extent of “making meaningful contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”
He blamed investors and the government for failing “to explore the secret of the sector.”
Ojo, who is also the General Manager of the state housing corporation, made the assertion in Abeokuta shortly after his investiture along with other executive members to lead the NIESV in the state for the next two years.
In his address, the chairman noted that the real estate industry should be a major contributor to the nation’s GDP but that the reverse has been the case in the country.
Ojo also noted that Nigeria’s mortgage industry has not been well established to drive the real estate sector’s contribution to the GDP.
He expressed concern that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently put the real estate contribution to the GDP at 7.5 per cent.
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 industry, 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 on 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 potential of the natural endowment in land and all natural resources.
The chairman promised that his administration would ensure that the members made 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, 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 figures compared with what the last two administrations had done over 16 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.
