LagosHOMS produces 25 new homeowners as Fashola assures on sustainability

The Lagos State Home Owners Mortgage Scheme (LagosHOMS) has continued to take away more home seekers from the housing market  through its monthly draw for successful applicants to the scheme which, in the November edition, produced 25 new homeowners .

Babatunde Fashola, the governor of the state, has  assured prospective homeowners seeking to own their first homes through the scheme that it would be sustained in spite of looming economic crunch.

Fashola explained that  the  assurance has become necessary in view of declining oil revenue coupled with diminishing allocation from the Federal government, insisting that the scheme which has already produced a little above 500 home owners in its ninth month was not  affected by any economic crunch.

The governor explained further that the state’s economy was not hinged entirely on crude oil, but rather on its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). “From inception, our economy has not been hinged on crude oil. We have asked you to pay taxes so that we can build a common wealth together.

“This is because if we build the common wealth together by common effort, then we can claim a common prosperity,” he said, pointing out that construction has continued in every part of the state, despite the loss in oil revenues and diminishing allocation from the federal government.

According to him, the scheme is currently funded by  N500 million monthly savings from the state’s IGR, adding that a comprehensive study has shown that after the initial seven years, the scheme would become self-sustaining.

The governor described the scheme as a simple model where people pay taxes, keep their records, register as residents of Lagos, register online in a very transparent process with little or no human intervention, and that qualifies them for the draw.

“So, for us, it is a promise made and a promise kept,” he said, adding that since its inception, the state government, through the Lagos Mortgage Board (LMB), has continued to fulfill its promise of delivering 200 homes monthly.

“To be able to deliver 200 homes is no easy feat; I have searched across and I don’t know where such a commitment is made and executed by a government; this is still a pilot, we hope that at some stage the government will be able to deliver homes in thousands every month in order to be able to bridge the gap that exists in the market,” he assured.

ODINAKA MBONU