Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Lagos State Chapter, on Sunday said it would soon take delivery of the 50 hectares of land promised by Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to its members.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov. Sanwo-Olu had promised REDAN members 50 hectares of land at the second Real Estate Market Place Conference held in December 2021 to build affordable houses for Lagos residents.
Mr Bamidele Onalaja, REDAN Lagos Chairman, made this known in an interview with NAN on the sidelines of the association’s second edition of stakeholders summit in Lagos.
“The governor’s promise of 50 hectares of land to REDAN members is so magnanimous and very soon we are going to take delivery of those lands.
“The land to be delivered is a Joint Venture Arrangement (JVA) with REDAN because land is the oil for Lagos state, hence guided jealously,” he said.
According to him, following delivery of the land, the association is expected to give the land to its members who have the capacity to build affordable and decent houses for residents of the state as proposed.
Onalaja, also Group Managing Director, Revolutionary Plus Property noted that the law binding the JVA prohibits any of the benefitting developer to resell in full or part of the land, as the government also has a stake in it.
“We thank Gov. Sanwo-Olu immensely for the promise and pledge to do justice with the land when delivered.
“We are waiting for the governor who have been very engaged because of electioneering, but we would be having a meeting with him soon, to enable the release of the land for us, fully,” he said.
On building collapse, the REDAN chairman charged developers to follow and be subjected to the law guiding the built environment in Lagos state to stall incidences of building collapse in the state.
Onalaja said the association was working with the government to ensure that no incident of building happens again.
He maintained that the government has the major role to play in averting building collapse, saying “developers alone cannot do the work of making sure Lagos is a safe place for us all”.
On the increasing rate of inflation in the country, Onalaja charged the Federal Government to do more in regulating inflation.
The REDAN chairman said increasing inflation rate was affecting not just the real estate market but all sectors of the economy.
He noted that the effect of the hike in prices of goods and services rests majorly on the potential buyers.
“What we do as developers, is to buy building material in bulk and store them for use when need arises, so that our clients would not be badly affected, and so that we can deliver our promise to them.
“If we don’t do this, a price of property expected to sell at N30 million can go for N40 million, whereas the inflation is nobody’s fault
“In cases where we are affected by the current market price, we would explain to our clients why the price of the property has to be increased,” the realtor said.
