This insinuation far from the truth, says official
Mrs Titi Akinlowo’s dream was to have a roof over her head and become a property owner in Lagos; eight years after, her hope seems dashed.
To actualise that vision, she had visited the Lagos State Mortgage Board (LSMB) to subscribe for the Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (Lagos HOMS), a government initiative created to encourage and support home ownership of First-Time Buyer (FTB) residents to purchase decent and affordable homes.
Then, several projects were on the card, her interest was on Ogba housing scheme, which was at the foundation level. Surprisingly, she was told the project was over subscribed.
When all efforts failed, Akinlowo also made attempt to buy into Igando scheme, named after the first civilian governor of the state, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande Gardens, comprising 492-flat commissioned recently. But her move again didn’t yield any fruit. In her frustration, she bought a land in Lekki-Epe axis, which was taken over by land grabbers.
Akinlowo is one of the many dissatisfied first-time homebuyers that however, are not confident that they will ever own a home due to their sad experiences in the Lagos Homs scheme and searching for a down payment for the houses.
For many Nigerians, owning a home is an essential part of the dream that conveys a number of economic benefits, such as the ability to accumulate wealth and escape from yearly rent payments.
Specifically, some of the disenfranchised buyers have accused politicians and moneybags of using cronies to buy and resell the houses. They also allege that government officials collude with moneybags to purchase the homes.
However, senior officials of LSMB said…
