FG urges professionalism, raises concerns on increasing unoccupied houses

The federal government has urged experts in the built industry to exhibit the spirit of sacrifice and professionalism in their services as government continues to provide critical infrastructure.
 
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola stated when he received members of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON) on courtesy call in Abuja.
 
Fashola said government would encourage members to create a baseline data for all empty houses with information for sale or rental value, adding that those empty houses can be livable.

Meanwhile, Fashola has raised concerns over the increasing number of unoccupied buildings across city centres ascertaining that the 17million-housing deficit is incorrect.
 
The Minister, who spoke at the launch of the Nigeria Valuation Standards pointed out that the increasing numbers of vacant houses littering city centres are not being factored into the computation of Nigeria’s housing deficit.
 
Represented by a board member Temitope Onaeko, the minister said “there so many vacant houses across major city of Nigeria, but we have not being putting all this factors into the computation of housing shortage in the country, we just give figures, like 17million housing deficit without considering all the vacant houses.”
 
He tasked the board to embark on data collection across the country so as to be able to ascertain the actual figure of housing deficit in the country, so as to aid planning.