Revamp Economy through Real Estate, Wike urges Government
The President, Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Emmanuel Okas Wike, has asked the Federal Government to reboot the economy through a deliberate policy that provides an enabling environment for the real estate sector to thrive. He spoke to The Nation in Lagos in an interview.
He berated the over dependence of the economy on crude oil, which he said accounts for over 83 per cent according to Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reports, adding that the nation’s economy has become highly vulnerable to fluctuations in crude oil prices and production. He said: “The economy as a result has been periodically or intractably challenged, slipping in and out of recession, compounded by several other challenges such as deficient energy and public infrastructure. Others are widespread corruption, insecurity, high inflation and global economic disruption caused by COVID-19.
The NIESV chief said the economy is in dire stress, causing untold hardship on the populace.
To revamp the economy, Wike canvassed the need for the government to channel more resources into other sectors of the economy such as security, agriculture, power but more importantly to real estate and infrastructure.
In his contribution, NIESV 1st Vice President, Kunle Alonge, urged the government to spend a sizable part of the nation’s revenue to provide infrastructure and lead aggressive intervention in housing supply.
He called for policies to stimulate and deepen private sector participation in housing delivery if it sincerely desires to reflate and lift the economy out of the doldrums. He said this will also lift millions out of poverty and promote the much desired social order.
According to him, with a population of about 200 million, the several millions housing shortage, rightly or wrongly put at 17 million, provides incentives for investment. He noted: "It is time to appreciate the fact that no other investment or medium of investment is comparable to real estate investment in revamping the economy."
Culled from The Nation, February 2021