The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday said that unemployed people cannot legitimately expect to own a home.
Mr. Fashola spoke in Lagos at the Real Estate Investment Trust, REIT, conference organised by the Nigeria Stock Exchange, NSE and other partners in the housing sector and capital market.
Represented by Ayo Gbeleyi, a former commisioner in Lagos state, Mr. Fashola said there are huge financial responsibilities attached to maintaining a home, apart from ownership.
He said what the government and society owe unemployed persons is to provide them with jobs and opportunities.
“While much of what I have discussed focuses on home ownership,” the minister said, “there are a sizable number of people who cannot afford to own homes, but who can afford to rent.
“We have received some very useful suggestions about rent-to-own schemes, and the need to revive the culture of public access hostels once made popular by YMCA and YWCA and I think that this is one area where private sector can play a huge role.
“The big elephant in the room of course is affordability, which is a matter we must deal with honestly and frontally,” he said.
