Abuja Housing Deficit: Speculations, Anxiety Over Planned Move To Seize Unoccupied Buildings

Property speculators and dealers are anxious over planned move by Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to begin probe of uninhabited buildings in the nation’s capital with a view to dissing and releasing same to reduce housing deficits in Abuja.
Authorities have discovered at least 600 of such unoccupied buildings in Abuja.
Property speculators and dealers are anxious over planned move by Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to begin probe of uninhabited buildings in the nation’s capital with a view to dissing and releasing same to reduce housing deficits in Abuja.
Authorities have discovered at least 600 of such unoccupied buildings in Abuja.
According to the FCTA, increase in the number of unoccupied buildings in the city has contributed to the housing deficit which now hovers around 1.7 and two million in Abuja.
But the worry for most experts in the property system is that any attempt at seizure and redistribution may still breed corruption in the system.
“Whether we like it or not, these properties regardless of how they were built have been firmly inserted within the economic system. Government may need to be careful in managing the fallout of any probe in the guise of reducing housing deficits”, explained Roland Ego, a housing economist based Abuja.
His view is well mirrored in the property market going by the newspaper’s survey. Property dealers who spoke to the medium are of the view that a better way to make the houses available is to heavily tax them.
“When you tax them, the owners will be obliged to get people to rent them at all cost. It is because the tax regime is so lax that is why owner allow their houses to be uninhabited for so long,” explained John Osagbobu, a tax consultant in Abuja.
In a similar vein and much earlier, the United Nations had advised the Nigerian government to impose taxes on vacant houses across the nation.
The FCTA said many of the unoccupied buildings have been identified in Gwarimpa, Wuse, Garki, Maitama, Asokoro and Apo are also above the means of most civil servants, leading to their seeking affordable accommodation in the outskirts of Abuja.
According to the authorities, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) will soon commence investigations into the ownership of unoccupied houses in the FCT.
Festus Adebayo, the convener of the Abuja Housing Show who led some of his team members to the FCTA, recently, said the vacant houses are a result of massive corruption in the land.
Adebayo said: “The vacant houses are caused by corruption. Few Nigerians have cornered the commonwealth of this country and what are we doing about it? “When you come to Abuja, you’ll see people living in some villages that you can’t even pronounce their names properly and every morning you see heavy traffic along those suburbs because the people have to come to the city in the name of earning their daily bread,” he said.
Reacting to the issues raised by the team, the Director of the FCT Development Control Department, Muktar Galadima, said the agency is making plans to take over such properties in the city.
Galadima said the FCTA has proposed the move to acquire such properties through the Federal Executive Council.
“We are proposing to the Federal Executive Council, if they can come in and acquire some of these properties and maybe as a way of solving the housing deficit of the country, giving it out to staff and other Nigerians,” Galadima said.
He also said that the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) will soon commence investigations into the ownership of unoccupied houses in the Federal Capital Territory.
Asides being the seat of government, Abuja are known for its expansive infrastructure and sprawling properties.
But despite this reality, the high number of unoccupied houses in the nation’s capital is gradually becoming a cause for concern, especially as many residents cannot afford the rent.
Also addressing the matter, Galadima added that they are making moves to take over the properties.
“We are proposing to the Federal Executive Council, if they can come in and acquire some of these properties and maybe as a way of solving the housing deficit of the country, giving it out to staff and other Nigerians,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) says it will commence an investigation into the ownership of the unoccupied houses in Federal Capital Territory.