ABEOKUTA – Ogun State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to expanding access to affordable housing by combining flexible financing options, strategic housing developments and innovative approaches to home delivery, as part of efforts to make home ownership more attainable for residents across the State.
The State Commissioner for Housing, Jamiu Omoniyi, stated this during an X (formerly Twitter) community conversation titled, “Affordable Housing in Ogun State: Homes, Financing and Opportunities,”which attracted more than 2,500 participants.
Omoniyi said the State’s housing programme was being implemented with a deliberate focus on addressing the different challenges that prevent residents from owning homes, particularly the high cost of construction and the difficulty many prospective homeowners face in making outright payments.
Speaking on the proposed Prince Court Estate, Kobape Phase IV, the Commissioner encouraged prospective homeowners to take advantage of the Rent-to-Own scheme being implemented in partnership with the Gateway Mortgage Bank, describing it as a practical financing option for residents who may not have the financial capacity to purchase homes outrightly.
He explained that the arrangement was part of the State Government’s broader effort to introduce flexible pathways to homeownership, stressing that government’s responsibility was not merely to provide houses but also to create conditions that make them accessible and sustainable for genuine beneficiaries.
The Commissioner also highlighted progress recorded across government housing schemes in Kobape Phases I–III, Kemta, Itanrin, Ikenne and Iperu, which were developed to meet the housing needs of different categories of middle-income earners.
According to him, the state has equally expanded its housing intervention beyond the development of new estates to include the regeneration of existing communities, citing the projects in Ibara GRA, Abeokuta, and GRA Ijebu-Ode as examples.
Omoniyi noted that the regeneration projects were contributing not only to improved living conditions but also to economic activities within the built environment through the engagement of local artisans.
He disclosed that the Ministry’s adoption of the direct-labour approach to housing delivery had created a multiplier effect, providing income opportunities for more than 5,000 artisans engaged at various project sites.
“The direct-labour approach gives artisans greater opportunities to participate in the housing delivery value chain, helps reduce construction costs, promotes effective monitoring and ensures greater patronage of local content providers within the built economy, thereby boosting the economic value of the State,” he stated.
The Commissioner maintained that housing remained a social service of government, explaining that the state subsidises the cost of land while also providing access to major infrastructure within its estates to reduce the overall burden on beneficiaries.
He further disclosed that the State Government was taking steps to strengthen the security of homeownership for subscribers to its housing schemes by addressing the backlog of title documentation, including for beneficiaries of estates delivered before 2019.
He encouraged prospective applicants to patronise the state’s housing schemes, assuring that the Ministry’s responsibility extends beyond the allocation of houses and plots to monitoring developments, protecting genuine beneficiaries and addressing speculation within government housing schemes.
“The ultimate objective of Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration is to ensure that the Ogun affordable housing interventions translate into secure and sustainable homeownership for residents while simultaneously stimulating economic activities across the state’s built environment”, Omoniyi submitted.
