In Nigeria, in a village just outside of Abuja, called Luvu, low income earners are getting a chance to own their very own house. This is thanks to the Fuller Center for Housing, an international NGO, active in more than 15 countries who provided the seed funding for the project.
As you may know, and I’m fairly certain that I’ve mentioned this before, Nigeria is has a housing deficit of 16 million homes. The Fuller center is seeking to bridge this deficit in the FCT.
The centre which was founded by the late Millard Fuller, (founder of Habitat for Humanity International, the world’s largest house building NGO) reached a milestone of 50 homes last year bringing the sum total to 200 units of houses with 92 units ready for sale, while more are underway as funds are available. The homes come in single units comprising one large room, a toilet, bathroom and kitchen as well as a small outdoor area/yard. Each new unit costs only $3,500 (roughly N700,000) to complete, while a group of 4 or a quadruplex, if you will, costs about $14,000 ( a little of N 2.7 million).
The homes are intended for low income earners resident in the FCT and its environs even though, the center plans to construct homes across the 36 states of the federation, with interested buyers expected to pay 60 per cent initial equity deposit. The houses would be sold on owner occupier basis for as little as N8,500 per month with long term mortgages provided by Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria through its low income informal sector window.
Sam Odia, the Chief Executive Officer of the center, is credited with creating this unique incremental housing model which allows homeowners to graduate from smaller units to increasingly larger ones as they pay off their interest-free loans.
Mr.Odia urged the media to serve as partners in the foundations’ crusade to ensure that every Nigerian owns a decent and affordable home.
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