By Adeyinka Adeniran
Oyo State Housing Corporation on Friday flagged off a new low-cost housing initiative designed to bridge affordability gap in the state.
Chairman of the Corporation, Ademola Omotosho said the move is to bring homeownership within the reach of ordinary citizens.
Speaking during a strategic meeting and prototype flag-off ceremony, Omotosho noted that the initiative was born out of the need to address concerns that existing housing projects were often out of reach for average workers.
“The reason why we are here is because of the people; if what we are doing here is generally out of the reach of the people, then we have to have a rethink,” Omotosho stated.
Recognizing that previous housing units costing between N40million to N60 million could not be easily afforded by many civil servants and low-income earners, the corporation decided to pivot toward more pocket-friendly alternatives.
The newly introduced prototype housing scheme focuses on constructing one-bedroom and two-bedroom semi-detached affordable housing units.
“We want to embark on building of one-unit of bedroom and two units of bedroom semi-detached affordable houses,” Omotosho announced.
As part of the strategy, the initial phase will serve as a market test, featuring blocks of one-bedroom and two-bedroom detached units.
“Today, we’ll are doing groundbreaking for the prototype of what we have in mind. We want to use this to test the market; once the response is positive, then we are going to go full blast,” Omotosho explained.
The Chairman emphasized that handling the construction internally through the corporation’s works department, engineers, and builders would help control costs and ensure quality.
“Number one is to help us to control cost, because Oyo State Housing Corporation is the one doing it; it’s not a contractor thing,” he said.
Projected pricing for the units is pegged at around N9 million for a one-bedroom semi-detached house, and roughly N14 million for a two-bedroom semi-detached unit within government housing estates, completely fenced with layout roads and infrastructure.
“The initial rollout will cover specific locations including Owode, Ajoda, Oyo, and Ogbomoso, with units distributed across these zones to test market reception before scaling up operations”, he added.
Addressing concerns about whether wealthier applicants might hijack the low-cost scheme meant for ordinary citizens, Omotosho assured that strict screening procedures would be implemented to lock out speculators and multiple-property buyers.
“We know the population of our people here in Oyo State, in Ibadan. We will give you, you will fill a form, we will check everything out to make sure that the person that is buying from us is real, is not those people that you have just said that they can come with big money to mop it up, no, we will try and forestall that”, he assures.
When probed on whether private investors might be brought in to fast-track construction using the agreed-upon prototype pricing, shortly after turning the sod of the prototype block at the Owode Estate, Apata, in company of other members of the Corporation board, Omotosho clarified that the initial pilot phase would be handled completely by the corporation to establish strict baseline control figures.
He added, “The one we are doing first, we are going to do it ourselves. But as time goes on, we are going to see the success of it, we are going to see the responses and all of that, and then we can now partner with developers.”
He reiterated that because the prototype phase sets strict cost parameters, any future partnerships with private developers will be bound by those controlled figures, ensuring prices remain affordable long after scaling up.
Expressing gratitude to the state governor for the opportunity to serve, Omotosho reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to making housing accessible, stating, “That’s the new vision of Oyo State Housing Corporation on behalf of the people of Oyo State”.
After the turning of the sod, the Chairman later led the Board members to monitor level of ongoing Boulevard City project on the Apata axis.
