The Chairman, Ad-hoc Committee to Investigate the Operations of Real Estate Developers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hon. Blessing Onyeche Onuh has hinted that FCT has been losing an estimated N600 Billion annually in revenues accruable to it from the real estate sector.
She gave this hint at a two-day workshop organized by the Federal House of Representative Investigative Ad-hoc Committee on Mass Housing/Real Estate Development in the FCT held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja.
Onuh said the workshop is to discuss the economy of the real estate industry, saying, “We shall clearly articulate the value chain in this multi-trillion naira industry and identify why the FCT has not been getting its fair share.”
According to her, “This committee’s preliminary findings indicated that the FCT has been losing an estimated N600 billion annually in revenues accruable to it from the real estate sector.
“Take for example a house or land is sold for N500,000,000.00 (five hundred million naira), the lawyer gets his legal fee, the agent gets his brokerage fee, the bank gets its transaction charges and the government gets nothing if the transaction is not presented for registration.
“And this kind of transactions go on in volumes every day unregulated, leaving government with the perennial struggles of meeting up its responsibility of providing modern amenities for its people. Many of these transactions are done in cash making the industry a safe haven for money laundry and illicit financial flows. The time to change the narratives is now”, she buttressed.
She added that, shelter or housing is the next most important need of man next to food. And the alarming housing shortage in the FCT and expected role of the Mass housing sub-sector to address the problem is key.
While reacting, the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello vowed to ruthlessly deal with fraudulent developers in the nation’s capital.
Bello added that, the administration will have no option than to work together under the right laws and regulations to reveal the act.
According to him, “I personally will ensure that we work together under the leadership of the AD-HOC Committee with strong enforcement of the law and regulations as was earlier indicated by the chairman of the AD-HOC Committee.”
Meanwhile, the Deputy Speaker, House of Representative, Hon. Idris Wasa said the house will continue to make laws to stop all unethical practices in the real estate and other sectors.
He added that, real estate is second to oil industry in revenue generation, unfortunately, players in the real estate has continued to defraud both government and off takers.
Bilkisu Pai
