Oyo State Housing Corporation (OYSHC) says it is currently facing the challenge of little patronage as only few people have subscribed to its 360 housing units in Ajoda Estate, Ibadan.
The Chairman of the corporation, Barrister Bayo Lawal, who made this known during an inspection tour of the facility on Ife-Ibadan Expressway on Thursday alongside the Oyo State House of Assembly Committee on Land and Housing, called on the general public to subscribe to the 360 housing units.
Addressing journalists on the reason for the delay in completion, Barrister Lawal said Covid-19 pandemic and the rise in cost of building materials among others are responsible.
He also pointed out that very few people have subscribed to the project, while calling on the general public to subscribe to the 360 housing units. The Chairman said no investor would want to tie down his or her capital without proper utilisation. He therefore appealed to off-takers to take advantage of the opportunity and subscribe.
He described, Ajoda Estate as a unique modern estate with necessary facilities such as good road network, electrification, industrial borehole, drainages and easily linked to Lagos-Ibadan Expressway from Ife-Ibadan Expressway.
“We appeal to off-takers, particularly civil servants, government officials, cooperative societies and institutions of Federal and State to take advantage of this development and subscribe.
“It is part of what Oyo State Government led by Governor Seyi Makinde is doing to impact and add value to the standard of living of people of the state,” he said.
Lawal said that the 360 Housing Units would be fully ready by the end of 2022.
Other areas visited were the 1.82 kilometres and 5.51 kilometres road network on the 1,000 plots of land to be allocated to interested members of the public, also located in Ajoda Housing Estate.
Speaking on the 1,000 plots of land to be allocated, Lawal said that work was almost completed on the 1.82 kilometres road network with drainages that would service the plots.
The chairman said that 5,000 hectares of land acquired in Ajoda since 1976 by the government, with compensation paid, had been encroached due to neglect.
He said that recent efforts of the corporation to open up the roads network and facilitate construction of about 1,000 houses in the area was to add value to shelter and development of the state.
“All these are being done through our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR); we expect that about N3.5 billion will be sunk into this project and the multiplier of that can only be imagined.
“We commended Governor Seyi Makinde for giving us free hand to operate; the 1.82 kilometres road was done through our IGR without subvention; we urge the governor to assist in funding the road project to Olodo,” he said.
In his remarks, Mr. Alao Bashir, the General Manager of RATCON, the Contractor handling the road project, said the two roads projects would be executed with Asphalt and concrete drainages on both sides.
Bashir said that work was almost completed on the 1.82 kilometres road, while clearing was on for that of 5.51 kilometres.