Sanwo-Olu inaugurates 264 units of flats in Lekki

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Thursday inaugurated 264 units of flats in Lekki, pledging his administration’s commitment to build affordable and accessible houses for residents.

This was revealed in a statement signed by Mrs Adeola Salako, Director, Public Affairs, Lagos State Ministry of Housing.

The inauguration is part of the activities marking the first anniversary of Sanwo-Olu’s administration.

Sanwo-Olu, who inaugurated two different estates, said his government was positioned to bring about even development across the state.

He said that the project was a manifestation of his administration’s much- publicized need for public-private partnership, which would be encouraged in all sectors of governance to bring rapid growth and mutual benefits to all parties.

“We need to continue to genuinely think through affordable housing, and that is our commitment for our people, because it’s not everybody that will have the ability to pay for housing estates such as this.

“Therefore, we must give them opportunities for installmental payment, so as to make it affordable and accessible for them.

“I inherited this amongst several other projects and the critical challenge we had to contend with was lack of funds.

“To surmount this challenge, we had to look towards the private sector and adopted the public-private partnership (PPP) model. It was there that we were able to mobilize the needed funds and put life back to the construction site.

“The Lekki Apartment is thus another manifestation of the possibilities attainable when the public and private sectors come together to pursue a mutually beneficial goal.

“This cooperation remains a veritable means of meeting the shortfall in the supply of public utilities and social infrastructure”, he said.

The governor advised the allottees of the estate to put the facilities to proper use and conform to laid down rules for appreciation of value.

Sanwo-Olu congratulated the allottees, while commending the Ministry of Housing, Lagos State Development Property Corporation and the private developers for the success in one year of his administration.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Housing, Mr Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, praised the foresight and confidence of the governor on the success of the project to prove his commitment to providing affordable houses for Lagos residents.

Akinderu-Fatai said the project which started six years ago experienced some delays, but got a boost from Sanwo-Olu’s administration.

“When Mr Sanwo-Olu resumed as MD/ CEO of LSDPC in 2016, he immediately set about putting into motion the financial engineering and design modification required to complete this estate.

“Today’s event is actually to the credit of the Governor who ensured that all the hurdles to the completion were surmounted,’’ he said.

It was reported that the estates, Courtland Luxury Villas and Ikate Elegushi Lekki Apartments, provide a total of 264 units of flats.

They consist of one bedroom to four bedrooms for upper and middle-income earners working around Lekki and Victoria Island of Lagos.