Housing: Sanwo-Olu warns officials frustrating govt efforts

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Tuesday said that he would fish out and be ruthless with government officials frustrating his efforts on housing development.

Sanwo-Olu gave the warning at the opening of the 2nd Lagos Real Estate Market Place Conference and Exhibitions in Lagos, with the theme : Lagos: 21st Century Real Estate Investment Hub.

The governor said: “We know that for this size of city, there will be people that want to cut corners”.

“We know that for the size of this city, there will be officers that have also brought us down, and that have reduced our name, we know.”

“We are not going to stand here and say that everybody that works for us is holy, but we are dealing with them. These are major issues and all of us need to work together.”

“I am using this opportunity to also express my disappointment to some government officials that want to sabotage our efforts.”

“I will be not only ruthless, I will look for you and ensure that you have no place in my government because this is an agency that wants to work for everyone,” the governor said.

According to him, every stakeholder, either in survey, lands or housing, should ensure that projects work.

Sanwo-Olu said that the state government planned to set up a calling system for reporting foul practices.

“People should trust us and make such reports because it is only when we get those feedbacks that we can deal with the issue and get a better system out of it.”

“We are on the way. Just bear a little bit of patience with us. It is not for lack of knowing what to do, it is for ability for us to aggregate ourselves and get ready and be able to deliver, ” he said.

The governor stated that anybody that had done property development of a certain number would need to get the certificate of completion and a certificate of fit for habitation from LABSCA.

On the activities of land grabbers, Sanwo-Olu said that he had also been a victim as a former practitioner in real estate and had lost a land but was doing everything within the ambit of the law to eradicate their operations.