The Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company has restated its commitment to providing interim housing data to aid decision-making, aimed at addressing the country’s housing deficit.
The Chief Executive Officer of NMRC, Kehinde Ogundimu, stated this during the inauguration of a new joint steering committee on housing data in Abuja recently.
To ensure the continuity of data provision, Ogundimu suggested that NMRC could offer interim solutions while the National Data Centre was being established.
“If there are any interim measures that are needed, maybe a temporary data portal or something, NMRC can provide that while we are providing one that will be substantive and robust for the entire nation,” Ogundimu stated.
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He highlighted the critical need for comprehensive and reliable housing data, saying, “We need to explore, gather all the details from where we can gather them, put them in the database, and then begin to refine them by the analysis that we make of such data.”
Ogundimu expressed optimism about the new system and portal introduced by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, which aim to streamline data collection and analysis.
“I am so happy that the ministers are providing all the information they have been able to glean from this new system, the portal that they have. It will help in decision-making, both in policy decisions and in financial decisions, project planning, and so many other things,” he added.
He argued that without proper planning, efforts to drive progress could be futile, leading to ineffective and unsustainable projects.
Atebije acknowledged the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to improve various sectors, including housing, transportation, and healthcare.
However, he pointed out that public dissatisfaction with governance, particularly in light of recent nationwide protests, underscored the need for more comprehensive and inclusive development strategies.
He remarked, “The nation was engulfed in a nationwide series of protests recently because of the intense economic hardships and the rising cost of living perceived to have emanated from bad governance.”
Atebije underscored the detrimental effects of bad governance, linking it to issues such as corruption, inefficiency in public services, and weak rule of law.
He highlighted the absence of proper physical planning as a significant factor contributing to environmental degradation, slum development, and urban sprawl.
“One of the critical hallmarks of bad governance is lack of proper physical planning, which is the doorway to environmental degradation, slum development, urban sprawl, land racketeering, unchecked pollution, deforestation, and depletion of natural resources,” he warned.
The NITP president called on the government to adopt a more strategic and structured approach to development, stressing that physical planning is essential for realising long-term national goals.
He urged the government to go beyond short-term, reactive measures and to engage in planned development processes that align with a broader vision for the country.
“We must grow beyond being reactive and practice the planned development process. Fiscal planning is the anchor to the realisation of abundance in food production, to end or minimise hunger, economic problems, and other social ills,” he added.