Sanwo-Olu Blames Building Collapse in Lagos on Real Estate Practitioners
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has blamed the menace of building collapse in the state on the disregard for property laws by real estate practitioners.
Sanwo-Olu, however, stated that despite existing challenges, Lagos was forging ahead to find lasting solutions to the state’s housing concerns.
The Governor spoke at this year’s Lagos Business School/Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers Real Estate Summit held in Lagos.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin, Sanwo-Olu predicted that by the year 2035, the population of residents in Lagos will exceed 30 million.
He further stated that the swell in population would add to the current challenges of housing which the state is faced with.
Also speaking at the event, the Head of Real Estate Finance, West Africa at Stanbic IBTC, Tola Akinhanmi, advised real estate players to avoid borrowing in foreign currency.
According to him, taking such a route was risky because of the instability of the foreign exchange market as experienced in the last 10 years.
He insinuated that if borrowing must be done in foreign currency, then real estate practitioners should ensure that they are also earning forex.
The summit was themed, ‘Building for the future: Innovations, Opportunities and Quality Control.’
