Benue residents have lamented rising rslents in the state despite government’s urban renewal and housing projects which is currently reshaping the real estate landscape.
Our correspondent reports that across the state’s capital of Makurdi, new road projects have opened previously inaccessible communities, attracting developers, businesses and private investors.
But despite the growing development, soaring rents and rising property costs continue to keep decent housing beyond the reach of many residents.
Rresidents have expressed excitement over the massive road construction projects currently being executed by Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration across the state, but complained that rents are going overboard.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Tersoo Kula, disclosed that no fewer than 390 kilometres of rural and urban roads are under construction across the state, adding that at least 25 road projects within Makurdi metropolis alone have been completed and are already in use.
Residents speak
The residents in Makurdi metropolis around High Level, Logo 1, Wurukum, North Bank and Wadata have heaved a sigh of relief as their areas are being transformed and making accessibility easier.
Veronica Ucha, who lives behind Zone 4 Police headquarters in Makurdi, said their vicinity received a facelift with petty businesses now thriving following the construction of new roads in the area.
‘This area was inaccessible even by foot in the past but as you can see, cars are driving anywhere now. Besides, small businesses are opening here and there with traders thriving in commercial activities,’ she said.
For Jack Edwin, the roads construction within Wurukum has helped opened up hitherto inaccessible areas and making living more conducive for residents.
‘People are now coming to live in this area unlike before. The construction of the roads and opening up of gutters have also controlled flooding in the area so we are very happy,’ Edwin added.
The residents are also optimistic that the state capital, Makurdi will soon become the cynosure of all eyes even as they commended the government for stepping up housing development.
According to them, the public housing initiatives are beginning to reshape Benue State’s property market, boosting real estate investment in some locations even as high rents, housing deficits and affordability continue to shut out many low-income residents.
Alfred Asongo, a resident, however worried that the development has skyrocketed cost of renting houses which now goes for between N800,000 and N1.5million for a two-bedroom; N400,000 to N750,000 for a one-bedroom and N300,000 to N600,000 for a single room self-contain, against the previous lower prices at half of the current rents of the various apartments.
Apart from Asongo, some estate surveyors and residents said that the improved road networks have increased the value of land in several emerging neighbourhoods, while landlords continue to review rents upward amid growing demand for decent accommodation.
This development however propelled the Benue State Government to recently take over the 116 housing units built by the Federal Government in a Makurdi suburb through the Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC), with plans to make them more accessible through a rent-to-own arrangement.
Sequel to the acquisition of the federal estate, BIPC had commenced construction of a 1,080-unit Eco City Estate in Makurdi, one of the state’s biggest housing projects of the state in recent years.
The project, which is being developed in phases, is expected to provide residential accommodation for civil servants and other residents while easing pressure on the rental market.
The company has also unveiled plans to develop additional low-income housing estates as well as a proposed Diaspora City, signalling a broader strategy to address the state’s growing housing deficit.
Property experts such as Estate surveyor, ESV Joe Nelson, thinks these initiatives, combined with ongoing road construction across Makurdi, Gboko, Otukpo and other urban centres, are gradually changing the real estate landscape.
Prior to the infrastructure push, access to affordable housing was a major challenge because Benue has relatively few government-owned housing estates, but the problem was not vacant buildings.
Rather, it was the shortage of completed housing units, slow allocation processes and the inability of many workers to afford available homes.
One of the most prominent examples was the 116-unit National Housing Programme Estate at Tse Ukpahar, behind Welfare Quarters in Makurdi which was built under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The estate had remained largely unoccupied for years due to financing constraints, insecurity, administrative bottlenecks and delays in allocation.
Stakeholders, including the Nigerian Society of Engineers (Benue Chapter), had described the estate as the state’s only major completed government housing project awaiting full occupation.
The houses were initially priced at N8.5 million for a one-bedroom bungalow, N11.5 million for a two-bedroom unit and N12.5 million for a three-bedroom bungalow, prices many workers considered beyond their financial reach at the time.
‘Government houses are meant for ordinary workers, but they are often priced beyond what we can afford,’ a civil servant, who requested anonymity had said.
Mrs. Rose Egbo who expressed similar concerns, recalled that expectations were high when construction began.
‘We were told the estate was meant for civil servants and low-income earners, but when they announced the prices, many people simply gave up. Most workers could not raise that kind of money,’ she said.
She also cited insecurity around the estate as another factor discouraging prospective occupants.
‘People stopped going there because that area became notorious for kidnappings,’ she added.
However, in what analysts describe as a major shift in housing policy, the Benue State government recently taken over the 116 housing units through the BIPC has set the tone for occupancy.
BIPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Raymond Asemakaha, while speaking at the recent handover ceremony of the estate, noted that the decision followed Governor Alia’s directive to provide affordable homes after complaints over rising rents and the cost of housing in the ongoing Eco City Estate.
‘When we started the Eco City Estate, civil servants complained that the houses were expensive, so His Excellency, Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia directed that we should have homes for low-income earners, and that is why we have done this investment,’ Asemakaha said.
He explained that, under the new arrangement, 40 percent of the houses will be allocated to civil servants, another 40 percent to members of the public, while the remaining 20 percent will be distributed through other approved categories.
Asemakaha said that beneficiaries will acquire the houses through mortgage-backed instalment payments rather than outright purchase, just as he directed the conversion of a unit for an outpost station of the Nigerian Police Force while stressing that the initiative was designed to reduce high rental in Benue and close gaps of housing deficits.
On his part, Governor Hyacinth Alia, represented by the Acting Head of Civil Service, Dr. Eunice Ogbenyi Ihu, said the housing estate would significantly ease the accommodation challenges confronting civil servants in the state.
However, many residents have applauded these development, saying that with rents continuing to climb across Makurdi despite the ongoing construction of new estates, the state’s infrastructure drive will ultimately be measured not only by the number of roads constructed but by whether ordinary workers can finally afford a decent place to call home.
For ESV Nelson, improved infrastructure has made several previously neglected areas attractive for residential and commercial development, increasing land values and stimulating private investment.
However, he warned that infrastructure development alone will not solve Benue’s housing challenges.
Nelson and other estate developers as well as prospective homeowners argue that access to affordable mortgage financing, lower construction costs and transparent allocation systems remain critical to ensuring that housing projects benefit the intended low-income population.
For now, in the estimation of residents, the combination of road expansion, urban renewal and housing development suggested that Benue’s property market is entering a new phase.
Yet, until affordability catches up with infrastructure, to them, the dream of home ownership will remain out of reach despite the cranes, bulldozers and new estates dotting the state’s landscape.