By Maroof Asudemade
Housing is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of a responsive government. Beyond providing shelter, access to decent and affordable accommodation is central to human dignity, public health, family stability and economic security. Yet, seven years into Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration, Oyo State must still provide convincing answers about the scale of its intervention in the housing sector.
Since assuming office in May 2019, Makinde has repeatedly spoken about housing development, public-private partnerships and the establishment of residential estates. But the critical question is not how many estates have been announced or how many partnership agreements have been discussed. It is how many decent, affordable housing units have actually been completed, occupied and made accessible to ordinary residents.
In September 2020, the governor flagged off a 360-unit housing project at Ajoda New Town, Egbeda, through a partnership with Remax Realtors Limited. The project, valued at N2.5 billion, was presented as part of his campaign commitment to private-sector-driven housing delivery. Where does that project stand today, and how many of those houses have been delivered to prospective homeowners?
The administration subsequently announced several other housing initiatives, including Bodija Premium Estate, Greenland Estate, Owode Estate, Rayfield Gardens, Ojongbodu Estate in Oyo and Ajilete Estate in Ogbomoso. However, the government’s own project records have continued to classify several of these developments as ongoing.
The Housing Corporation’s website, for instance, reports that its Owode Estate project comprises 100 housing units, with approximately 78 completed. That is useful progress, but it also raises questions about the completion of the remaining units and the overall pace of housing delivery across the state.
More troubling is the 2,500-unit housing promise at Ajoda New Town. On October 9, 2024, the Chairman of the Oyo State Housing Corporation, Ademola Omotosho, announced that arrangements had been concluded to deliver 2,500 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments within 12 months through a public-private partnership.
That deadline fell in October 2025. Yet, where are the 2,500 houses? How many were constructed? How many have been completed? Who are the investors? Has the project commenced in earnest, or was another ambitious housing announcement made without a corresponding delivery framework?
These are not unreasonable questions. They are legitimate demands for accountability, particularly when the announcement was made with an explicit delivery timeline.
It is important to acknowledge that the administration has facilitated land for the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Housing Estate at Erunmu, where 250 units were planned. That is a contribution worth recognising. However, federal housing interventions cannot be presented as substitutes for a comprehensive state housing programme.
The larger problem is the apparent disconnect between the government’s numerous housing announcements and the absence of a consolidated, publicly verifiable account of actual delivery. How many houses have been completed since 2019? How many are genuinely affordable to civil servants, young professionals, artisans, traders and low-income families? What are the prevailing prices, and what mortgage or rent-to-own arrangements are available to ordinary residents?
A housing estate that is beyond the financial reach of the overwhelming majority of residents does little to address the housing crisis confronting them. Government cannot measure success merely by the number of premium estates opened up for commercial development while affordable accommodation remains inaccessible to those who need it most.
Seven years is sufficient time to present a measurable record, not an endless catalogue of proposals, partnerships and groundbreaking ceremonies.
Governor Makinde owes the people of Oyo State a comprehensive housing delivery report. The government should publish project-by-project figures showing the number of units commenced, completed, allocated and occupied, alongside their costs, delivery partners and accessibility arrangements.
Above all, the administration must account for the 2,500 housing units promised at Ajoda.
The people of Oyo State deserve more than announcements and architectural impressions of estates that may never materialise within the promised timelines. They deserve homes they can afford, projects they can verify and a government willing to account for its commitments.
After seven years, the question is no longer what the Makinde administration intends to build. It is what it has actually delivered, who has benefited, and why the people must still wait for the affordable housing promises made in their name.
