By Patricia Amogu

Mr Chukwuemeka Okoye, Managing Director, Vegas homes, a real estate hub in the FCT, says curbing the current security challenges in Abuja will be easier with accessible road network and other infrastructure.

Okoye, who is also a real estate consultant, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

He said that aside checking the growing security challenges in Abuja, good road network would reduce the pressure of settling within the city.

According to him, good roads have the ability to reset security and end the recent kidnappings that are happening all over the country, mostly in the FCT.

“One thing that has made FCT very attractive all these years was the top-notch security advantage which is now a far cry from what it once was.

“Most of which happens where the roads have failed.

“Right now, you can drive 10 minutes conveniently to the office from most of the new layouts close to the FCT but not from around the farther areas around the outskirts.

“This is very important because a lot of those houses and layouts without good road networks are easy prey for armed robbery attacks because there are no road networks to catch up with them due to the bad roads.’’

He said he preferred living in the outskirts and also in places like Orozo and Karahi but those areas lacked infrastructure and once could spend a lot of time coming to the office in town every day.

Okoye said that in Dubai, people took 15 minutes train to work in places around the outskirts because it was convenient and the roads were good and they have adequate infrastructure.

“Wike’s coming has brought a lot of hope to the business; he has promised all lands in Abuja will have Certificate of Occupancy; and a lot of impactful changes he has already made.

“I believe he will do more to check the security concerns in Abuja.

“So, many people cannot buy land directly because of allocation; so, we are bridging the gap between buyers and the government.

“A lot of residents complain about the hike in house rents in Abuja instead of renting, you can acquire your personal property.

“This brings me to the land banking project; we have adjustable payment plans for government workers and even business people.

“I was 18 years-old when I bought my first land; I bought it for N350,000; it is now worth about N80 million.

“Vegas homes has a 5000 housing units housing project for everybody and we are coming up with a three year plan for people to pay and start building.

“You can pay as low as N50,000 ,100,000 to N250,000 monthly and the land appreciates in the three years to your advantage giving you greater value for your money.

“With N1million, you can buy a plot of land and within the three years you will finish building and become a home owner,’’ he said.

He added that the move would bring more development to Abuja and decongest cities like Lagos and surrounding cities; thereby, making FCT the biggest real estate hub in Nigeria.