Analysis of the Factors Militating Against the Performance of the Federal Government Sites and Services Scheme in the South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria.

Abstract

Site and Services Scheme entails public financial commitment for land acquisition, planning, design and installation of basic infrastructure, such as paved roads, water and electricity before the sites are allocated on leasehold basis to the public for housing development. The Federal Government of Nigeria introduced the Sites and Services Scheme in 1986 as a viable means of increasing supply of serviced plots at affordable costs in order to achieve housing delivery. The concept was adopted and first domesticated in Nigeria by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing in 1986. The underlying principle of Site and Services Scheme is that the authorities would provide the land and the infrastructural facilities, while the individual allottees proceed to build their houses in accordance with the approved building plan. The aim of this study is to analyse the factors militating against the performance of the Federal Government Site and Services Scheme in South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. The objectives are: to classify/determine the extent of completion/ development/services of the various Federal Government Site and Services Scheme in South-South, Nigeria, to assess the implementation of the Federal Government Site and Services Schemes in South-South, Nigeria, to identify/determine the critical factors affecting the Federal Government Site and Services Scheme in South-South Nigeria and to develop a guideline for improving the implementation of the Federal Government Site and Services Scheme in South-South, Nigeria. To achieve the objectives of the study, questionnaires backed with interviews were used to elicit information from 208 respondents comprising, Land officers, Estate Officers, Town Planners, Surveyors, Architects, Builders, Civil Engineers, Structural Engineers and Quantity Surveyors. These respondents are real estate professional staff of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in South-South, Nigeria. The total population of the study (208) was adopted as the sample size. Descriptive statistical tools comprising tables, mean, variance and standard deviation were used in the data presentation and analysis. Inferential statistical tools were used to draw conclusions from data. The statistical technique used in testing the hypothesis is one–way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings reveal that the Federal Government sites and services scheme in South-South Nigeria is yet to effectively achieve or realize its prime objectives due to the following reasons: Poor funding/budgetary constraints, Delay in payment of compensation, encroachment of sites, Poor location of sites, fraudulent/double allocation of plots, conflicts with State Government, Inter-Departmental Conflicts, Inadequate Manpower, among others. The study recommends adequate funding of Site and Services Scheme to ensure timely provision of infrastructure and well-equipped site monitoring and development control team for effective control and performance of the scheme.