Performance of Housing Cooperatives Societies in Housing Finance in North Western Geo-Political Zone, Nigeria.

Abstract

Housing is widely acknowledged as one of life's most fundamental requirements and a requirement for man's existence. In view of this, the study assessed the performance of housing cooperatives in housing finance in north western Nigeria with a view to providing affordable housing. Data was collected from 150 members of the FRSC Staff Housing Cooperative, the Staff of the Kaduna State Housing Cooperation, and NNPC Staff Multi-Purpose Cooperative Societies. Simple random sampling technique was adopted for the study. The analysis of the data was carried out with the use of percentage, mean item score, and Pearson product correlation. The findings revealed that the major sources of funds for the sampled housing cooperative societies for housing provision are through member contributions and development levies. The most widely adopted mode of operation for housing development is the provision of loans, with a mean value of 4.80. The correlation between the performance of housing cooperatives in housing finance and their mode of operation for housing development was found to be significant at 5% (0.05) level of significance (p = 0.36). It was concluded that the success rate of cooperative societies in housing provision is average, dispelling the belief that cooperative approach to housing delivery is a sure way of arresting the problem of housing availability. The major recommendation from the study was that in order for cooperative societies to be successful in housing intervention, they must increase their financial capacity and operational funds as well as handle the different obstacles that they face.