Senators Grill Fashola over Ministry’s Budget, Housing Deficit

The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has been grilled by the Senate Committee on Housing, led by Senator Sam Egwu, which questioned him on the budget performance of the ministry in the last three years and paucity of houses for majority of Nigerians despite unoccupied buildings everywhere in the country.

Egwu, the Senate Chairman on Housing and a former governor of Ebonyi State, who was accompanied by Senators Clifford Ordia, Esan Central, Ibrahim Danbaba, Sokoto South, Lola Ashiru, Kwara South and Isah Jibrin, Kogi East, argued that shelter remains a big problem for Nigerians.

The senators who were on oversight function to the office of the minister in Mabushi, Abuja, also sought information on why the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) had become almost emasculated and underfunded although the agency collects revenue from subscribers to its housing estates littered all over the country.

Egwu contended that despite the humongous statutory role bequeathed on the FHA, the authority now literally gasps for breath and may go out of existence soon if there is no urgent intervention.

“FHA has been almost excluded from national budgets. They are begging for existence. They have thousands of buildings, but in a terrible financial situation. What are their challenges or limitations? We are worried about this . We must get them to perform optimally. We need to intervene,” he said.