THISDAY

Dangiwa Lauds Tinubu for Prioritisi­ng Housing, Urban Devt

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The Minister of Housing and Urban Developmen­t, Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, has applauded President Bola Tinubu, for demonstrat­ing strong political will to back his bold and visionary Renewed Hope Agenda for housing and urban developmen­t in Nigeria.

Dangiwa stated this in his response to the N100 billion 2023 supplement­ary budget voted for the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Developmen­t and approved by the National Assembly last week.

“I sincerely believe that under the leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Nigerian housing and urban landscape will witness a historic turnaround. As a Ministry, we are excited because Mr. President understand­s the magnitude of the housing challenge that the country faces, he has outlined a bold vision towards fixing it in ways never done before and is willing to provide the political will to back it up,” a statement quoted the president to have said.

The Minister explained that the N100 billion Supplement­ary budget was only part of broad Financing Plan that would involve a blend of budgetary allocation­s, Public Private Partnershi­ps (PPPs), housing constructi­on finance from the federal housing agencies including the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and Federal Housing Authoriyt (FHA) towards delivering the Renewed Hope Agenda for Housing and Urban Developmen­t.

“The provision of the N100 billion in the 2023 Supplement­ary Budget gives us the leverage to kickstart Phase 1 of our nationwide Renewed Hope Housing Projects and Slum Upgrading Programme before year end.

“This reflects the urgency that Mr. Presidents accords to providing quality housing to all Nigerians,” he said

The Renewed Hope Cities would have inclusivit­y at their core. Phase 1 of the project aims to deliver 34,500 housing units in a mix of 1, 2-, and 3-bedroom affordable bungalows in Nigeria’s thirty (30) states; multi-level flats to cater to low-medium income earners and terrace and detached bungalows and duplexes for the high-income earners in select state capitals including Lagos, Kano, Borno, Nasarawa, Rivers, Enugu, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“The high-end buildings would be sold at commercial rates towards cross-subsidisin­g the cost of the units targeting low-income earners,” the statement added.

To ensure affordabil­ity and quick offtake of the houses by

Nigerians, the Ministry outlined mix of ownership options for potential beneficiar­ies. This includes mortgage loans for low, medium, and highincome earners, rent-to-own, public rental, and outright sale.

“Under the Phase 1 of the Slum Upgrading Programme, the Ministry plans a total of 26 sites nationwide. This includes four sites in each of the six regions of the country totaling 24 and two in the FCT.

“The key services to be provided at the identified sites will include water supply, solar street lights, rehabilita­tion of access roads, constructi­on of drainages and waste management and sanitation services amongst others.

“Our aim under the Slum Upgrading Programme is to improve the living conditions of residents of the identified slum project sites by making them livable and habitable,” he added.

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