Abia Governor, Otti Appreciates FG for Renewed Hope Housing  Estate   ... says Abians are wonderfully grateful for the gift  * Construction of Federal Secretartariat in Abia also approaved - Dangiwa    Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti has expressed the gratitude of his State for the 250 housing units the Federal government brought to the State under it's Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme    He said " Abia state is wonderfully grateful for the gift of the houses "   The Governor made this statement during the groundbreaking of 250 Renewed Hope Housing Estate at Bende Local Government Area, near Umuahia, the Capital City of Abia State, Thursday,  June 27th, 2024.   The Federal Government through the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is building 50,000 housing units under phase one of its Renewed Hope Housing Cities and Estates Programme across the nation.   A groundbreaking and foundation laying for the construction of 250 Renewed Hope Estate was performed by the Governor along side Minister of Housing and Urban Development,  Arc Ahmed Musa Dangiwa.    Governor Otti, who spoke through his deputy , Engr Ikechukwu Emetu commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the commitment of Minister Ahmed Dangiwa for the housing initiative    " This is what a responsible government is supposed to do and we are seeing it now under the present government" he added  Minister Dangiwa told the developers of the  Renewed Hope Estate project across the country to ensure completion of the project  within three months stipulated period to enable Nigerians in the respective states occupy the houses as quickly as possible.   The ground-breaking event in Abia State was a follow up of Renewed Hope Cities and Estates programme launched by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in February 2024.   The second round of groundbreaking covers eight states in the South and North-Central zones of the country, namely; Ebonyi, Abia,  Akwa Ibom, Delta, Osun, Oyo, Benue and Nasarawa State, each comprising 250 housing units, and making a total of 2,000 units in the round.   Dangiwa said “ By the end of this second round, we would have broken ground for a total of 6,612 housing units across the country since February this year, creating direct and indirect jobs for over 165,000 at an average of 25 jobs per unit"    The 250 housing units in Abia, just like in each of the states, will consist of 50 units of 1-bedroom semi-detached bungalows, 150 units of 2-bedroom semi-detached bungalows, and 50 units of 3-bedroom semi-detached bungalows.   On the sales for the houses, the minister said “We have created different options to enable everyone who has a source of income and livelihood to own these homes when they are completed"    He listed the options to include; single-digit mortgage loans that beneficiaries can repay over 30 years; rent-to-own schemes provided by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, and outright purchase options for those who can afford to pay upfront.    The housing units were  designed in a way that makes them affordable by using organic designs to allow for future expansion as the income of beneficiaries increases.    A 1-bedroom unit is expandable to 2 bedrooms and a 2-bedroom unit can also be expanded to 3 bedrooms as the owner’s financial situation improves or their family grows. Accordingly,  the Minister disclosed that the 12 Renewed Hope Estates flagged off so far are being funded under the N50 billion 2023 Supplementary Budget approved by the President for the projects.   Similarly, he also assured that states not captured in the 2023 Supplementary Budget will be included in the Ministry’s 2024 Budget, urging other state governors to provide land needed to implement the project in their states.   ...

Renewed Hope Estate: Dangiwa Tasks Developers on Quality Execution of Project in Ebonyi *  Project to help Mr President 's goal to build 1 trillion dollar economy  - Gwarzo *   It's FG's remarkable journey to provide affordable housing for Nigerians  - Ebonyi Governor Minister of Housing and Urban Development,  Arc Ahmed Dangiwa,  has charged developers handling the Renewed Hope Housing Estate in Ebonyi state to adhere to standard and specifications to deliver quality houses. Dangiwa issued the strong warning in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state during the groundbreaking of 250 housing units in the state under the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme, Wednesday,  June 26th, 2024. He told the developers handling all Renewed Hope Cities and Estates projects across the country, that the Ministry will not tolerate substandard work at all the sites and contractors must build in line with the terms and approved standards for the benefits of Nigerians. Earlier in  welcome address, Minister of State, Abdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo whose address was read by Director Engineering Services. Engr Nwufo stated that, the Federal government plan to deliver 50,000 housing units under phase 1 and part of it's broad aim is to help Mr President's goal to build a 1 trillion dollar economy. The Ebonyi State Governor,  Francis Nwifuru Ogbonna, represented by Deputy Governor,  Princess Partricia Obila, described the project a remarkable journey by the Federal Government to provide affordable housing for Nigerians The flag-off in Ebonyi state marks the first  of eight (8) states in the second leg of ground-breaking to be performed for the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme launched by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in February 2024. The exercise will  cover six southern states and two in the North-Central region of the country. The first leg of the exercise began with the groundbreaking of 1,500 housing units in the northern part of Nigeria, comprising 250-housing unit Renewed Hope Estates, in Katsina, Yobe, Gombe and Sokoto and a 500-housing unit Renewed Hope City in Kano. Arc Dangiwa stated “Work is currently ongoing at each of these sites, and our plan is to have them all completed within the next couple of months and made available to Nigerians in line with Mr. President’s desire to provide quality housing for all Nigerians"  Accordingly,  he explained “this second leg will see us break ground for a total of 2,000 Renewed Hope Housing Units in eight (8) states in the South and North Central of our country. This includes 250 housing units, each, starting in Ebonyi today, followed by Abia, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Osun, Oyo, Benue and Nasarawa States,” The Renewed Hope Estate to be developed by Jephthah Global Investments Ltd, Proportion Construction Works Nigeria Limited, Ideal Shelters Limited and KLYN Construction Works Ltd, will have 50 units of 1-bedroom semi-detached bungalows, 150 units of 2-bedroom semi-detached bungalows, and 50 units of 3-bedroom semi-detached bungalows. He said, “we have designed these housing units in a way that makes it easy and affordable for people to offtake by using organic designs to allow for future expansion as the income of beneficiaries increases. What this means is that 1-bedroom can be expanded to 2 bedrooms and 2-bedrooms can also be expanded to 3 bedrooms as the owner’s financial situation improves or his family grows. The minister, while urging the developers to work within the stipulated time frame of three months, emphasized the economic component of housing construction and its potential to develop the economy. “Statistics show that construction of one housing unit creates an average of 25 direct and indirect jobs. So, for these 250 housing units that we are building here in Ebonyi, we aim to create jobs for over 6,500 people in various trades. From professionals like architects, civil engineers, mechanical engineers to masons, plumbers, tilers, electricians etc. This is besides the economic activities involving persons selling food, supplying blocks, building materials and the likes. The value chain effect of construction work on this site is big and creates positive economic impact,” he said. Dangiwa thanked the Governor of Ebonyi State, Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru for his prompt approval and grant of land for the project at no cost, noting that his action has helped to reduce as much as 30% of the cost of the units in the Estate for the benefit of potential homeowners. “This is a dividend of responsible governance and I applaud Your Excellency for this,” he said. The Ebonyi Governor was also full of commendation for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for creating a separate ministry for housing to ensure effectiveness in housing delivery, saying that Ebonyi state proudly support the initiative. Similarly, minister Dangiwa also noted that  the renewed hope estate is being implemented under the N50 billion 2023 supplementary budget, and called on other state governors to also provide land for Renewed Hope Estates Project to be built in their states as provided for in the 2024 budget. ...

HCSF, Folasade Honours Abimbola, Head PPP Housing Ministry.    The Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) has given an award of honour to the Head of the Public Private Partnership Unit of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Abimbola Adenike Asein, for her dedication and excellent contributions to the mandate of the Housing Ministry.   The honour was in line with the Service -Wide Awards and Recognition, aimed at rewarding and recognizing outstanding Civil Servants in the Federal Civil Service.   The award which include cash was presented to Arc. Asein by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, CFR alongside the Chairman, AIG- Imoukhuede foundation Aigboje AIG- Imoukhuede CFR, and the Minister of youth development, Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim, on Saturday during the Award and Gala Night of the 2024 Civil Service Week, in Abuja.   This year’s Civil Service Week commenced on Friday, 14th June, 2024, with the theme “Educate an African Fit for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive, Lifelong, Quality and Relevant Learning in Africa”.   Arc. Abimbola Asein was particularly awarded for working and implementing several federal government housing and works programs nationwide, including affordable housing, as well as the highways developments and management initiatives in Nigeria.   The Secretary to the government of the federation, Dr. George Akume, represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the occasion    The President congratulated all the awardees, reminding them that to whom much is given, much is also expected.    He said, “As you are honoured today, remember that with recognition comes responsibility. Your continued dedication is essential as we strive for excellence in service to our nation”.   In her address, the Head of Civil Service of the federation Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan,  informed that Ministries Departments and Agencies were requested by the Standing Service-Wide Awards Selection Committee (SWASCo), to forward nominations based on a set of criteria and weightings provided in the approved Rewards and Recognition Scheme Guidelines, in order to ensure a transparent and credible selection process;  and according to her, the committee by its mandates screened nominations made by the Ministerial Selection Committee of MDAs, and selected deserving officers for the various categories of awards.   “Nominations were received from Forty-Six (46) Ministries and Extra-Ministerial Departments, out of which Six (6) Ministries were disqualified for lack of Citation which was the basis for assessment of nominees and Six (6) Ministries submitted double nominations, hence the total number of nominations received and assessed was Fifty –Two (52) nominees”, she explained.   Dr. Yemi-Esan also disclosed that Thirty-Nine Nominees scored above the cut-off mark and were selected for the 2024 Edition of the Federal Civil Service Rewards and Recognition, after a rigorous selection process in line with the Service-Wide Criteria and Weighting.   She announced that the categories of awards for presentation at the 2024 Edition of the Service-Wide Rewards and Recognition were: Presidential Distinguished Public Service Career Award, Presidential Civil Service Merit Award, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Award, The Public Service Excellence Award, 2024 Sports Achievement Award; and an award for three Ministries who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to Work-Life balance of their staff.   She further stated that the OHCSF enjoyed collaboration with stakeholders and partners from both public and private sectors to scale up the level of intervention of the Reward and Recognition Scheme, aimed at enhancing value proposition for civil servants; adding that a cash gift of N500,000 would be given to each of the best performing civil servants from the MDAs, as facilitated by Private Sector Partners, Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation.   In attendance at the award night were some ministers of the federal republic of Nigeria, several permanent secretaries, representatives of the workers’ Unions (NLC and TUC), representatives of the Consortium of Insurance Companies, alongside other dignitaries. ...