Minister Of State, Suleiman Zarma Urges National Housing Contractors To Plant Economic Trees Round The Estates

In continuation of his inspection tour of on- going Federal Government projects in the North- Central geo-political Zone, of the country, Minister of State 11, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Surv Suleiman Hassan Zarma has urged contractors handling the construction  of the National Housing Programme (NHP) to plant economic trees that will not only green the estates but add economic value to the residents when government eventually dispose the houses to Nigerians.

The Minister said he would rather prefer economic trees to the aesthetic ones in view of their health and economic benefits. He said trees should not be planted to merely beautify an environment without adding any value to residents. He added that trees such as Mangoes, oranges, nime, pineapples etc will benefit the people more..

Zarma also inspected several road projects in Nassarawa, Benue and Plateau States. He acknowledged the substantial work recorded at some of the roads but decried the slow pace of some of them. He cautioned that government will no longer tolerate delays by contractors in delivery dates of government projects. According to him, “Government is eager to open up all the roads for economic activities, we don’t want excuses from contractors, more so when Government is not owing you”.

The Minister commended RCC, contractors handling the Loko- Oweto bridge for the standard quality and materials used in the construction of the bridge noting, that Nigerians were eager to have the bridge ready soon as it is strategically constructed as an access corridor to  link Nassarawa and Benue States with the South- East States. The bridge is about 96% completed.

Zarma also paid courtesy visits to Governors Umaru Tanko Al Makura of Nassarawa State, Samuel Ortom of Benue and Simon Dalung of Plateau State. The Minister restated the administration’s commitment to deliver critical infrastructure,  particularly improved power supply, motorable roads and housing for the benefits of Nigerians whom he said are “thirsty and hungry” for improved living standards.

The state governors  in their separate responses, said they will continue to  partner with the Federal Government to deliver goods and services to the people and also assured that the state governments are more than ready to provide additional hectares of land for the take off of the second phase of the National Housing Programme. 

The Minister used the occasion of the courtesy visit to request for additional lands from the states governors for the Family Hommes Funds, a social housing project from the office of the Vice President to add to the housing stock and targeting the low income earners. According to him, he was making the plea in his capacity as the chairman of the Lands and Infrastructure sub committee of the project, adding that the fund is targeting the provision of 100,000 houses annually.

Roads inspected in the states include: Rehabilitation of Nassarawa-Loko Road with Alushi Loop Phase 1, Lafia- Obi- Awe-Tunga Road in Nassarawa state,  Dualisation of Otukpo Township Road to Enugu, Rehabilitation of 9th Mile Otukpo- Makurdi, Oshegbudu- Oweto Phase 11 in Benue. Also, in Plateau State, the Minister and his team inspected the construction of the Pankshin-Ballang- Nyelleng-Sara-Lere-Gindiri road and the Pankshin-Tsphin- Gambar- Gindiri road.

The Minister also inspected the 22.5MVA capacitor bank and 1&60 MVA,132&33KVA Power transformer at the Keffi sub station in Nassarawa state and the additional 1&60 MVA transformer at the 132KV sub regional station in Jos South, Plateau state aimed at expanding power supply to Jos and its surroundings.

FG Moves To End Housing Deficit: Initiates Family Homes Fund Housing Project To Deliver Affordables Housing Accross The Nation

The Federal Government in a bid to finding lasting solutions to the huge national housing deficit in the country, the Economic Management Team of the Federal Government hasset up a Family Homes Fund Task Force to facilitate the implementation and delivery of the Family Homes Housing Project across the nation.

Speaking during the in augural meeting of the Land and Infrastructure and Off –take Sub – Committees for the project, the Chairman and Minister of State II for Power, Works and Housing, Surv. Suleiman Hassan, mnis, stated that the project is a new widow intended to deliver more affordable houses to Nigerians. He noted that the essence is to consistently deliver about 100 housing units annually and create more jobs to the teaming unemployed Nigerians.

The Minister added that the Land and Infrastructure sub-committee is to engage with relevant state governments and stakeholders on prime locations of land in the various states of the Federation. Also, the Offtake Sub - Committee is to determine a model for the participation of staff housing cooperatives, adding that this will be able to take care of retired civil servants, officers and personnel of the security forces.

The Minister enjoined members of the sub-committees to bring their wealth of experience to bear in order to actualize this laudable initiative of the Federal Government geared towards the delivery of affordable mass housing.

In her response, representative of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack stated that affordable and quality houses is a key issue that the government is pursuing, adding that members of the Offtake sub-committee will do the needful in meeting up with the task ahead.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu noted that one of the most important aims of the Family Home Project is to identify the financing requirements, draw up a sustainable financing of the models, structure of financing and buy-in of relevant Agencies including the Nigerian Mortgage Re-Financing Corporation for the continuity of the programme.

Welcome Remarks By The Hon. Minister Of State For Housing And Urban Development, Alh. Tijjani Gwarzo At The Official Groundbreaking Ceremony For 250-Housing Units Renewed Hope Estate In Oyo On Tuesday July 9 2024

Protocols

Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. 

I want to begin my remarks by specially welcoming the Executive Governor of Oyo State, His Excellency, Oluwaseyi Abiodun Makinde. We are happy to have you here with us today.

It is indeed my pleasure to welcome you all, on behalf of the Honourable Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, to the groundbreaking ceremony for the 250-housing unit Renewed Hope Estate.

This project is part of a Nationwide Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme of the Ministry, which His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu officially launched earlier this year in Abuja, under which we plan to deliver 50,000 housing units in phase one.

Our broad aim through this programme is to TURN THE COUNTRY INTO A HUGE CONSTRUCTION SITE, unlock the power of the housing sector to create jobs, boost economic development, and help achieve Mr. President's goal to build a $1 trillion economy. 

This 250-housing units Estate project will create job opportunities during the construction phase for masons, bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, traders, and suppliers of building materials.

We look forward to quality construction work and a timely completion of the project.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to thank you for sparing time out of your very busy schedules to be here with us today.

Thank you, and God bless.
 

Remarks By The Hon. Minister Of Housing And Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, At The Ground-Breaking Of The 250-Housing Unit Renewed Hope Estate In Nasarawa State On Saturday, July 6, 2024

Protocols

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

First, I would like to thank His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Nasarawa  State, Engr. Abdullahi Sule for honoring our invitation to the groundbreaking of a 250-housing unit Renewed Hope Estate here in the State’s capital. 

Today’s ceremony is a continuation of the nationwide groundbreaking exercise for housing projects under the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, which His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, launched in February with the commissioning of a 3,112-housing unit in Karsana, Abuja.

Under Phase One of this programme, we plan to deliver a total of 50,000 housing units across Nigeria. This includes 7 Renewed Hope Cities that will have between 500 and 1,000 housing units per site in each of the six geopolitical zones in the country and the FCT, while the Renewed Hope Estates will have 250 units per site in the remaining thirty (30) states.

With this housing programme, we plan to unlock the massive potential of housing development to create jobs, uplift lives, and boost economic development. This is in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President to STIMULATE INCLUSIVE GROWTH, LIFT 100 MILLION NIGERIANS OUT OF POVERTY, AND BUILD A $1 TRILLION ECONOMY.

As you may recall, last month, following the presidential launch of the programme in Abuja, we embarked on the first leg of this exercise with the groundbreaking of 1,500 housing units in the northern part of Nigeria. This includes 250-housing unit Renewed Hope Estates, one each in Katsina, Yobe, Gombe, and Sokoto, and a 500-housing unit Renewed Hope City in Kano. Work is currently ongoing at each of these sites, and our plan is to have all of them 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. UNDER THE RENEWED HOPE AGENDA, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING A ZERO TOLERANCE FOR UNCOMPLETED PROJECTS.
This second leg will see us break ground for a total of 2,000 Renewed Hope Housing Units across eight (8) states in the South and North Central. We started last week Wednesday with 250 units in Ebonyi; Thursday we were in Abia for another 250 units, Friday we were in Akwa Ibom for another 250 units, Saturday we were in Delta State for another 250 units. This week Monday we were in in Osun State to flag off 250 units, yesterday  we were in Benue and today, we are happy to be here in Nasarawa to flag off another 250 units. The next stop from here will be in Oyo to complete this 2nd leg. 

This estate comprises 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.

We have designed these housing units in a way that makes them affordable for people to acquire by using organic designs to allow for future expansion as the income of beneficiaries increases. This means that a 1-bedroom unit can be expanded 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.

As we perform this groundbreaking, I want to charge the contractors

1. Messrs ISKAT DESIGN LTD
2. Messrs. SAN AFRAH NIG. LTD and
3.    Messrs. AL-YUMA VENTURE AND INVESTMENT LTD

to ensure that they build according to specifications. I want to emphasize in very strong terms that we will not tolerate substandard work from any developer, and we will explore all necessary legal means, to ensure that they deliver as per the contract. IF YOU COLLECT GOVERNMENT MONEY, YOU MUST DO THE WORK.
We also want the developers to adhere to the timeline and finish within three months so that we can begin the process of getting Nasarawa indigenes to purchase and move in.

To ensure affordability, we have created different options to enable everyone who has a source of income and livelihood to own these homes when they are completed. These 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.

Statistics show that the construction of one housing unit creates an average of 25 direct and indirect jobs. So, for these 250 housing units in Nasarawa, we hope to create jobs for over 6,500 people in various trades, from professionals like architects, civil engineers, and mechanical engineers to masons, plumbers, tilers, electricians, and laborers. We have seen unskilled workers at other project sites earning as much as N35,000 per week, at an average of N5,000 per day. This amounts to about N140,000 per month.

This is in addition to the economic activities, including those selling food, supplying blocks, and providing building materials. The value chain effect of construction work on this site is significant and creates a positive economic impact.
I want to state that under the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, we at the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development are very particular about giving Nigerians value for money. We are diligently funding these projects from the N50 billion 2023 Supplementary Budget that Mr. President approved for the Ministry to ensure sustainability, quality, and geographic spread.

It is important to say that the provision of land in a good location and at no cost is a key condition for siting Renewed Hope Housing Projects. The twelve states covered under this 2023 supplementary budget are those that first provided land. I want to assure that states that have not been covered will be included in the Ministry’s 2024 Budget on a first-come, first-served basis, on the condition that they provide land at no cost to enhance affordability.

At this juncture, I want to appreciate and thank His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State, His Excellency Engr. Abdullahi Sule for promptly granting our request for the provision of land at no cost. This singular action has helped us to reduce as much as 30% of the cost of the units in this Estate for the benefit of potential homeowners. This is a dividend of responsible governance and I applaud Your Excellency for this. 

Before I close my remarks, I want to thank and appreciate our President for providing the vision and the political will necessary for us to make a difference in terms of delivering decent and quality housing to Nigerians. The Groundbreaking ceremonies for these projects demonstrate that Mr. President and indeed the federal government of Nigeria is committed to fulfilling promises and responsibilities to all Nigerians.

Long live Nasarawa State and His Excellency, the Executive Governor.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Long live Mr. President.