Remarks At The National Council On Lands, Housing And Urban Development Delivered On Thursday 28th Of July 2022 At Sokoto On The Theme, “Housing Our People, By All Of Government And All Our People”

On behalf of the Honourable Minister of State, the Permanent Secretary and all the staff of the Ministry of Works and Housing, I welcome all commissioners, state representatives and invited persons and organizations to this year’s National Council meeting on Lands, Housing and Urban Development, the 11th in the series.

On your behalf and on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and the Federal Government of Nigeria, I would like to thank our host, my dear brother, Governor Aminu Tambuwal, the people and government of Sokoto state for accepting to host this year’s meeting and for all the provisions they have made in that regard.

Let me start by telling you how pleased I am that the National Housing Programme that was initiated by our Ministry at the onset of the Muhammadu Buhari led administration is now delivering on its objective.

Apart from stimulating the economies of the 34 states and the FCT in the communities where work is being undertaken for the construction of houses, by providing work for artisans, builders, engineers, and other skilled persons in the built industry, the construction sites have been and remain centres of supply for building materials and other commodities.

Many people who hitherto were unemployed have had their dignity restored because they can leave home every day saying to their families – I AM GOING TO WORK.

This is the part of the change we promised, and Sokoto state has not been left out.

I am also pleased to report that we are now in a season of completion, as many of these houses have been completed and are now being handed over to the beneficiaries who follow the allocation procedure set out in the National Housing Programme web portal (https://nhp.worksandhousing.gov.ng ).

Across the states, the ministers of the Federal Republic have been representing President Muhammadu Buhari at the commissioning and handing over of these houses.

On the 22nd March 2022, the Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, represented the President to Commission the Sokoto State National Housing Programme. This first phase included 80 units of housing comprising 4units one bedroom, 48 units two bedroom, 28 units three-bedroom bungalows.

Today, people who had long dreamt to be homeowners now live that reality as they have been successfully allocated some of these houses.

Again, that is change.

Perhaps one of the most pleasing impacts of this National Housing initiative by the Federal Government, is that it has been used by President Buhari, to redeem the housing promise made to the 22-man squad of the Super Eagles since winning the African Nations Cup in 1994.

A promise that remained unkept for 28 years has been redeemed by President Buhari, and if you ask the members of the Super Eagles, they will tell you that things have changed for them for the better.

But the National Housing Programme is only one initiative of the Federal Government to address the housing needs of our people.

There are others by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) by way of direct construction in various states, just as the Federal Mortgage Bank has financed the construction of about 6000 housing units at various stages of completion.

Similarly, the Federal Government has increased its financing intervention support for housing through the Federal Mortgage Bank by increasing the number of mortgages that have been issued and reducing the equity contribution requirement to make it more accessible.

Of course, I cannot ignore the various interventions by State Governments who have sensibly deployed resources to provide housing in their states and our host, Sokoto state is a good example.

Let me use this platform to inform the meeting that State Governments can apply on behalf of their residents or indigenes to fund the acquisition of parts of the National Housing Programmes constructed in the states should they be so desirous.

Of course, whatever the States and Federal Governments can do by way of housing construction is limited, compared to what the private sector can do. The evidence out there shows very clearly that the bulk of housing in our society and across the world is delivered by the private sector - individuals and corporate.

In this regard, I am happy to report a visible increase in the participation of the private sector in Nigeria’s housing sector.

Nationwide on many media platforms, we daily see, hear and read about the development of one estate or the other across Nigeria and this is most welcome and must be encouraged.

And this brings me to the theme of this year’s council meeting, which is “HOUSING OUR PEOPLE, BY ALL OF GOVERNMENT AND ALL OUR PEOPLE.”

The message is that housing provision is a collaborative effort by all levels of government and the private sector.

From what I have said so far about what the Federal Government is doing, what the states are doing and what the private sector is doing, the Nigerian housing sector is heading in the right direction even if there is more work to be done.

It is to the work that needs to be done that I now intend to turn my attention.

The first thing I wish to address is that we all must remain conscious that not everybody wants a house built by government; as there are those who wish to build by themselves and only seek access to land.

We must therefore reform the process that governs allocation of land and issuance of title documents such as Certificates of Occupancy.

While the Federal Government has some land, mainly acquired from the states, the bulk of the work that needs to be done here lies with the State Governments because of their almost total control of land by virtue of the Land Use Act.

Some have argued that the Land Use Act is the problem about access to land. I beg to differ.

If there is a problem, my view is that the problem is not with law but with the administration of the law.

How much have we automated our land administration processes in order to make them efficient before complaining about that law.

States that have made this type of investment will report an improvement in their land administration system.

Today I can tell you that since 2017, when the President delegated his power under the Land Use Act to grant consent and issue certificate of occupancy, to the Minister we have issued over 5,000 certificates of occupancy and granted 2,738 consent to land transactions.

These are important documents to facilitate housing delivery and housing finance that we need to pay more attention to, in addition to the process involved in granting of construction permits and approvals.

Ladies and gentlemen, the other important matter we must pay attention to is the issue of rent.

Housing supply and demand must be seen beyond ownership alone and must include rental housing.

At the Federal Government level, we have introduced Rent-to-Own into our acquisition/sale model for the disposal of the Houses in the National Housing Programme.

I concede that majority of the houses belong to the private sector and they expect legitimate income from rent for the properties.

However, I hold a strong view that asking for 2 to 3 years rent in advance from working class people (as distinct from corporate tenants who may prefer to pay in advance) does more harm than good to all concerned and to the economy.

Interestingly, rent is a matter over which the Federal Government has no constitutional authority because it is a local matter and rightly so.

But I use the platform of this meeting to challenge and provoke all state representatives to thoughts and action about how we can make the payment of rent easier and comfortable for both tenants and landlords.

This would be a most revolutionary intervention when working class people can pay their rent when they receive their salaries.

This is possible if we try and this will give the fullest possible expression to the theme of this meeting which is “HOUSING OUR PEOPLE, BY ALL OF GOVERNMENT AND ALL OUR PEOPLE.”

Thank you for listening.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Honourable Minister for Works and Housing

Thursday 28th July 2022

Address By The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry Of Works And Housing, Bashir Nura Alkali , Fca, Fcti, At The 11th Meeting Of The National Council On Lands, Housing And Urban Development Held At Dankani Guest Palace Hotels, Ltd, 1a, Kalambaina Road, Sokoto, Sokoto State, On Wednesday 27th July, 2022

Protocols

    It is my pleasure to welcome all the Permanent Secretaries and other distinguished delegates to this Technical Session of the 11th Meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development with the theme, “Housing Our People, By All of Government and All Our People”. holding right here in the ancient and historic city of Sokoto, Sokoto State, the Seat of the Caliphate.

2.     We thank Almighty God for bringing all the delegates from far and near to Sokoto successfully . The Government and good people of Sokoto are also commended for their hospitality and warm reception of the delegates, given the commitment, dedication and preparations of the Government of the State, under the able leadership of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, CFR, (Matawale Sokoto), the Governor of Sokoto State, to host this important Meeting by providing necessary supports.

3.  I must commend the Permanent Secretary, Sokoto State Ministry of Lands, Survey, Housing and Urban Planning, Engr. Ahmed Moyi Tambuwal; the Sokoto State Surveyor-General, Surv. Bashir Lawal Isa; the Director-General, Sokoto Geographic Information System Agency(SOGIS), Aminu Magaji and other members of the Sokoto State Local Organizing Committee for working relentlessly with the officials of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing in preparation for this year’s Council Meeting. We sincerely appreciate all your noble efforts in this regards,    

4. The Theme of this year’s meeting “Housing Our People, By All of Government and All Our People”. is carefully chosen to underscore the genuine desire and priority of the present Administration towards ensuring housing provisions to the Nigerians through collective involvement and intervention of all the tiers of Governments. This is against the backdrop of the fact that housing is a basic human necessity. This Meeting is therefore important at this crucial period of this administration with a view to coming up with resolutions that would transform the Housing Sector and the entire built industry. This would also facilitate efforts of Governments towards addressing myriads of challenges confronting the country with ultimate aim of lifting 100Million Nigerians out of poverty through jobs and wealth creations.

5.     You may wish to note the impressive outcomes of the 10th Meeting of the National Council that was held in Lagos in 2021 with the theme: “Housing Development as a Catalyst for Job Creation, Social Inclusion and Economic Development” which came out with far-reaching resolutions whose implementations at various levels of Governments must have impacted, positively, on Nigerians.

6.     I wish to state at this juncture that the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing has been fully committed to the implementation of the National Housing Programmes (NHP) in line with vision of the present Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.  The programme was initiated by the Federal Government in 2016 for the construction of acceptable and affordable Houses Nationwide for the purpose of addressing the nation’s housing deficit. I am glad to inform this noble Meeting that the Programme has come to fruition with the commissioning and handling over of several completed housing projects across the States in the Six (6) Geo-Political Zones of the Federation. This would in no doubt assist towards addressing the challenges of housing deficits in the Country. The construction of decent and affordable mass housing Nationwide is still on-going nationwide with the organized private sector under the “Public Private Partnership” (PPP) Programme with a view to ensuring that quality and affordable houses are provided for our people.

7.  On the request of the Sokoto State Government for the support and assistance of the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development for the disposal of its 500 Housing Units, located at along Gidan Salanke Area, Kalambaina Road, Sokoto, through the Rent-To-Own Scheme of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria,  I am glad to notify the State that the Honourable Minister has graciously directed the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria(FMBN) to liaise with the relevant Ministry in the State on the matter. The project is also expected to be visited by the Hon. Minister during the Council Meeting

8.  I must also commend the various Agencies under the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, notably the Federal Housing Authority(FHA) and the Federal Mortgage Bank (FMBN) for their initiatives and interventions towards the implementation of the National Housing Programme. I urge the States to partner with these Agencies towards the development of their housing projects for national development and growth.

9.   Ladies and gentlemen, I am confident that your States have implemented many housing projects geared towards upliftment of socio - economic conditions of your people in the areas, as dividends of our democracy. You would therefore agree with me that the task of providing decent and affordable houses for our people is the collective responsibility of all of us at all the tiers of Governments. We have roles to play as key actors in decision making processes on housing matters and we must ensure that our people are not denied of access to decent and affordable housing. That is the essence of governance and we must all leave to that expectation.

9.    Distinguished Members, Ladies and Gentlemen, given the cream of experts and technocrats that assembled here today. I am quite optimistic that the meeting would deliberate extensively on the memoranda presented by the Meeting of the Directors and articulate pragmatic/implementable resolutions for recommendation to the Council, when it meets tomorrow, Thursday, 28th July, 2022.

10.    While welcoming you once again, I wish you fruitful deliberations.