Minister Of State Works And Housing Sympathizes With Traders Over Potiskum Market Fire

The Minister of State for Works and Housing, Engineer Abubakar D. Aliyu, has sympathized with traders who lost their goods at the Saturday fire that razed most parts of the Potiskum Central Market in Yobe State.

The minister, in a statement on Sunday, extended his heartfelt sympathy to all the traders affected by the fire incident, praying to Almighty Allah (SWT) to replace their monumental loss.

The Potiskum market fire occurred on March 6, 2021, and razed down shops majorly around Layin Masko, thereby destroying goods worth millions of naira, according to eye witnesses.

Engineer Aliyu said: “It is with heavy heart that I extend my sympathy to the traders of Potiskum Central Market who lost their property in the tragic fire incident that occurred Saturday night, March 6, 2021.

“I prayed to Almighty Allah (SWT) to console the traders who lost multi-million naira goods in the tragedy. I also prayed to Almighty Allah to replenish their wealth once again.” 

The minister said the tragedy has not affected only the traders who lost their property, but the entire good people of Potiskum and Yobe state in general. 

Yobe to Remain APC State - Minister

Minister of State for Works and Housing, Engineer Abubakar Aliyu, has said that the ongoing All Progressive Congress (APC) Party revalidation exercise would boost the party's chance of winning election both at National, State as well as Local Government levels.

The Minister stated this in Potiskum over the weekend after he revalidated his APC membership. He said that the exercise was a great opportunity for new members to join the great party which he described as a moving ship. 

He called on all party stakeholders in the state to come out enmass not only to revalidate their membership, but also to campaign for the great party in the forth coming elections. 

"Our Party is a moving ship, the Captain of the ship is President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR and the Executive Governor of our great State is the National Party Chairman, so I see no reason why the state will not remain APC State," he said. 

Speaking further, Abubabar said that it was pay back time for the state as the President had delivered on his campaign promises to Yobe State with the massive road projects that were ongoing and these projects had reached appreciable level of completion. "So do not only register, register and campaign for others to join the party".

Engr Aliyu also charged existing members of the party to be good ambassador of the Party by being of good character and show love to others as this would encourage other people to join the great party APC.

Present at the validation exercise were critical stakeholders of APC in the State. The State Chairman of the Party, Alhaji Adami Abdul Chilariye and Chairman of APC (Potiskum), Bala Miss. 

Also in attendance were, the Ward Chairman, Alhaji Iselu Tela, the Deputy Speaker of Yobe State House of Assembly, Honourable Anwalu Isa Bello and other stakeholders. 
 

Welcome Remarks by the Honourable Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, at the Presentation of the 1st to 3rd Quarters 2024 Performance Assessment on Implementation of the Presidential Priorities and Ministerial Deliverables on Monday, December 9, 2024

The Special Adviser to Mr. President on Policy and Coordination & Head, Central Delivery Coordination Unit, Hadiza Bala Usman, and her Team, 

The Hon. Minister of State, Rt. Hon. Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, 

The Permanent Secretary, Dr. Marcus O. Ogunbiyi, 

Heads of our Agencies – FHA, FMBN, and OSGoF, 

Directors, 

Aides, 

Members of the Press, 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

1. It is my pleasure to welcome the Special Adviser to Mr. President on Policy and Coordination & Head, Central Delivery Coordination Unit, my sister, Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman, and her team to the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development for a review of our performance. 

2. Madam, we are delighted to have you with us here today. The work that you and your team are doing is critical to actualizing the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President. By constantly monitoring and shining a light on our work, the Central Delivery Coordination Unit keeps us all on our toes. Well done! 

3. It has been over eleven months since we commenced reporting on our deliverables. As your team has already seen from our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quarter reports, we have been focused, working hard, and creatively as a Ministry to deliver results and impact. 

4. Although your assessment covers only our 3rd-quarter performance, I am pleased to update you that we have not paused but are making even more progress. Under the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme, we currently have construction ongoing for a total of 10,112 housing units at fourteen (14) sites nationwide. This includes 3,000 housing units for estates in 12 states—250 units each, funded under the 2023 N50bn supplementary budget—and 3,612 units for cities in Kano (500 units – budgetary) and FCT (3,112 units – under PPP).

5. From December 17 to 18, Mr. President has graciously accepted to break ground for two additional Renewed Hope Cities totaling 3,500 units —2,000 housing units in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, and 1,500 housing units in Kano. In fact, construction work is already ongoing at these sites. This brings the total active sites under the Ministry’s Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme to 13,612 units.

6. When we add these figures to the housing units delivered by our agencies—the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA)—we are clearly on track to meet our annual target of 20,000 housing units. Initially, our plan was to deliver 500 units under Renewed Hope Estates in each of the twelve locations. However, the rise in building material costs forced us to reduce the target to 250 units, which affected our output.

7. It will also interest you to note that less than 50% of the funding for these projects is from budgetary allocation. We have embraced Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and innovatively leveraging private sector funding for the delivery of these projects because we know that the less than N50bn budgetary allocation is grossly inadequate to make a difference.

8. With more Renewed Hope Cities Sites coming up – 2,000 units each - in Nasarawa, Enugu, Borno States and housing development institutions like Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB), the Ministry wants to assure the Central Coordination and Delivery Unit that the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is fully on course to another stellar reporting round of stellar performance.

9. If we are looking at where we are coming from, we can praise ourselves. This is because we have already outperformed by 100 percent the previous 8 years before the Renewed Hope Agenda. However, when we look at the size of the housing problem which requires that we build 550,000 housing units per annum over the next years, it is clear that we are far from scratching the surface. This means we must do more. The Ministry needs a bigger budgetary allocation for housing even as we drive PPPs. We have engaged the National Assembly, and they have expressed willingness to support a N500bn budget for the Ministry in 2025. We would like the CDCU Unit to help us support and push this cause.

10. Madam, it is also important to note that our Ministry operates on two pillars: Housing and Urban Development. We are also seeking to deepen our urban development interventions. We just came back from the UN – Habitat Executive Board Meeting in Nairobi that I chaired. In our engagements on the sidelines, the Executive Director assured us that every Naira we invest in our National Urban Renewal and Slum Upgrade Programme (NURSUP) could be leveraged threefold through their institutional partners. This means an investment of N50bn could attract an additional N100bn, totaling N150bn. We need a revolving fund to drive sustainable urban development.  We therefore need a minimum of a N50billion revolving fund to drive sustainable Urban Development which is key to Nigeria meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 20230. Under slum upgrades, we are providing basic services such as access roads, drainage, water, and sanitation facilities to make slum areas more livable. We currently have over 100 projects nationwide, with close to 60 completed. 

11. I have taken time to speak on efforts to increase housing stock and urban development because they are the foundation of our ministry, and we have moved significantly forward since we sent in the 3^rd quarter reports. We have also made progress on the other areas but the last reports that we submitted are fair representations.

12. While we celebrate these achievements, it is essential to acknowledge the challenges that have impeded our efforts, which the Ministry is hopeful of collaborating with the CRDCU to address.  For example,  the slow release of budget appropriation has restricted the scope and achievement of some of our Reform Initiatives.  Notably, the high cost of building materials and the rate of inflation have impacted on our ability to deliver affordable housing at scale.  In this regard, while exploring alterantive financing sources from the Private Sector and our Developnetment Partners,  we particularly solicit the support of the CRDCU in ensuring the early release of budgetary allocation from the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Development. 

13. We also solicit the support of the CRDCU in the area of partnerships with the State Government, National Economic Council (NEC) and also the National Assembly and other key Stakeholders; such as the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and the Ministry of Finance in achievement of the Ministerial Deliverables on the Review of the Land Use Act and Development of fiscal incentives for Private Investors to manufacture local building components, respectively.

14. As we evaluate our performance today, I want to appreciate the efforts of the Permananet Secretary, Heads of Agencies, our Directors and the Delivey Desk Officers towards the achievement of the Miniserial Deliverables targets. I also extend my gratitude to the Special Adviser to Mr. President on Policy and Coordination, my sister, Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman and her Team for their support and diligence in tracking of our Deliverables.

15. At the Ministry we are committed to delivering on our deliverables and even exceeding them.

Thank you.

Presentation by the Hon. Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa at the State House Gallery, Aso Villa on Sunday, 17th November 2024       

Good evening gentlemen of the Press

1. It is my honor and pleasure to share our achievements, programmes, reforms and the impact that we are making as we drive the Renewed Hope Agenda at the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
2. Everything starts with good leadership. When the vision is clear, the commitment and will to serve the country is assured, great things happen. This is what the leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR represents for Nigeria and us at the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
3. Mr. President understands how critical housing is for improving lives, creating jobs, and driving economic growth. That is why he demerged the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development from Works making it a standalone Ministry.
4. After doing this, he trusted us, appointed us and handed to us the task of implementing the Renewed Hope Agenda for Housing and Urban Development, which prioritizes:
   • Increasing housing supply to address the national housing deficit.
   • Comprehensive land reforms to facilitate access to land.
   • Strengthening urban governance and administration.
   • Establishing a National Social Housing Fund to meet the housing needs of no-income, low-income, and underprivileged Nigerians.
   • Creating Building Materials Manufacturing Hubs in each geo-political zone to reduce construction costs and create local jobs.
   • Reforming federal housing institutions, including the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), to better deliver on their mandates.
   • Amongst others.

For the first time in over 25 years, the housing and urban development sector is now receiving the priority and undivided attention that it rightfully deserves. Over the past 14 months, our ministry has worked hard to turn this vision into measurable outcomes. I am proud to report that progress is now visible, impactful, and nationwide.

5. Through the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme, we currently have 14 active construction sites nationwide, for a total of 10,112 housing units.
6. Renewed Hope Estates: We are constructing twelve estates, comprising 250 housing units each, across 12 states, with two states from each geo-political zone. States include: Yobe, Gombe (North-East); Nasarawa, Benue (North-Central); Sokoto, Katsina (North-West); Abia, Ebonyi (South-East); Delta, Akwa Ibom (South-South); totaling 3,000 units.
7. Renewed Hope Cities: These larger urban projects are being developed in the FCT (3,112 units), Kano (2,000 units), and Lagos (2,000 units), with additional cities planned in Enugu, Borno, Rivers, and Nasarawa. Our goal is to build at least one Renewed Hope City in each geo-political zone of the country and the FCT.
8. A significant number of these units are at the roofing stage, and we are working closely with the developers towards their completion and commissioning. For instance, at the Renewed Hope City in Abuja, 1,000 units are near ready with only plastering, internal features remaining. We plan to have this ready for Mr. President to commission in December.
9. Job Creation and Economic Impact: The housing sector’s potential as a driver of economic growth is evident in the job opportunities that the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme has created. At an average of 25 jobs per house, the ongoing projects have directly and indirectly generated over 252,800 jobs for Nigerians, including skilled and unskilled workers.
10. At an average daily wage of ₦5,000, many workers are earning over ₦150,000 monthly, which is far above the national minimum wage.
11. From professionals such as Architects, Civil Engineers, Surveyors, skilled workers like masons, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, steel fixers, welders to laborers, security personnel, concrete pourers, excavation workers, the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates is unlocking the potential of housing construction as a veritable source of good paying jobs that are taking our youths off the streets and reducing the temptation to indulge in criminal activities. 
12. Innovative Home Ownership Options:

Our Renewed Hope Homeownership Strategy is equally transformative. We have created a range of affordable options that Nigerians can use to own these homes once they are completed.

This includes:

• The National Housing Fund (NHF) Mortgage Loan from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria. This loan can give Nigerians up to N50million to purchage the house, pay back over 30-years, at a 6 percent interest rate instead of the 18-23 interest rates from commercial banks. What makes this NHF loan more interesting is that it requires a maximum of only 10 % equity versus the up to 30% from Commercial Banks. What this means is that if you want a N10million loan, all you need to have is N1M.
• FMBN Rent-to-own. With this product by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, contributors to the National Housing Scheme are allowed to move into homes, and pay gradually over 30 years without any upfront equity in monthly, quarterly or annual instalments towards owning the home at 7% interest rate.

I want to use this medium to appeal to Nigerians in both formal and informal employment to join the National Housing Fund (NHF) Scheme to enable them benefit from this affordable homeownership options from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria. They are the best in the market.

• Outright purchase: We have also provided for an an outright option for those Nigerians who can afford to pay upfront.
• Instalmental Payments Option is also available with up to 4 instalments allowable for convenience.

Accessing the Renewed Hope Homes is Online

13. To streamline and ensure easy, transparent and convenient access to the homes that we are building under the Renewed Hope Housing Programme, we have developed the Renewed Hope Online Housing Delivery Portal. This is an innovative and user-friendly platform where Nigerians can explore available housing units, apply, and track their ownership journey. Already, over 47,605 Nigerians have created accounts on the platform with over 1,000 paid applications recorded so far.

I call it a One-Stop Shop for Homeownership. Nigerians don’t need to lobby anyone to own a home under the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme. You simply visit the site www.renewedhopehomes.fmhud.gov.ng, check the house you want, in the state that you want, apply, pay, print a provisional letter of offer.

I am proud to say that this is first time that Nigeria is having a Central Online Platform for Housing Delivery from search, expression of interest to payment – locally and internationally. In fact, Nigerians living  abroad can remotely book a tour of the house, pay for a home in Nigeria using foreign currency online.

About two months ago, the Bureau of Public Service Reforms gave us an award as the “Best Federal MDA in Innovative Use of Technology”

14. Funding and Financial Innovations: Financing housing construction is expensive. So we have devised creative and diversified funding strategies to create impact under the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President as follows:

1. First is Budgetary Provisions: We are funding the 12 Renewed Hope Estates from the ₦50 billion 2023 Supplementary Budget. We also have an additional ₦27.2 billion allocated in the 2024 budget to complete their infrastructure fully while awaiting 2025 budget to expand the programme to cover more of the remaining states.

Second is Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): The 3 Renewed Hope Cities in FCT, Lagos and Kano are all being funded through a PPP that the Ministry signed with a consortium of developers for the delivery of 100,000 housing units nationwide. Under this strategy, the developers source land and construction finance while the government creates an enabling environment for them to deliver housing. So far, the Ministry has facilitated a N100billion Bankable Offtaker Guarantee by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) for the Karsana Renewed Hope City.  This has enabled developers to mobilize over ₦40 billion in financing—a first in the history of Nigeria’s housing sector. We have also made cross subsidy a key part of our efforts to enhance affordability for low-medium income earners to foster integrated living.  Under this concept, the housing units built in the Renewed Hope Cities will be sold at commercial rate while a substantial percentage will be sold at concessionary rates to low- and medium-income Nigerians who are members of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.

We have embraced PPPs because our housing deficit is vast and cannot be funded from budgetary allocation alone. We need to build approximately 550,000 units annually over the next decade to close this gap. This would require about N5.5 trillion per annum.

However, we recognize that PPPs alone cannot deliver Renewed Hope Affordable Housing for the majority of Nigerians. This is due to the high costs of private-sector construction financing, which significantly increase housing prices. For example, a one-bedroom apartment at the Renewed Hope City in Karsana, built under a PPP model, costs about N22 million, whereas a similar unit under the Renewed Hope Estates, funded through budgetary allocations, costs approximately N8–9 million. 

The difference lies in the cost of finance. Under the Renewed Hope City model, developers purchase the land, secure financing at double-digit interest rates, while as government, we facilate a Bankable Offtaker Guarantee from the FMBN. In contrast, Renewed Hope Estates are funded with interest-free allocations from the budget. State governments provide free land, and infrastructure costs are subsidized and excluded from the housing unit prices. These factors account for the significant price disparity between Renewed Hope Cities and Renewed Hope Estates. 

Some may question why we continue to embrace PPPs. The answer is that, as a government, we have a responsibility to serve all Nigerians by stimulating private sector participation in housing delivery. Our objective is to provide quality housing across all income levels. PPP-driven Renewed Hope Cities target high- and middle-income earners who can afford such prices, while Renewed Hope Estates cater to lower-income groups. This approach ensures that every category of Nigerians has access to suitable housing options. 

This means that while pursuing PPPs, the government must also increase funding for the Renewed Hope Housing Programme. As a Ministry, we have championed this advocacy, and there is now widespread recognition that the current N50 billion annual budget for housing is grossly inadequate compared to the N5.5 trillion required annually to address the housing deficit.

Therefore, we have engaged the National Assembly leadership and received their support for increasing the annual housing budget to a minimum of N500 billion, starting with the 2025 budget cycle. This would allow us to expand housing projects to cover the remaining 18 states and increase the unit count per state from 250 to at least 500, as initially planned.

2. The third funding strategy is International Collaborations: We are finalizing a partnership with Shelter Afrique Development Bank for the financing of 5,000 housing units under phase one, representing an estimated investment of ₦50 billion. This will be first time that the Nigerian Ministry of Housing and Urban Development will be directly leveraging housing finance from ShafDB, a Pan African institution where it is currently the largest shareholder. The ShafDB housing finance collaboration is also another Renewed Hope First that we are recording at the Ministry.
3. Fourth is Ministry Agency Contributions: Here the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) is also providing low cost funding for the Renewed Hope Cities to ensure lower price tags for housing units that target the lower and middle income segments.

15. I am also happy to report that we are optimizing the operations of the housing agencies under the supervision of our Ministry i.e. the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and enabling them to do more towards delivering the Renewed Hope Agenda for housing and Urban Development of Mr. President.
16. Between May 2023 to date, the FMBN has recorded N59.3bn in total housing loan disbursements, built 2,465 housing units at several locations nationwide, and created a total of 61,625 decent paying construction jobs. FMBN has also under the Renewed Hope Era provided single digit long term loans, home renovation, and rent to own loans to a total of 17,980 Nigerians who contribute to the National Housing Fund Scheme. The biggest intervention has been the N100billion Bankable Offtaker Guarantee that the Bank has provided for the Renewed Hope Cities project. So also Cooperative Housing Development Loan, Individual Construction Loans are intervention avenues for housing supply at concessionary rates.

17. FMBN has also introduced an innovative Rent Assistance product designed to assist qualifying Nigerians pay their rent with ease while spreading the re-payment over a one year period in monthly instalments.
18. Another agency of the Ministry, the Federal Housing Authority has successfully secured land at no cost from 20 State Governments nationwide towards the delivery of affordable housing.  The Authority is set to commence construction of 200 Renewed Hope Houses across 17 states in phase one

Effective Land Administration

19. Besides housing supply, we are also making progress in improving the land administration system in our country as we promised. Effective land governance is important to national and economic development in Nigeria. By ensuring clarity, security, and accessibility in land ownership and transactions, we lay the foundation for increased investment, both domestic and international.
20. Last month, at the 2024 National Technical Development Forum on Land Administration, we launched a new framework for fair and equitable compensation rates for crops and economic trees, ensuring adequate recompense for persons affected by government projects.
21. For example under the revised rates for matured trees in the North Central Zone: 
    • Cashew: increased from N2,000 per matured stand to N45,000 and N5.5M for a hectare. 
    • Mango: increased from N4,000 per matured stand to N105,000 and N13M per hectare.
    • Cocoa: increased from N3,000 per matured stand to N160,000 and N160M per hectare.

Now, Project Affected Persons will receive compensation that reflects current economic realities.

22. We are also about to start a National Land Registration, Documentation and Titling Programme. Our aim is to work with State Governments to register, document, and title all land parcels in the country. Our goal is to increase formalization of land transactions from less than 10% to over 50% within a decade. As you are aware we have over 300billion dollars in dead capital because land is not titled and our people cannot leverage land as an economic asset to get loans for their businesses or other investment purposes.
23. We have also enhanced the Electronic Certificate of Occupancy (e-C of O) and Land Titling System for all federal government-owned lands across Nigeria's 36 states. This system streamlines the review, approval, and issuance of Certificates of Occupancy, significantly reducing administrative delays for federal land applications.  I have, over the past few months, digitally signed over 1,000 e CoOs on federal government landed properties nationwide.
24. We have also expanded the Ministry’s Urban Renewal and Slum Upgrade Programme. Under Phase 1 of the Slum Upgrading Programme, the Ministry has projects ongoing in a total of 54 sites completed nationwide and 56 sites ongoing spread across 6 geo political zones. The key services provided at the identified sites include water supply, solar streetlights, rehabilitation of access roads, construction of drainages and waste management and sanitation services amongst others.
25. We have also made significant progress in our efforts to establish a National Social Housing Fund (NSHF) in line with Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda to ensure that all Nigerians including the LOW AND NO INCOME, vulnerable and underprivileged groups have access to decent and dignified accommodation. We are currently completing both a memo to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and an Executive Bill to the National Assembly for the creation of a National Social Housing Fund. Potential sources of funding include budgetary provision, donations from philantrophic organizations, Corporate Social Responsibility and voluntary donations from Nigerians.
26. We have already reached advanced levels of engagements with international donor agencies and we hope that we shall begin to see the fruits of these engagemenst soon. We also have some willing and capable potential investors in the NSHF who are working to meet the requirements of the Infrastructure Concessionary and Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
27. Furthermore, we have also made substantial progress in the establishment of Building Materials Manufacturing Hubs. The report by the Task Team is ready, feasibility studies have already identified the viable locations where we are to acquire land for siting them. We also have willing investors who are engaging with us to commence work in three locations for a start. We are designing the hubs under a Build Operate and Transfre arrangement. Investors will provide all the relevant infrastructure including power for building materials manufacturers to thrive. We also want to leverage on alternative sources of energy like solar, wind energy to make the hubs viable for investors . The Importance of hubs cannot be overemphasized. They create jobs and stimulate economic development.
28. Other ancillary things that we are doing at the ministry include the maintenance of public buildings nationwide. We have currently awarded contracts for five new federal secretariats in Ebonyi, Abia, Kogi, Kebbi, Taraba to house all federal government agencies.
29. The already commissioned ones are being furnished, the dilapadted are being rehabilitated nationwide
30. At the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, we remain committed to delivering on Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda for Housing and Urban Development. Our aim is to follow his leadership and use the opportunity, political will and privilege that he has given us to build a Nigeria where every citizen has access to affordable, decent housing and a thriving urban environment.
31. Thank you for your attention.

Long Live Nigeria

Long Live Mr. President