Remarks by The Hon. Minister of Housing and Urban Development Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, At The Launch of The 250-Housing Unit Renewed Hope Estate In Katsina on Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024
Protocols
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. Before I start, I would like to take time out to especially appreciate my dear friend, brother, and political ally, His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Katsina State, Dr. Dikko Radda, for honoring our invitation to be a part of today’s event. Your Excellency, accept our gratitude. We thank you for the good work that you are doing for Katsina. The results are clear and visible. We are very proud of you.
2. Home, they say, and rightfully so is everything. And today, I am really excited to be home as a Katsina indigene and, by the special grace of Allah, the Hon. Minister of Housing and Urban Development, to perform the groundbreaking for a 250-housing unit Renewed Hope Estate.
3. This is the first housing project that I will be breaking ground on here in Katsina since my appointment by His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and I believe that with the continual support of His Excellency, the Governor, we shall be doing more.
4. This is also the first Renewed Hope Estate that I will be breaking ground on, and I am happy that I am doing so in my home state. It is said that all things start from home.
5. The Renewed Hope Estate in Katsina 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.
6. We have designed these housing units in a way that makes it easy and affordable for people to offtake. We have used organic designs to allow for future expansion as the income of beneficiaries increases. What this means is that the 1-bedroom can be expanded to 2 bedrooms and a 2-bedroom expandable to 3 bedrooms as the owner’s financial situation improves or he grows in service. I want to task the developers of this project, Messrs K-4 Engineering Ltd, WindLand Engineering & Properties Ltd, Real Phenomenon Integral Services Ltd and Saltine Engineering Services Ltd to ensure that they build according to specifications and delivers a quality job as substandard work will not be tolerated. We also want to have this work finished within the next three months so that we can begin the process of offtake for Katsina indigenes.
7. We have also created different options to enable everyone who has a source of income and livelihood to own the homes when they are completed. These include single-digit mortgage loans with up to 30-year terms provided by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Rent-to-Own schemes, and Outright Purchase options for those who can afford to pay upfront.
8. As you are aware, I had the privilege and honor of serving as the Managing Director/Chief Executive of FMBN, and it is my belief that Allah made me Minister of Housing and Urban Development to continue with the work that we did with the support of His Excellency, our former Governor, Rt. Hon. Bello Masari, as committed Katsina Progressives.
9. I want to say that today's event is part of a larger vision of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, when he launched the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates project with a 3,112-housing unit project in Karsana, Abuja, earlier this year.
10. Under Phase One, we plan to deliver a total of 50,000 housing units across Nigeria. The cities will have between 500 - 1,000 housing units per site in one location in each of the six geopolitical zones in the country and the FCT, while the estates will have 250 units per site in the remaining thirty (30) states.
11. The Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme is designed to be a catalyst for economic growth. Each housing unit is expected to create an average of 25 direct and indirect jobs, translating to approximately 6,250 jobs for the 250 units here in Katsina alone.
12. Nationwide, we currently have estates in 12 locations and 3 cities across the country. The estates include those in Katsina, Yobe, Gombe, Abia, Nasarawa, Benue, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Sokoto, Oyo, and Osun. The cities are in Abuja, Kano, and Lagos.
13. After here, we will be in Kano to do groundbreaking for 500 housing units, 250 units in Yobe, and another 250 units in Gombe. In total, we are breaking ground for 1,250 housing units across four states in Northern Nigeria. These projects will serve as catalysts for economic growth, job creation, and social development in our communities.
14. The funding for these projects comes from the N50 billion 2023 Supplementary Budget of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. We have already awarded contracts for 3,500 housing units in thirteen states, demonstrating our commitment to rolling out these developments nationwide. States not covered under the 2023 Supplementary Budget will be included in the 2024 Budget, and I urge all State Governments yet to provide land for these projects to do so promptly.
15. At this juncture, I also want to appreciate and thank His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Katsina State, for promptly granting our request for the provision of land at no cost. Your Excellency, we appreciate your commitment to embracing initiatives that bring development to our dear State.
16. 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.
Long live Katsina and His Excellency, the Executive Governor.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Long live Mr. President.
