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.
