Infrastructure Development: Key to Socio - Economic Development ... Mu'azu Sambo The newly appointed Minister of State for Works and Housing, Mr. Mu'azu Jaji Sambo has reiterated the fact that infrastructure development is germane to the socio- economic development of any nation, adding that Nigeria is not an exception. Sambo made the reaffirmation today Wednesday December 29, 2021 while addressing management and staff of the Ministry led by the Permanent Secretary,  Babangida Hussaini who received him on assumption of office. Sambo said, "Mr. President is a blessing to this country. I keep saying that the skeptics will not realize this until His Excellency  is gone; but some of us who know that socio-economic development is tied to massive infrastructure development know that President Muhammadu Buhari has chosen the right course." The Minister cited China and Dubai in the United Arab Emirate as examples of nations that have developed rapidly due to their Infrastructural development. “I will be fulfilled  if within the time  I am going to be here I am able to help Mr. President leave some legacies behind in infrastructure development across the country. " The Minister expressed appreciation for the warm reception accorded him by the management and staff of the Ministry. He expressed his readiness to work assiduously and harmoniously with the Honourable Minister of Works and Housing , Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola,  SAN who he described as a man of high intellect, competence and passion for development. He said, “I assure you that I am a team player.  I will work and cooperate as much as possible with Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN whom I have known from Lagos as a man of high intellect, competence,  a man with a passion for development. I am ready to support him in achieving the agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari." Earlier the Permanent Secretary Federal Minsitry of Works and Housing, Babangida Hussaini in his welcome address congratulated the Minister of State on his appointment and pledged the unalloyed support and cooperation of  the management and staff of the Ministry in the discharge of his responsibilities. The Permanent Secretary informed the Minster of State that alot had been achieved in terms of Infrastructural development by this administration as a result of the strategic plans mapped out by the Honourable Minister of Works and Housing,  Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN. Hussaini assured the new Minster that he would not find it difficult to work with others in the Ministry as everyone is in high spirit to work relentlessly to achieve the mandate set by Mr.  President for the Ministry. Mu’azu Jaji Sambo who was appointed Minister of State for Works and Housing on Friday, December 24, 2021 was born in Jalingo,Taraba State on the 7th of September,  1959. He attended Muhammed Nya Primary School from 1967 to 1973. He proceeded to Federal Government College Maiduguri between 1973 and 1978 where he obtained his WASC with grade one - distinction. He further attended the School of Basic Studies Ahmadu Bello University  Zaria, Kaduna State  from 1978 to 1979 before proceeding to obtain  a Bachelor of Science Degree  in  Building with Second Class Upper from the same institution between 1979 and 1982. He has a wealth of experience as he had worked in various capacities with several organisations both in the public and private sectors such as the National Inland Waterways Authority, Nigerian Ports Authority, Nicon Insurance Corporation, Allied Bank of Nigeria and Savannah Bank of Nigeria Plc. He bagged many awards when he served with the National Inland Waterways. These include the Meritorious Service Award on Retirement in 2019, Best Area Office Award from 2017 - 2019, Special commendation for initiating and construction of new Area Office, Lagos in 2014 and Best Area Manager for Revenue Generation, Collection - Port Harcourt in 2010 and Special commendation on successful completion of the construction of Nicon Insurance Corporation Headquarters in Abuja to mention but a few. He belongs to the following professional organisations: Nigerian Institute of Building, Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria, (MCRBN) and the Nigerian Institute of Management. ...

Over 10, 000 Applicants Subscribe To FG’s National Housing Programme * As Ministry advices against use of invalid documents As Nigerians continue to respond with enthusiasm to the Ministry of Works and Housing’s portal recently opened for an opportunity to subscribe to the Federal Government’s National Housing Programme, over 10,000 applications have been received through the portal. However, following dedicated attention to the processing of the applications by the Web Management Team, the Ministry has advised applicants to ensure strict compliance to the requirements by uploading complete and only valid documents on the portal. Responding to complaints by subscribers having difficulty in applying, the Ministry has re-emphasised the requirements for the online registration for the prospective applicants to be valid and successful as; passport photograph, current certified Tax Clearance/Payment Slip  and means of Identification such as current National I.D, Drivers licences, International passport and Voter Card as well as letter of first appointment and Gazette of confirmation of appointment (for Public Servants). The Ministry explained the reasons why some applications are not successful to include; not having current Tax Clearance Certificate, evidence of Tax Clearance, no Pay Slip, non-submission of Memorandum of Acceptance (MOA), incomplete or inconsistent documents and not having valid means of Identification or submission of expired one. The Ministry assured that all prospective applicants who complied with all the registration requirements will have a hitch free subscription and successful applicants for the homes will be notified via the e-mail addresses they supplied.  Alternatively, applicants can log in to their profile to check the status of their application. The Ministry had recently launched an online Web-Portal: https://nhp.worksandhousing,gov.ng  for the sales of the completed houses across some states of the federation and the online sales is on-going. The National Housing Programme (NHP) is a Federal Government of Nigeria’s development agenda for addressing Housing needs. The programme commenced in the year 2016 in 34 States and the FCT. Following an approval by the Federal Executive Council, the completed housing units all over the country are to be sold to low and medium income groups through mortgage and Rent-to-Own subscription windows With the unveiling of the portal, Nigerians can now apply for the houses in the 34 states and  FCT of the country by paying a Non-Refundable application fee of N10, 000.00 (Ten Thousand Naira) only through Remita. Thereafter, a pin would be generated for the applicant access to the portal to complete the application process. The breakdown of the status update as recorded on they web-portal platforms as at Thursday, shows that, out of the total number of 10,543 applicants, 10,206 applications are pending, 238 applications have been successfully submitted and 115 applications were approved. The Ministry hereby appeal for strict compliance with the stipulated requirements for easy processing and approval of applications. ...

Senate Committee Expresses Satisfaction As Nhp Portal Receives 7,315 Applications In Seven Days ·      As Fashola defends 2022 Budget before Senate Committee on Housing ·       Minister assures that there will be continuous review and updating of the process in order to maintain transparency, quality control ·      “We are also impressed that the data you gave to us showed that you’ve launched out.You’ve hit the ground running,” says Committee Chairman. As Nigerians respond positively to the Ministry of Works and Housing portal opened last Tuesday for a chance to subscribe to the over 5,000 houses under the Federal Government’s National Housing Programme, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, has announced that a total of 7,315 applications for allocation have already been received by the Ministry. Fashola, who appeared before the Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development in continuation of the defense of the 2022 Budget of his Ministry, also submitted to the Committee the documents showing the number of applications submitted and those completed and undergoing processing as well as a breakdown of the number according to States.  And at the end of the defense, which took the form of a robust interaction, the Committee expressed satisfaction at the development in the Housing Sector with many, including the Chairman, Senator Sam Egwu, noting with delight that with the portal now opened, the Ministry has really launched out.  Explaining the criteria for pricing of the different categories of houses, the Minister, who said the prices ranged from N7.2 million, representing the lowest and N16.5 million representing the highest price, pointed out that one of the factors that made the difference in price between the Programme’s houses and those being built by private developers was size.  He told members of the Committee that the categories of the houses under the programme included 1, 2, 3 bed rooms semi- detached bungalows and condominium, (blocks of flats), adding that there are also price differentials among the categories of houses based also on the size and space with all the bungalows, for example, having adjoining land thereby making it more expensive than the flats. Fashola explained on the prices placed on the categories of houses further, “When compared with what is obtainable in the Private Sector in terms of size, the one bedroom with 77sqm of living space, two bedroom with 90sqm, and the three bedroom with 137sqms, are by far larger than houses built by private developers and justifies the prices placed on them.” The Minister, who also noted that one bedroom flat in condominium, is 60sqms, two bedroom flats, 76sqms while the 3 bedroom flat is 110sqms, all of which, pointed out that they are more spacious than what is available in the conventional market, adding, “You cannot get them at such price in the market”. Urging the lawmakers and other interested Nigerians to engage with the portal for answers to all the relevant questions, including quality, size and appearance of the house in any location across the country, the Minister declared, “Our thinking is informed by what we have experienced in parts of our lives and what we think is best practice. We think this is the digital age and we should begin to do things that are consistent with the age, not printing and selling forms”. In response to a question on possible manipulation of the system, he explained, “We should not be creating unnecessary bureaucracies that will bring about unnecessary human interactions and possibly some of the manipulations you refer to”, adding, “that does not mean that any system cannot be manipulated but we think that this is consistent with the objective of government”. “We are now in a country where we now buy air tickets with our handheld devices. We book hotels with our handheld devices. I don’t see why we can’t buy and sell houses with our handheld devices and I have done it as Governor in Lagos and I thought we should try it at the national level”, the Minister said noting that the Federal Government itself has said that everybody should subscribe to various identification means like BVN and so on. “We think that that is where we should be going”, he said. Noting that the portal was launched barely a week ago, Fashola again urged, “Let us give it time to evolve and I think that 7,315 applications from Nigerians within this time is a very enthusiastic response”, adding that all those who had applied had paid N10,000 online to the Remita platform. “So contrary to the assumptions that because conditions are difficult, that form that you would have sold in printed form is being sold digitally and government is collecting the money for administrative purposes”, the Minister said adding that although it is open to all Nigerians, some of the conditions that address facelessness include having a passport photograph and a tax clearance certificate and other means of identification like national ID, driver’s license or International passport.   Responding to concerns raised about affordability of the houses, “Affordability is not just a function of the cost but also the mode of payment,” adding that in order to take care of that aspect, the Ministry created the mortgage and Rent-to-Own options so that the payment could be spread over time.   On whether the Ministry was not duplicating the works of its agencies, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Fashola, who noted that the Ministry as head and supervisor of the agencies, was only carrying out a pilot project from which the agencies would continue to roll out in the future.  In his closing remarks, the Chairman of the Committee, and former Governor of Ebonyi State, Senator Sam Egwu, noted that the Minister had done justice to all the questions and thanked him for his diligence and commitment to housing delivery.      “You will agree with me that the Minister has done justice to the questions we have asked him. We are also impressed that the data you gave to us showed that you’ve launched out. You’ve hit the ground running. So, we’ll continue to interact with you … Like I said, we are happy and my members are happy, that is why the Chairman House Committee is here too…”, the Chairman of the Committee said.    Also present at the meeting were the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Babangida Hussaini and Directors in the Housing Sector of the Ministry, Special Advisers and other relevant Ministry officials.   ...