We are Committed to Improving Staff Welfare  - Dangiwa

....Engages Tulsi Foundation Hospital to provide Free Medical Eye Test, Care for ministry's staff

As part of its commitment to improving  the welfare and well being of staff, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, has engaged the Tulsi Chanrai Foundation Eye Hospital, Abuja to provide free eye medical tests and care for the staff of the ministry.

While declaring the commencement of the free eye care exercise, Minister Arc Ahmed Dangiwa, stated that, welfare of staff is paramount in order to build a healthy workforce to attain high performance. According to the minister, the eye hospital service delivery is not for profit venture rather service to humanity.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, described the free eye medical test for the stsff of the ministry as a milestone in response to staff welfare, pointing out that the issue of welfare is not only limited to money, but it covers the overall wellbeing of the staff. Dr Ogunbiyi applauded Minister, Arc Ahmed  Dangiwa for bringing this free eye medical care, saying that it is the first of its kind in the ministry.

The coordinator of the Tulsi Chanrai Eye Hospital Foundation,  commended the minister for the gesture, ssying that he didn't hesitate in welcoming the idea after mentioning it to him.

Housing Ministry Inaugurates Delivery Task Team on Presidential Priorities, Deliverables

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Marcus Ogunbiyi, PhD has inaugurated a delivery task team on the Presidential Priorities and Ministry's Deliverables.

The task team is a 25-man team drawn from the Ministry’s Headquarters, alongside some Agencies of the Ministry.

In his address, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi expressed optimism that the inauguration of the task teams would mark a turn around for Ministry’s activities in the sense that all departments would be responsive, having the knowledge that all activities would be monitored and reported in order to reflect the Presidential mandate of outstanding performance. 

He emphasized on the importance of the task team, urging the team to know their roles and responsibilities as well as take their duties very seriously in order to execute their tasks excellently.

Dr. Ogunbiyi informed the team that there would be quarterly reporting and assessment on the Ministerial and Presidential deliverables, and as such, an awareness seminar would be organized for the task team where more details of their tasks would be unveiled.

“We must be able to monitor and guide all the activities to know where we are at a given time”, he stated.

The Permanent Secretary also stressed the importance of generating accurate data by the task team, adding that there was need for efficient and effective method of collecting and managing data such that would capture every task the team would embark on.

In his remarks, the Special Adviser to the Honourable Minister on Administration, Adamu Ladan, noted that it was an honour and a milestone in the Ministry to inaugurate the task team because the present administration has taken the initiative which is a very fundamental one to the deliverable of its mandate.

He advised the task team to consider themselves very critical and key to the implementation of the Ministry’s mandate and so should take every task very importantly.

Referring to a law by the Central Coordinating Unit (CCU), Ladan advised that every data provided would be accounted for, stressing that every tiny detail in the implementation of the ministry’s deliverables must be captured so that the data being supplied will be cogent.

“We shouldn’t be found wanting in any aspect of our deliverable, so I urge us to pay attention to the tasks assigned to us and carry it out responsibly”, he stated.

Speaking on behalf of the task team, Director Planning Research and Statistics of the Ministry, Mohammed Bala Saulawa, appreciated the Permanent Secretary and the Honourable Minister for his support, encouragement as well as the responsibility given to them.

Saulawa assured the Permanent of their commitment to always come up with accurate and reliable data that would make the Ministry as a whole, proud.

He also disclosed that the department was working seriously to meet up with the timeline set by the CCU and as a result, issued a circular to all departments to submit their performance and achievements in order for a presentation to be made to the Honourable Minister and the Permanent Secretary before any action by the CCU.

He further appreciated the Permanent Secretary for approving a workshop for the task team officers and also pledged on behalf of the team to deliver their responsibilities effectively.

ADDRESS BY THE DIRECTOR (FINANCE & ACCOUNTS), BARR. OKORO OSONDU PETER ON THE OCCATION OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE IPSAS IMPLIMANTATION COMMITTEE OF THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT HELD ON FRIDAY, 14^TH FEBUARY 2025 AT THE DFA’S OFFICE, FEDERAL MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, MABUSHI-ABUJA.

 It is my pleasure to welcome you as member of this important committee and to congratulate you for being found worthy to serve in this capacity. Today marks a significant milestone in our journey towards enhancing transparency, accountability and effective financial reporting.

2. Your committee is expected to implement all the operational guidelines issued by the office of the Accountant -General of the Federation vide Treasury Circular Ref.No TRY/A5 & B5/2014 OAGF/CAD/POL./C.0301/VOL.1 dated 23^rd October ,2014 captioned “steps to successful Implementation of International Public sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) Accrual Basis in Nigeria by 2016” that will ensure the successful implementation of IPSAS by the ministry especially on the Identification,  measurement and Disclosure in our books of account and financial statement, all Non-current Assets of the Ministry including Legacy Assets (Property, Plant and Equipment) acquired prior to commencement of IPSAS Accrual effective 1^st January 2016.Moreso, with the recent pronouncement by the Accountant-General of the Federation of the intention to sanction MDA,s that fail to upload their Legacy Assets to the GIFMIS platform on or before 31^st December,2024 so as to reduce drastically the negative Net Assets of about 33 Trillion Naira which is not good for the Financial Position of the country.

3. I therefore charge you to work collaboratively, leveraging your collective expertise to overcome any obstacles and achieve the committee’s goals. I also want to assure you of my resolve to provide necessary support towards a seamless discharge of your duty.

4.  Again I congratulate you on your nomination to serve the nation in this capacity. I wish you God’s guidance.

5.  It is therefore my honour and privilege to inaugurate the IPSAS Implementation committee of the Federal Ministry of Housing & Urban Development.

 Thank you all!         

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.