Minister Of State, Suleiman Zarma Urges National Housing Contractors To Plant Economic Trees Round The Estates

In continuation of his inspection tour of on- going Federal Government projects in the North- Central geo-political Zone, of the country, Minister of State 11, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Surv Suleiman Hassan Zarma has urged contractors handling the construction  of the National Housing Programme (NHP) to plant economic trees that will not only green the estates but add economic value to the residents when government eventually dispose the houses to Nigerians.

The Minister said he would rather prefer economic trees to the aesthetic ones in view of their health and economic benefits. He said trees should not be planted to merely beautify an environment without adding any value to residents. He added that trees such as Mangoes, oranges, nime, pineapples etc will benefit the people more..

Zarma also inspected several road projects in Nassarawa, Benue and Plateau States. He acknowledged the substantial work recorded at some of the roads but decried the slow pace of some of them. He cautioned that government will no longer tolerate delays by contractors in delivery dates of government projects. According to him, “Government is eager to open up all the roads for economic activities, we don’t want excuses from contractors, more so when Government is not owing you”.

The Minister commended RCC, contractors handling the Loko- Oweto bridge for the standard quality and materials used in the construction of the bridge noting, that Nigerians were eager to have the bridge ready soon as it is strategically constructed as an access corridor to  link Nassarawa and Benue States with the South- East States. The bridge is about 96% completed.

Zarma also paid courtesy visits to Governors Umaru Tanko Al Makura of Nassarawa State, Samuel Ortom of Benue and Simon Dalung of Plateau State. The Minister restated the administration’s commitment to deliver critical infrastructure,  particularly improved power supply, motorable roads and housing for the benefits of Nigerians whom he said are “thirsty and hungry” for improved living standards.

The state governors  in their separate responses, said they will continue to  partner with the Federal Government to deliver goods and services to the people and also assured that the state governments are more than ready to provide additional hectares of land for the take off of the second phase of the National Housing Programme. 

The Minister used the occasion of the courtesy visit to request for additional lands from the states governors for the Family Hommes Funds, a social housing project from the office of the Vice President to add to the housing stock and targeting the low income earners. According to him, he was making the plea in his capacity as the chairman of the Lands and Infrastructure sub committee of the project, adding that the fund is targeting the provision of 100,000 houses annually.

Roads inspected in the states include: Rehabilitation of Nassarawa-Loko Road with Alushi Loop Phase 1, Lafia- Obi- Awe-Tunga Road in Nassarawa state,  Dualisation of Otukpo Township Road to Enugu, Rehabilitation of 9th Mile Otukpo- Makurdi, Oshegbudu- Oweto Phase 11 in Benue. Also, in Plateau State, the Minister and his team inspected the construction of the Pankshin-Ballang- Nyelleng-Sara-Lere-Gindiri road and the Pankshin-Tsphin- Gambar- Gindiri road.

The Minister also inspected the 22.5MVA capacitor bank and 1&60 MVA,132&33KVA Power transformer at the Keffi sub station in Nassarawa state and the additional 1&60 MVA transformer at the 132KV sub regional station in Jos South, Plateau state aimed at expanding power supply to Jos and its surroundings.

FG Moves To End Housing Deficit: Initiates Family Homes Fund Housing Project To Deliver Affordables Housing Accross The Nation

The Federal Government in a bid to finding lasting solutions to the huge national housing deficit in the country, the Economic Management Team of the Federal Government hasset up a Family Homes Fund Task Force to facilitate the implementation and delivery of the Family Homes Housing Project across the nation.

Speaking during the in augural meeting of the Land and Infrastructure and Off –take Sub – Committees for the project, the Chairman and Minister of State II for Power, Works and Housing, Surv. Suleiman Hassan, mnis, stated that the project is a new widow intended to deliver more affordable houses to Nigerians. He noted that the essence is to consistently deliver about 100 housing units annually and create more jobs to the teaming unemployed Nigerians.

The Minister added that the Land and Infrastructure sub-committee is to engage with relevant state governments and stakeholders on prime locations of land in the various states of the Federation. Also, the Offtake Sub - Committee is to determine a model for the participation of staff housing cooperatives, adding that this will be able to take care of retired civil servants, officers and personnel of the security forces.

The Minister enjoined members of the sub-committees to bring their wealth of experience to bear in order to actualize this laudable initiative of the Federal Government geared towards the delivery of affordable mass housing.

In her response, representative of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack stated that affordable and quality houses is a key issue that the government is pursuing, adding that members of the Offtake sub-committee will do the needful in meeting up with the task ahead.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu noted that one of the most important aims of the Family Home Project is to identify the financing requirements, draw up a sustainable financing of the models, structure of financing and buy-in of relevant Agencies including the Nigerian Mortgage Re-Financing Corporation for the continuity of the programme.

REMARKS BY THE HON. MINISTER OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, ARC. AHMED MUSA DANGIWA, AT THE ZOOM MEETING WITH HER EXCELLENCY, DR. SANIA A. ANSARI, CHAIRPERSON, ANSARI GROUP LTD, UAE, ON MONDAY JULY 22, 2024

Protocols:

- Your Excellency, Dr. Sania A. Ansari, Chairperson, Ansari Group

- Officials of the Ansari Group

      - Deputy Director, Middle East and Gulf Division,  Amb. Murtala Jimoh.

- The Hon. Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Alh. Abdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo.

- The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi

- Directors, Special Assistants, and other Ministry staff on this Zoom Meeting.

1. First, I would like to thank Her Excellency, Dr. Sania A. Ansari, and her team for setting up this meeting. We were supposed to have held this meeting in person earlier but it could not take place but I am happy that we are here today to engage.
2. I want to assure your Excellency, that at the Ministry we consider partnerships, bi/multilateral collaborations, and private sector engagements as key ingredients to success.
3. This is because we need them to boost our efforts to address Nigeria’s housing and urban challenges, increase access to affordable housing across all income groups, and ensure that the sector maximally contributes to the Renewed Hope Vision of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to build a $1 trillion economy and lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.
4. We are keen to partner with Ansari Group because of the wealth of experience, technical and financial capacity that it possesses. We are aware that you have over 25 years of experience in the global financing industry, built relationships with investors and raised billions of dollars across all sectors of the economy, including real estate.
5. We are also aware that you have a partnership with the United Nations Habitat Settlement Programme in its bid to launch the SDG 1,000 Cities by 2030, which aims to impact 1,000 lives at an estimated cost of over $4 trillion. We want to say that this UN initiative aligns perfectly with our own goal to provide sustainable and inclusive urban development across Nigeria.
6. As articulated in the New Urban Agenda, “Cities can be massive agents of positive change if they are well-planned, built, and governed.” They can act as catalysts for inclusion and powerhouses of equitable economic growth.
7. However, achieving this potential often has its many challenges. Critical issues such as inadequate data, ineffective urban governance systems, limited capacities in urban planning, and insufficient funding impede the realization of sustainable urbanization.
8. It is against this background that our Ministry is implementing the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme which His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu launched in February, 2024. Under this initiative, we plan to deliver a total of 50,000 housing units across Nigeria in Phase One. The Cities will have 1,000 housing units per site in one location in each of the six geo-political zones and the FCT, while the Estates will have 250 housing units per site in the remaining thirty (30) states. So far we have done groundbreaking for two Renewed Hope Cities (FCT and Kano), and Renewed Hope Estates in twelve States (Ebonyi, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Osun, Benue, Nasarawa, Oyo, Katsina, Yobe, Gombe and Sokoto) making a total of 6,612 homes.
9. We have designed the Renewed Hope Cities as integrated living communities targeting all income brackets. They comprise one-bedroom blocks of flats, two-bedroom blocks of flats, and three-bedroom blocks of flats; two-, three-, and four-bedroom terraces; four-bedroom duplexes; and five-bedroom duplexes.
10. On the other hand, we have conceptualized the Renewed Hope Estates to cater to low- and medium-income earners. They comprise one-, two-, and three-bedroom semi-detached bungalows. To enhance affordability and ease of offtake, we used organic designs where one bedroom can be expanded to two-bedrooms and three-bedrooms as the income of beneficiaries increases over time.
11. I am pleased to inform you that we have incorporated sustainable design measures to ensure that the cities and estates are climate smart and environmentally friendly.
12. The funding for these projects will come from a mix of sources, including the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s budgetary allocation, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), and Public Private Partnerships with reputable developers. We look forward to the Ansari Group coming on board as a major PPP partner.
13. 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 rates while a substantial percentage will be sold at concessionary rates to low- and medium-income Nigerians.
14. The Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme is a necessity to tackle Nigeria’s rapid population growth, meet the rising demand for housing and urban infrastructure, congestion, and strained infrastructure.
15. It is also designed as a catalyst for economic growth. The construction and development of these new areas will generate employment opportunities, stimulate local businesses, and attract investments. The 50,000 housing units that we plan to deliver under Phase One will create 1,250,000 direct and indirect construction jobs. This is in addition to the value chain effects of purchasing, supplying building materials, and businesses around the construction sites.
16. As you may be aware, Nigeria has a 200million population with an annual growth rate of 2.5 percent per annum. We have a huge housing deficit that requires us to build 550,000 housing units per annum over the next ten years. This requires about N5.5Trillion Annually (equivalent of about $300bn USD).
17. The 50,000 units we plan to deliver under phase one of the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme is relatively ambitious but small when compared to the size of the problem and the quantum of resources required. That is why we are looking to PPPs and collaborations with organizations such as yours that we can leverage to bridge the gap.
18. Also, in line with Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda to ensure that all Nigerians, including those with no income, vulnerable, and underprivileged groups, have access to decent and dignified accommodation, we are working to establish a National Social Housing Fund (NSHF). We believe that access to decent shelter is not only a necessity but a human right, and that all Nigerians across all income segments deserve a decent home to live and grow.
19. The National Social Housing Fund is very important in our plans to increase access to decent housing to Nigerians and will also appreciate your Group’s partnership towards making it a reality and creating impact. As you may be aware, Nigeria is a low-income country with weak purchasing power. In fact, 85% of Nigeria’s 43m households have less than N1.1M purchasing power per annum (equivalent of $730USD): (17.2m fall into poverty-income group; 20.2m fall into the low-income group). This large group of Nigerians lack the financial capacity to own homes based on market rates and even through existing government programmes such as the National Housing Fund (NHF) Scheme.
20. Our government has realised that the only practical strategy to tackling this challenge is through a TRANSPARENT, ACCOUNTABLE and IMPACT-DRIVEN social housing system that blends budgetary allocation, PPPs, donations from charity and philantropic organizations, corporate social responsibility.
21. We would therefore appreciate a partnership with you in this regard particularly towards accessing concessionary funding from investors, donations, grants from charity organizations and philantrophic bodies.
22. Another equally important area of interest to our country and the Ministry is encouraging the local manufacture of building materials. We plan to establish one building materials manufacturing hubs in each of the six (6) geopolitical zones of the country. We envision the Manufacturing hubs to have proper infrastructure including access to uninterrupted power, linkage roads, housing etc. This is still in line with our goal to lower the cost of housing construction, enhance access to homeownership, create local jobs and boost economic development.
23. We are currently exploring potential partners and investors that we can work with to set the Building Manufacturing Hubs and would also like your support in this regard.
24. I have taken time to go through these key initiatives to establish clarity on the key areas of need for a possible collaboration and partnership between the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the Ansari Group. As a government, we are clear on what we want to do and are making efforts.
25. As an international global firm, we would like to partner with the Ansari Group in the areas of technical capacity building, raising concessionary financing for the expansion of our Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme, implementation our National Social Housing Fund and establishment of Building Materials Manufacturing Hubs across the country.
26. Once again, I would like to thank Her Excellency, Dr. Sania A. Ansari for setting up this meeting.
27. I really hope that at the end of the deliberations in this meeting we shall come up with an actionable document that helps us to achieve our goals of building affordable, sustainable and environmentally friendly cities and communities as well as tackling systemic challenges that have worked against housing development in our dear country, Nigeria.
28. Thank you.

Remarks By The Hon. Minister Of Housing And Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, At The Ground-Breaking For The 250-Housing Unit Renewed Hope Estate In Oyo State On Tuesday, July 9, 2024

Protocols

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

First, I would like to thank His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, Oluwaseyi Abiodun Makinde for honoring our invitation to the groundbreaking for a 250-housing unit Renewed Hope Estate here in the State’s capital. This event was originally scheduled to hold last week but we had to move it forward owing to a presidential engagement. I thank His Excellency for understanding with us and regret all inconveniences that may have been caused by the change of schedule. 

Today’s ceremony is a continuation of the nationwide groundbreaking exercise for housing projects under the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, which His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, launched in February with the groundbreaking of a 3,112-housing unit in Karsana, Abuja.

Under Phase One of this programme, we plan to deliver a total of 50,000 housing units across Nigeria. This includes 7 Renewed Hope Cities that will have between 500 and 1,000 housing units per site in each of the six geopolitical zones in the country and the FCT, while the Renewed Hope Estates will have 250 units per site in the remaining thirty (30) states.

With this housing programme, we plan to unlock the massive potential of housing development to create jobs, uplift lives, and boost economic development. This is in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President to STIMULATE INCLUSIVE GROWTH, LIFT 100 MILLION NIGERIANS OUT OF POVERTY, AND BUILD A $1 TRILLION ECONOMY.

As you may recall, last month, following the presidential launch of the programme in Abuja, we embarked on the first leg of this exercise with the groundbreaking of 1,500 housing units in the northern part of Nigeria. This includes 250-housing unit Renewed Hope Estates, one each in Katsina, Yobe, Gombe, and Sokoto, and a 500-housing unit Renewed Hope City in Kano. Work is currently ongoing at each of these sites, and our plan is to have all of them completed within the next couple of months and made available to Nigerians in line with Mr. President’s desire to provide quality housing for all Nigerians. UNDER THE RENEWED HOPE AGENDA, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING A ZERO TOLERANCE FOR UNCOMPLETED PROJECTS.

Today’s event in Oyo completes the second leg of the exercise with groundbreaking for a total of 2,000 Renewed Hope Housing Units across eight (8) states in the South and North Central. We started two weeks ago on Wednesday July 26th with 250 units in Ebonyi. Same week Thursday we were in Abia for another 250 units, Friday we were in Akwa Ibom for another 250 units, and Saturday we were in Delta State for another 250 units. 

Last week Monday we were in Osun State to flag off 250 units. Friday we proceeded to Benue State to break ground for 250 units and Saturday we were in Nasarawa State to flag off another 250 units. Today’s groundbreaking in Oyo, marks the 8th under the second leg and the 13th location since the Presidential flag off in February with a total of 3,500 housing units.  

This estate 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.

We have designed these housing units in a way that makes them affordable for people to acquire by using organic designs to allow for future expansion as the income of beneficiaries increases. This means that a 1-bedroom unit can be expanded to 2 bedrooms, and a 2-bedroom unit can also be expanded to 3 bedrooms as the owner’s financial situation improves or their family grows.

As we perform this groundbreaking, I want to charge the contractors
1. Messrs Skyhawk Nig. Ltd
2. Messrs Plusvaz Nigeria Ltd
3. Messrs Blue Sea Investment Ltd
4. Messrs Harama Global Ltd

to ensure that they build according to specifications. I want to emphasize in very strong terms that we will not tolerate substandard work from any developer, and we will explore all necessary legal means, to ensure that they deliver as per the contract. IF YOU COLLECT GOVERNMENT MONEY, YOU MUST DO THE WORK.

We also want the developers to adhere to the timeline and finish within three months so that we can begin the process of getting Oyo indigenes to purchase and move in.

To ensure affordability, we have created different options to enable everyone who has a source of income and livelihood to own these homes when they are completed. These include single-digit mortgage loans that beneficiaries can repay over 30 years, rent-to-own schemes provided by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, and outright purchase options for those who can afford to pay upfront.

Statistics show that the construction of one housing unit creates an average of 25 direct and indirect jobs. So, for these 250 housing units in Oyo State, we hope to create jobs for over 6,500 people in various trades, from professionals like architects, civil engineers, and mechanical engineers to masons, plumbers, tilers, electricians, and laborers. We have seen unskilled workers at other project sites earning as much as N35,000 per week, at an average of N5,000 per day. This amounts to about N140,000 per month.

This is in addition to the economic activities, including those selling food, supplying blocks, and providing building materials. The value chain effect of construction work on this site is significant and creates a positive economic impact.

I want to state that under the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, we at the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development are very particular about giving Nigerians value for money. We are diligently funding these projects from the N50 billion 2023 Supplementary Budget that Mr. President approved for the Ministry to ensure sustainability, quality, and geographic spread.

It is important to say that the provision of land in a good location and at no cost is a key condition for siting Renewed Hope Housing Projects. The twelve states covered under this 2023 supplementary budget are those that first provided land. I want to assure that states that have not been covered will be included in the Ministry’s 2024 Budget on a first-come, first-served basis, on the condition that they provide land at no cost to enhance affordability.

At this juncture, I want to appreciate and thank His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, His Excellency Oluwaseyi Abiodun Makinde for promptly granting our request for the provision of land at no cost. This singular action has helped us to reduce as much as 30% of the cost of the units in this Estate for the benefit of potential homeowners. This is a dividend of responsible governance and I applaud Your Excellency for this. 

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. The Groundbreaking ceremonies for these projects demonstrate that Mr. President and indeed the federal government of Nigeria is committed to fulfilling promises and responsibilities to all Nigerians.

Long live Oyo State and His Excellency, the Executive Governor.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Long live Mr. President.