REMARKS BY THE HON. MINISTER OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, ARC. AHMED MUSA DANGIWA AT THE INAUGURATION OF REFORM TASK TEAMS FOR THE ACTUALISATION OF THE RENEWED HOPE AGENDA FOR HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT AT THE NAF CONFERENCE CENTRE, ABUJA

Protocols

• Good morning, ladies, and gentlemen.
• I would like to sincerely welcome and thank you all for taking out time to be here with us at this historic event today. 
• We are gathered here as Nigerians, public and private sector players, stakeholders in the housing industry, management, and staff of housing development agencies.
• What unites us is the desire for Nigeria to have a vibrant, functional, and efficient housing industry that not only meets the shelter needs of Nigerians but also to unlock the massive potential of the sector for catalyzing inclusive economic growth.
• Over the 60 years of Nigeria’s independence, we have witnessed successive governments roll out series of housing development plans and policies. Despite these many plans, our country has sadly failed to meet the housing needs of Nigerians as we still grapple with a huge housing deficit. Housing sector contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) hasn’t moved in any significant way over the past several decades, housing development institutions are still only functioning at sub-optimal capacities, and the enabling housing laws are obsolete. 
• Researchers and experts have stated clearly that most of the housing plans and policies since Independence failed to deliver the expected results due in large part to a lack of political will on the side of the government.  
• The good news now is that our President, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, recognizes that to achieve the Renewed Hope Vision Target of building a 1Trillion-Dollar Economy, housing must be prioritized. This means undertaking comprehensive housing sector reforms that will ensure that systemic and prevalent issues that have caused under development are fixed, all legal impediments are removed, and the institutional frameworks of housing agencies necessary to ensure that they deliver optimally on their mandates to deliver decent and affordable housing to Nigerians are reviewed and upgraded. 
• Mr. President has demonstrated a strong political will and an unmatched boldness to take steps towards breaking the jinx of underdevelopment in Nigeria in line with his Renewed Hope Agenda. 
• The first sign of this in the housing sector was his demerger of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development from the Works Ministry. Second was his preference for a housing industry professional and his eventual choice of my humble self to lead delivery and implementation of his Renewed Hope Vision for the Housing Sector as the Minister of Housing and Urban Development.
• Alongside the Hon. Minister of State, my brother Alh. Tijani A. Gwarzo, I have taken this job with all sense of commitment and responsibility and pledged to work hard to deliver on the assignment working closely with all industry stakeholders. 
• Shortly, I will be taking a major foundational step necessary to implementing the historic reforms for actualizing the Renewed Hope Vision of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR for Housing and Urban Development by inaugurating four (4) housing sector reform task teams. 
• First is the Housing Institutions Reform Task Team. The task of this Team is to develop a robust framework for ensuring that housing agencies under the supervision of the Ministry are optimized to deliver effectively on the Renewed Hope Vision for the provision of quality, decent and affordable homes to Nigerians.
• This includes a thorough review and facilitation of necessary legislative amendments of relevant housing industry laws including the National Housing Fund (NHF) Act,1992, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) Establishment Act, 1993, Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Act,1973, and PenCom Act (to allow for increased investment in housing). The Team will also map out strategies for driving the nationwide adoption and passage of the model mortgage foreclosure law in States.
• The Housing Institution Reform Task Team comprises housing industry sector experts, stakeholders, agency representatives, professional bodies, and academia. The reforms and legislative amendments that the Reform Team will carry out in collaboration with stakeholders and the National Assembly will be the most comprehensive set ever done in the history of Housing and Urban Development in Nigeria.
• Second is the Multi-Agency Project Delivery Task Team. The aim is to ensure that all housing agencies under the supervision of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development work collaboratively towards optimizing their strengths to deliver decent and affordable housing to Nigerians.
• The Multi-Agency Project Delivery Task Team comprises highly qualified and experienced professionals with expertise in housing development, urban planning, infrastructure, finance, and project management, amongst others. 
• They will outline frameworks for synergy between the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (FMHUD), Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and Family Homes Funds Limited (FHFL) and propose processes to eliminate bottlenecks in housing development to increase the national housing stock, amongst others.
• Part of its Terms of Reference includes developing a comprehensive strategy and roadmap for the construction of at least 50,000 new houses per year for a start through multiple funding sources. 
• Third is the Land Reforms Task Team. This Team is tasked with developing a blueprint that will aid sustainable implementation of much-needed reforms necessary for streamlining land administration and ensuring easy, cost effective and efficient access to land in Nigeria. 
• This Task Team comprises state governments, traditional rulers, relevant agencies, professional bodies, academia, stakeholders/sector experts to ensure buy-in and inclusivity. The Team is to draw from the extensive work of the Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reforms (PTCLR) which has been working for the past 14 years towards comprehensive reforms including the establishment of a National Land Commission.
• Fourth is the Building Materials Manufacturing Hubs Task Team. The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is setting up the Building Materials Manufacturing Hubs Task Team in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda to boost building materials manufacturing in the country towards ensuring economic growth, creating jobs, reducing dependency on imports, and lowering the cost of construction materials and housing delivery. 
• The Building Materials Manufacturing Task Team is made up of sector experts, representatives from relevant government agencies, academia, and industry associations. 
• Primarily, their job is to conduct a thorough assessment of the current state of the building materials manufacturing sector in Nigeria, including existing facilities, capacities, and key players. They are to also identify challenges and opportunities within the sector. 
• The result will be a blueprint that will ensure sustainable implementation of reforms for the sector and the establishment of building materials manufacturing hubs in each of the six (6) geo-political zones across the country. This may include feasibility studies on the most viable locations for the hubs within each zone for siting of housing projects. 
• The Task Teams have been carefully constituted to include all relevant stakeholders, such as agencies of government, professional and regulatory bodies, the academia, industry experts, traditional rulers, and other groups. The goal is to tap from the wealth of knowledge and experience of these relevant sectors and individuals, and come up with strategies that are inclusive, wholesome, and can stand the test of time.
• I am well aware of the skepticisms that usually greet the constitution of work groups by government or its agencies. I am also aware that many Nigerians see such teams as a waste of time and resources because of many years of abuse and nonperformance on one hand, and the lack of willingness to implement the outcomes and resolutions of such teams on the other hand. However, I make bold to ask Nigerians to trust us. 
• The chairmen and members of these teams have been carefully selected. They are individuals of character who have exhibited professionalism, result-oriented leadership, and distinguished service in their various fields. I am confident that they will deliver, and the deliverables will form the foundation for a strong and vibrant housing and urban development sector we can all be proud of. From the Chairmen to the Sector experts to the housing industry stakeholders, we have done so from the basis of expertise, experience, and patriotism.
• We have chosen individuals who are not only knowledgeable, experienced, but also passionate about the development of the housing sector. These are people who over the years have been identified in the industry to be dissatisfied with the slow pace of development and share with me the urgent importance of getting things right.
• And getting it right is not rocket science. It is about sincerity of purpose, and the political will to do what is right for the benefit of Nigerians. This sincerity of purpose and political will we now have in His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. 
• Additionally, we have the support of the National Assembly. From the Senate President, the Speaker, Chairmen of the Senate and House Committees on Housing and Urban Development, and stakeholders, we now have a historic alignment of critical stakeholders who believe that we are serious about doing things right and are ready to assist us to change the narrative for good. 
• With these I am confident that we shall succeed. I am assured that the work that the Task Teams will do and the recommendations that they will bring up will not end up in filing cabinets in the Ministry. We will Act on them with all sense of urgency. The recommendations should include clear Action Plans with deliverables and timelines. 
• And that is why we have proactively appointed Private Sector Consultants for each of the Task Teams. They will provide Technical Support for the Teams to ensure speedy access to needed resources, efficient harnessing and synthesis of deliberations, structured reporting, and timely delivery of stated Terms of Reference. 
• On this note, I encourage all members to see the work that they have been called up to do as part of making history. Several years away from today, when the history of Nigeria’s housing industry is written, it would be said that this event that we are witnessing today, the teams that we are inaugurating today and the Nigerians who are part of it, were the ones that laid the foundation for the historic transformation and development of Nigeria’s housing industry. So, I want to charge you all to give it your best for the good of Nigerians and for posterity.
• Dear chairmen and members, the trust we bestow on you today is a great honor. You carry on your shoulders the hopes and aspirations of millions of Nigerians who expect us to do well as a Ministry and for the government of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to meet their aspirations having voted for him overwhelmingly at the polls. On our part, we will provide all the resources you need to the best of our abilities to ensure you deliver within the timelines stipulated in the Terms of Reference.
• Once again, I want to thank you for accepting to be a part of this national assignment. I also look forward earnestly to your recommendations in the coming eight weeks so we can begin the process of implementing them towards building a vibrant and efficient housing industry that delivers decent and affordable housing to Nigerians. 

Thank you.

REMARKS BY THE HON. MINISTER OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT AT THE FHMUD MOU SIGNING WITH CONTINENTAL CIVIL AND GENERAL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LIMITED AND CEEZALI LIMITED ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2023.

Protocols

Good morning, ladies, and gentlemen.
1.    I am really excited because after several months of strategic planning, engagements and hard work we are today set to record a significant milestone in our quest to deliver on the Renewed Hope Vision of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for Housing and Urban Development.
2.    In a short moment we will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding with a consortium comprising CONTINENTAL CIVIL AND GENERAL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LIMITED and CEEZALI LIMITED for the delivery of 100,000 housing units across Nigeria.
3.    The housing units are to be delivered under a Strategic Public Private Partnership (PPP) as part of our Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Program. Under the terms of this partnership the consortium will be the ones to provide construction finance and build the housing units to completion based on agreed housing designs and prices.
4.    The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development on its side will facilitate provision of affordable mortgage loans to offtakers through the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), facilitate the approval and the grant of all legal titles in select lands for the projects as part of its efforts to create an enabling environment for private sector investment in the housing sector.  
5.    Target beneficiaries are Nigerians in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy that contribute to the National Housing Fund (NHF) Scheme.
6.    The 100,000-housing Renewed Hope Housing Project is to be implemented in two phases. Phase One will deliver 20,000 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) while Phase Two will deliver 60,000 houses in select locations across the six geopolitical zones of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
7.    At 25 jobs per unit, this PPP will create 2,500,000 direct and indirect helping to achieve His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s target to lift 100million Nigerians out of poverty.
8.    The housing problem that Nigeria faces is massive, and I sincerely believe that the task of developing Nigeria’s housing sector, ensuring increased access to decent and affordable housing is a collective endeavor. It is a patriotic job that requires the contribution, and active participation of all stakeholders across the entire housing value chain - from developers, mortgage bankers, development finance institutions, and government-owned housing institutions. We are all part of the housing eco-system and all that we do in our various spaces and areas of responsibilities impact positively or negatively on our collective desire to build a better and functional housing system that works for Nigerians.  
9.    We recognize that we cannot tackle Nigeria’s housing problem from budgetary allocation. So, we have prioritized Public Private Partnerships as effective tools for complementing government efforts to bridge the housing deficit.
10.    And we aim to do it right. That is why we have developed a robust framework to ensure that each one that we as a Ministry enters is structured to succeed. Our PPP model involves transparent agreements, clear roles and responsibilities, and risk-sharing mechanisms to ensure accountability, fairness, and long-term sustainability.
11.    These partnerships enable leveraging the strengths of both the public and private sectors, fostering innovation, efficiency, and increased access to funding. By combining the resources, expertise, and creativity of both sectors, we plan to facilitate the development of affordable housing, infrastructure, and sustainable communities that align with the diverse needs of our populace. Our long-term goal is to address the housing shortage and enhance the quality of life for our citizens.
12.    I would like to commend the leadership of the consortium CONTINENTAL CIVIL AND GENERAL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LIMITED and CEEZALI LIMITED for their passion for this project. And I look forward to working with them towards ensuring that we deliver as spelt out in the MoU.
13.    With this MoU Signing, we are ending the year 2023 on a very strong note and setting a solid foundation for a strong start for the new year 2024.
14.    Thank you.