FG Restoring Human Dignity with Housing Schemes in 35 States, Says Fashola

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s housing schemes in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had succeeded in restoring human dignity to benefiting house owners.

Speaking at the 2022 World Habitat Day themed: “Mind the Gap. Leave No One and Place Behind,” in Abuja, the minister said that 1,462 houses had been delivered nationwide by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) this year.

“The programme is now delivering on its objective. Apart from stimulating the economies of the 35 states and the FCT in the communities where work is being undertaken for the construction of houses, by providing work for artisans, builders, engineers, and other skilled persons in the built industry, the construction sites have been and remain centres of supply for building materials and other commodities,” he stated.

According to him, many of the houses have been completed and are now being handed over to the beneficiaries who follow the allocation procedure set out in the National Housing Programme (NHP) web portal.

“The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) policies such as the reduction of equity contribution from 5 per cent to 0 per cent for those seeking mortgage loans of up to N5 million, and reduction from 15 per cent to 10 per cent for those seeking loans over N5 million are helping to ease access to housing just as its operational performance”, he explained.

Speaking at the event,  the Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), Maimuna Sharif, said the current inequalities should be closed by providing shelter for all.

Sharif stated that conflicts, Covid-19, and climate change swelled the number of people affected by the challenge between 119 and 124 million in 2020, and between 143 and 163 million in 2021.