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Ahmed describes scheme as yardstick for good governance
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola has promised to allocate the housing units currently under construction to all Nigerians without discrimination.
He made the pledge in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital after inspecting some on going housing projects in the state.
Fashola said every resident of Maiduguri would be given equal an opportunity to own a house, irrespective of his or her ethnic or economic status.
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“The ultimate beneficiaries of the houses under the federal housing scheme would be residents in the areas where the houses are being built.
“By the word residents, we mean people who live or work in the states, rather than those who are indigenes. The aim is to meet the national housing needs in the 36 states of the federation,” he said.
According to him, the scheme is to ensure that affordable houses are provided for all, particularly as there has not been such a programme in the country.
He added that it is further aimed at ensuring that critical stakeholders were consulted so that they could become house owners at the end.
The minister said artisans such as carpenters and bricklayers would be trained in the technical aspects of the building construction.
Also Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State at the weekend described affordable housing for the low-income earners as a yardstick for good governance.
Ahmed made the disclosure at a groundbreaking of a 250 two- bedroom housing units funded by the Africa Nations Development Programme (ANDP) at Ajase Ipo, in Ifelodun Local Council area of the state, in partnership with the state.
He stressed that the provisions of affordable housing was enshrined in the nation’s constitution as the fulcrum on which development should stand.
He commended the ANDP for its vision, adding that it would stem the cases of rural-urban migration, as the under developed settlements would “soon become new cities.”
Ahmed said: “Housing plays a major role in the socio-economic well-being of all citizens, as it is often ranked second on the hierarchy of needs.
He identified other communities where the projects would be sited as Ilorin, Osi, Lafiagi, Share, Ilesha-Baruba and Offa.
