Ogun says allocations to LGs increased to over N2b in six months

Abiodun inaugurates 130 houses, promises 2,500 units in four years

The Ogun State Government, yesterday, said it increased allocations to local councils in the state with over N2 billion in the last six months, contrary to insinuations that the state had been using the allocated funds to its advantage.

The state’s Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Afolabi Afuape, disclosed this during the June 2021 Joint Account Allocation Committee meeting (JAAC) at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, noted that the administration operates an open system, assuring that it would not hide any fact from the public.

He said apart from the augmentation, the state had also given grants to local councils to enable them to execute people-oriented projects.

MEANWHILE, the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, yesterday, inaugurated 130 housing units at Kemta, Idi-Aba in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

The housing project, christened Prince Court Estate, is the first phase of the 300 detached and semi-detached two and three-bedroom structures.

Abiodun, while inaugurating the estate, said the project was first in the series of housing estates being undertaken by the administration across the state, promising that 2,500 houses will be provided in four years.

The governor explained that the estate is provided with amenities, such as tarred road, water supply, good drainage system, fence, security and power supply.

While noting that the estate was an attestation of the administration’s commitment towards infrastructural development in general and provision of decent shelter, the governor said that the second phase of the 300 housing units would commence in the next few weeks, which according to him, will be over 10 per cent of housing units targeted in four years.

He said housing projects were commenced simultaneously in the state through the Ogun State Housing Corporation, Ministry of Housing and the Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation (OPIC) to be able to deliver the houses.

The governor noted that the project was part of the incumbent government’s wholesome design for Greater Abeokuta as a befitting capital city.

He, however, said that the cost of the houses would be subsidised and the special discount would be given to the public servants as an incentive to serve as a demonstration of the administration’s commitment to people’s welfare and well-being.

He equally enjoined people in the state to reduce the personal burden for homeownership by utilising the mortgage services available at Gateway Savings and Loans Limited.