Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule and his Borno counterpart, Prof. Babagana Zulum have pledged to make land available in their respective states for the ‘Renewed Hope Cities and Estates’ programme of the federal government to ensure their citizens benefit from the affordable housing scheme.
They gave the assurance to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa during the commissioning of the first phase and flag-off of the second phase of the Nasarawa Technology Village in Karu Local Government Area.
A statement from the Special Adviser to the minister, Mark Chieshe, quoted Sule as saying that the Technology Village, which is expected to have around 1,962 housing units, is a combination of affordable shelter and other features.
“Let me assure you that we already have land waiting for you here in Nasarawa state. We are ready to become one of the pilot states for the project because we know how important housing is to the welfare of our people and the economic development of our dear state, and the country at large,” he said.
Aside being a place for affordable housing, the governor stated that the village will have technology hub, in the form of Silicon Valley in the USA with offices for local and international IT companies.
He added that it will also have training facilities for over 2,000 students annually as software engineers, and a framework to connect them to global ICT jobs, so as to bring about sustainable development in the state.
On his part, Zulum noted that the state government had already concluded on the issue of land for the Renewed Hope housing project in Borno state.
He stated that the ministry had earmarked Borno as one of the states to be captured in the first phase of the programme.
“The Nasarawa state governor said he wants to beat me to it by allocating land for the Renewed Hope project, not knowing that he’s already late to the party. The issue of land for the federal ministry of housing to build the Renewed Hope project in Borno state is a done deal.
“ You can ask the Honourable Minister, that matter has been concluded already. It is an exciting project and we are so happy we have keyed in as a state.
“The importance of shelter cannot be overemphasised. It is a very important need and if we can secure decent shelter for our people, we would’ve solved a major part of all their challenges,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Dangiwa underscored the importance of providing access to quality and decent housing as a prerequisite to dignified living and productivity. He commended the initiative of the Nasarawa state government in leveraging Public Private Partnerships (PPP) for housing delivery, noting that it is the way to go.
“The 3,112 Karsana Renewed Hope City is part of a 100,000-housing unit project to be delivered nationwide under a PPP with a consortium of reputable developers.
“Under this arrangement, developers are to source for construction financing while the ministry creates an enabling environment and provides bankable off taker guarantees. 20,000 housing units are billed to be built in the FCT. I am happy to say that we plan to build a substantial number of these units in Nasarawa state,” he stated.
Also, Dangiwa has stated that the federal government is committed to ensuring successful implementation of the Pulaaku initiative to make substantial difference in the lives of those who are internally displaced as a result of banditry and other forms of violence.
The minister made this known when he received a delegation from the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) on a visit to his office.
Dangiwa was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the Chairman of the Steering Committee for the implementation of the Pulaaku Initiative, a large-scale resettlement programme aimed at addressing the root causes of farmers-herders conflicts and fostering national unity in seven states of the Country.
The minister stated that the provision of 7,000 housing units across the seven states was an attestation of the collective determination to foster resilience and stability in communities.
On his part, the Federal Commissioner, NCFRMI, Aliyu Ahmed, while decrying the alarming rate of 6.1 million registered displaced persons currently in the country, informed the minister of their efforts so far in providing shelter for the internally displaced persons in some states like Zamfara, Nasarawa, Maidugiri, Kano and Edo.
