- Khadijat Saidu, Birnin Kebbi
Barely three days to exiting office, Kebbi State Governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, has commissioned 500 housing units in Birnin Kebbi, as part of efforts to bridge the housing deficit in the state.
The housing units were built by his administration with the active collaboration of a private firm, Family Homes Funds Ltd, under a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
Bagudu said at the epochal event to mark the twilight of his administration that the State Government had fully provided all the needed infrastructure at the estate.
According to him, more than 1000 plots had since been allocated to different beneficiaries and assured that the incoming administration of the Governor-elect, Dr Nasiru Idris, Kauran Gwandu, would sustain the laudable project.
“Government is a continuous process, government is work in progress.
“We are still building on the foundation laid by the former governor of the state, Alhaji Sa’idu Nasamu Dakingari.
“We are also being complemented by the various efforts of the Federal Government, as it is also building a housing estate.
“Therefore, more will be done under the leadership of Kauran Gwandu and provide more houses for the citizens of the State,” the Kebbi State Governor said.
He said the housing units would be distributed to the intended beneficiaries and commended all the stakeholders for working diligently towards the realisation of the project, adding that it would add to the aesthetics of the state capital.
The State Commissioner for Lands, Alhaji Mamuda Warah, said 70 per cent of the houses of 350 would be sold to the civil servants on owner-occupier basis, with a payment period of fifteen years.
In the same vein, 30 per cent or 150 houses would be sold to the members of the public on outright purchase, with an initial payment of 50 per cent, while the balance would be paid in two years.
Warah said that each of the three bedroom houses costs N7 million, while each of the two bedroom houses costs N6 million.
He said a N3.5 billion loan was secured for the project, while infrastructure like roads, water, electricity, recreational facilities, school, clinic and police post, among others, had been provided.
Similarly, he said the process for the construction of additional 400 housing units had reached an advanced stage with the same form and under a PPP.