The Federal Government is working hard to complete about 50,000 houses across the 36 states in the next one year, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has said.
Executive Director of Projects Implementation of the FHA, Oluremi Omowaiye, stated this at Birmingham City, Britain, at the ongoing retreat for newly inaugurated executives of the All Progressives Congress (APC), United Kingdom Chapter.
Omowaiye, in his presentation titled ‘Tinubu’s Government is Tackling Housing Deficit’, spoke on the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu as it relates to efforts to bridge housing deficit.
He said: “Mr. President has mandated us to build 50,000 affordable houses with flexible payment plan in the next one year. The key words are ‘affordability and ‘long term payment flexibility’. There are also plans to upgrade and facelift slums in some part of the country to make them habitable.
“Because we are looking at affordable houses, we are engaging in a lot of things to reduce the cost of building without compromising safety and standard,” Omowaiye explained.
He added that the agency is diversifying into clay brick building which is used largely in the UK, as clay is readily available in most part of the country and will no doubt significantly bring down cost of building.
“We are collaborating with the academia in this regard. Our research unit in the Oyetunde Ojo-led Federal Housing Authority is working assiduously on how to effectively use the locally sourced materials for our housing projects.
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“In our estates, we have carved out sections for those in the Diaspora. So instead of you sending money to your family to build a house for you, we can assist in that regard. We have designs patterned after houses abroad that will meet your taste.
“You just pay to us directly and you get your house with no qualms. No fear of channeling your hard-earned money to your siblings that will later cause strains in relationship when money sent is not properly used.
“The Federal Government will provide the available fund for the construction of these affordable houses. We are doing in all the states. This is just FHA.
“The Ahmed Musa Dangiwa-led Ministry of Housing is also embarking on massive construction of houses across the country. We in FHA Nigeria have moved around the country. We have interacted with a lot of stakeholders and state governments. They have given us lands. We have designs for different categories of buildings,” he said.