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Tag: FHA

  • FHA refutes report of abuse of office

    FHA refutes report of abuse of office

    …describes claims as “spurious”

    The management of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has responded to a recent report alleging abuse of office and other forms of impropriety..

    The allegation was published on an on-line report on Monday July 7.

     In a statement, the FHA described the claims as a product of irresponsible journalism, a “spurious and wishy-washy contraptions” that cannot be substantiated.

    FHA’s used the rejoinder to highlight the great achievements made so far Under the Current management, led by Hon. Oyetunde Ojo.

    The statement showcased several achievements since his assumption of office in February 2024.

    Some of the laudable accomplishments within the short tenure of Ojo according to the statement include:s ” Digitization of FHA’s operations, ending analogue practices and reducing sharp practices.

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    “Land drive and acquisition, visiting 28 states and acquiring lands, often free of charge.

    “Constitution of committees on Development Control and Revenue drive.

    “Nationwide verification exercise to regularize property documents.

    “Establishment of an Enforcement team to ensure compliance with Development Control directives among others.”

    The FHA management also noted that the Authority’s revenue profile has increased significantly under Hon. Ojo’s leadership, reflecting positively on staff welfare.

    The statement noted further that the Authority has implemented the new National minimum wage and pays all remuneration and emoluments steadily.

    The FHA management attributed the allegations to “cabals, both within and without, whose conduit pipes of illegality and corrupt practices have been blocked” by Hon. Ojo’s leadership.

    The real staff of FHA, the management said, are solidly behind Hon. Ojo, who is on a mission to transform the Authority into a high-performing institution.

  • FHA won’t accept inflation as excuse for failure from developers, says new MD Ojo

    FHA won’t accept inflation as excuse for failure from developers, says new MD Ojo

    The Managing Director of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Oyetunde Ojo, has said the agency would not accept inflation as an excuse for failure to deliver on projects from developers.

    Ojo gave the warning in an interaction with reporters after leading his team to inspect FHA Ajoda GRA, Ibadan on Monday.

    In his team were the executive director, Remi Omowaye and directors of the agency.

    The project, which sits on 56 acres of land along the Ibadan-Ife expressway, was flagged off four years ago.

    After inspecting the extent of work on the six lots of over 1,000 units of flats, Ojo expressed dissatisfaction with the progress on some of the lots and warned that the agency could revoke the approval for the developers who fail to deliver at the agreed time and with the specified quality.

    His words: “The FHA and Ajoda project was incorporated four years ago as a private-public partnership (PPP) project. It is a Private Public Partnership project and six contractors were incorporated into it to deliver. That is why we have lots one to six and the purpose is for affordable housing units, off-takers also to partner government institutions. For example, where we are is lots 4 and 5, lots 5 and 6. The off-takers are government agencies including the University College Hospital (UCH), Nigerian Railway Corporation and the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB). The purpose of it is to make sure that affordable housing is available to all.

    “The assessment visit is going to be a nationwide activity. FHA is a nationwide project. It is not only southwest. We have six geo-political zones and we are starting with the Southwest zone. Then, we move to other zones.

    “To be honest with you, our satisfaction with the project here is about 20 to 25 per cent because out of six partners, we can see that only one partner who is in charge of Lots 4 and 5 has actually worked to satisfaction. This is also to pass a message to most of our partners and most of our contractors in direct construction that the vision of President Bola Tinubu about affordable housing, is delivered at the right time. We are not here for land speculation or housing speculation, we know this game. We implore our partners to please speed up their work because this is a partnership. We can’t keep land for 10 to 15 years and people will be using it for speculations. We are in this business.

    “When we get to Abuja, our team will sit down with them because this is just 20 to 25 per cent satisfaction.”

     When the impact of inflation was raised as a concern, Ojo said: “This inflation is going to be a temporary thing because Mr. President is working day and night to curtail it. And remember, the inflation is not only in Nigeria. It is a global thing. We would always navigate through it to deliver on our mandate.

    “We will do it in such a way that there is no need for you doing finish the product for people, do a carcass, do a semi-finished product, we do the exterior. Where we are, you can see the exterior, the windows, the doors, you put in the electrical, let the person come and finish it. I should not determine what kind of tiles to use. It depends on your pocket. Why would I determine for you to use a gold marble? It should be determined by yourself. That is how it will be affordable.

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    “People like Alhaji Jakande have done it in the past, President Tinubu has done it in Lagos and you are also planning to build one bedroom, studios and carcass, especially for the age range of 20 to 30-year olds to be able to afford a house as a bachelor or spinster and you are also looking at an area where civic servants from Level 7 and below can also afford. That is why we look into one-bedroom units. We look into a carcass building and we also look into two and three beds for elite class for those that can afford it. We are not going to do finishing inside; you will decide your own finishing yourself with the size of your pocket…

    “We should also be very careful of one thing, we know when inflation started. A project like this should not come under inflation as a reason for failure to deliver. It started four years ago. It is a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) and that is why I said we will not tolerate land speculators or property speculators. If a contractor came on a project like this four years ago and he is telling us about inflation, he should be extremely careful and we are passing a message, not on this site alone, but in most of our PPP projects. They ought to have been delivered because they started four years ago.”

    Ojo assured subscribers of quality houses and timely delivery.

  • Tinubu appoints management leaderships for FMBN, FHA

    Tinubu appoints management leaderships for FMBN, FHA

    President Bola Tinubu has approved the reconstitution of the executive management teams of two parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

    A statement yesterday in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, said the parastatals are: the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA).

    The statement said Mr. Shehu Usman Osidi is the new Managing Director/CEO of FMBN, Mr. Ibidapo Odojukan will serve as Executive Director (Finance & Corporate Services), Mr. Muhammad Sani Abdu will serve as Executive Director (Loans & Mortgage Services), and Ms. Chinenye Anosike will serve as Executive Director (Business Development & Portfolios).

    For the FHA, Oyetunde Oladimeji Ojo is the new Managing Director/CEO; Mr. Mathias Terwase Byuan will serve as Executive Director (Housing Finance & Accounts); Mr. Umar Dankane Abdullahi will take the Executive Director (Business Development) position; Oluremi Omowaiye will be Executive Director (Project Implementation); and Ezekiel Nya-Etok will serve as Executive Director (Estate Services).

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    The statement said the President’s approval was part of a holistic approach to repositioning the national housing and urban development sector to meet the present and future needs of Nigerian families.

    It added: “The new FMBN CEO, Mr. Shehu Osidi, is a banker with over 30 years of work experience, including 13 years of experience in mortgage banking. He is an alumnus of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government as well as the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Housing Finance.

    “New FHA CEO, Oyetunde Ojo, is a former member of the House of Representatives with over a decade of work experience in the housing and hospitality industries. He holds a Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom.

    “In view of President Bola Tinubu’s historic approval of the establishment of Building Materials Hubs across all six of the nation’s geo-political zones; financing and establishment of a National Social Housing Fund for low income and vulnerable groups, and land reforms to collaboratively streamline access to land across all states and unlock nearly $300 billion of dead capital in the sector, his expectations are high that the above-named appointees will hit the ground running in the delivery of affordable housing for millions of Nigerians in need, while providing millions of new job opportunities for Nigeria’s talented youth population presently searching for work.”

  • Festac demolition: FHA refutes claims of ethnic bias

    Festac demolition: FHA refutes claims of ethnic bias

    • By Halimah Balogun 

    The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has  dismissed  claims that the recent demolition exercise in FESTAC Town Phase II, Lagos,  was politically motivated. 

     It noted that the decision to demolish over 677 houses and partially demolish 744 others was devoid of ethnic bias.

     The  FHA recently embarked on demolition of buildings in FESTAC Town Phase II. This sparked allegations of ethnic bias, as owners of the demolished properties sought legal redress, obtaining a restraining court order to halt further demolition activities.

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     The agency said  the action  was necessary as a result of severe building contravention, including false or incomplete documentation and inappropriate building locations.

    The FHA said the demolition was aimed at addressing safety concerns posed by illegal structures, such as buildings constructed without proper approvals, in defiance of the Master plan, and close to dangerous areas, like major roads and oil pipelines.

     The agency said it held a stakeholders meeting last year   to reconsider the demolition exercise and agreed on terms for regularisation, but it  observed that new illegal structures continued to spring up despite  agreement to  the terms set by the FHA.

     This, it said, led to  the demolition exercise in September 2023.

    The FHA, however, reiterated its commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of the community.

  • FHA: no going back on demolition of houses on petrol pipelines, others

    FHA: no going back on demolition of houses on petrol pipelines, others

    The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has said it will not stop the demolition of houses that contravene the law.

    FHA Southwest Assistant General Manager/Zonal Head for Survey and Mapping, Umar Lawal, stated this while addressing reporters at the authority’s FESTAC Town office in Lagos.

    The zonal head said those who build on petrol pipelines, drainage channels, road setbacks, among other illegal places, should not expect the government to overlook the dangers they pose to fellow citizens and their property.

    He warned those building on the Right of Way (ROW) in FESTAC, especially, to stop work to prevent economic losses.

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    Lawal insisted that demolition would continue till people are ready to comply with building codes and follow the law.

    “My advice to the general public is that they should desist from further construction and that the exercise is a continuous one. Whoever continues to build (on unapproved places) is doing that at his or her risk.

    “They should stop wasting their money because whatever news that they are hearing from people that is not from FHA is fraudulent. So, they should desist from further construction,” he said.

    Lawal urged Lagos residents and other Nigerians to shun land grabbers and louts when buying land to prevent a loss of their investments.

    The FHA official also advised property owners and developers to always approach the authority for requisite approvals before embarking on construction.

  • Minister decries FHA’s dismal housing delivery

    Minister decries FHA’s dismal housing delivery

    •  ‘PPP hasn’t delivered much value’

    Housing and Urban Development Minister Ahmed Dangiwa has said the 50,000 housing units the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) delivered in 50 years are inadequate.

    The record, the minister said, averaged about 1,000 houses delivered each year over the period.

    He was unhappy that 10 years after  commercialisation, FHA’s records remained dismal in housing delivery.

    Dangiwa spoke yesterday in Abuja at the Golden Jubilee anniversary of the FHA.

    He said: “Now, 10 years after commercialisation, records show that FHA has only delivered a cumulative of just over 50,000 housing units. That shows an average of 1,000 houses per year in 50 years. This is clearly not acceptable, especially from Nigeria’s foremost housing agency that has so many institutional advantages that it can leverage to deliver more results.

    “I am also pained to say that the analyses of all the Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) that the FHA has entered into over the years have delivered little or no value to the country. This is also not acceptable. FHA needs to wake up to its responsibilities. 

    “As part of our plans to ensure that housing agencies under the supervision of the ministry are optimised to deliver on our target of providing affordable homes to Nigerians, we have composed a Housing Reform Team of experts, stakeholders, agency representatives, professional bodies, and academia to develop a robust framework for reform of the housing sector, including thorough review of relevant laws and facilitation of necessary legislative amendments.

    “We have secured the Presidential consent and will be inaugurating the team within the next two weeks with a mandate to deliver their reports within two months. It is important to say that we are not trying to re-invent the wheel but to build on the existing body of industry knowledge. What we have lacked over the years is the political will to implement them, which we now have in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

    FHA’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, said the agency’s 50 years of existence had been full of turns and twists, occasioned by the various policies of the numerous governments.

    Read Also: FHA to help Tinubu achieve housing target

    He added: “Some of such policies from both Federal and state governments have had impacts in the functioning of the authority, creating room for overlapping of functions and dovetailing into the operations of the authority.

    “This has caused high degree of dissonance in our relationships with states and local governments, thereby affecting some aspects of our service delivery.”

    “As management, we have recorded other achievements, such as securing our land as well as recovering all encroached estates. We also completed and commissioned the Zuba Housing Estate (in the FCT), with a dedicated independent injection power station that services the entire estate.

    “We also started the construction of the Phase One of the Bwari Housing Estate, commenced the FHA Golden Jubilee Estate in the Mbora District of Abuja, a project that will be replicated in all the geo-political zones of the country.”

  • ‘We’ve almost secured all FHA lands, assets’

    ‘We’ve almost secured all FHA lands, assets’

    The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) of Nigeria, Senator Gbenga Ashafa said the authority has alosmt secured all FHA lands and assets.

    He said they have also almost secured all the authorities estates that have been encroached upon by Nigerians.

    The former senator said in places like Festac in Lagos, Lugbe in Abuja and other parts of the country, people are building illegally in FHA estates, including building on waterways and road.

    Ashafa said this in Abuja at a briefing organised by the authority to mark FHA’s 50th anniversary celebration.

    He said: “We have also secured our land and other assets, especially reclaiming all our encroached estates.

    Read Also: FHA to help Tinubu achieve housing target

    “Immediately we came in 2020, there was an uproar when there was a joint task force of the Lagos and federal government. We moved into the areas of Festac that had been seriously encroached upon.

    “Houses was built without approved building plans, houses were built on the right of way of drainages, houses were built on the right of way of construction of roads. And there were hills and cries by those who were doing these illegal things. However, the strength of the law took its cause. We had to now sit down because they’re Nigerians, some of them claimed ignorance, some said them bought from the traditional rulers in those areas. The first basic thing that you do when you are buying any land is to go and search for the status of that land.

    “So we went in there, we were able to recover some, we now gave them the opportunity of regularisation, few came for the regularisation, those that were not on drainages, if you look at some of those houses, they were already sinking and you can see the number of houses that are collapsing on a daily basis.

  • FHA to help Tinubu achieve housing target

    FHA to help Tinubu achieve housing target

    The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has vowed to help President Bola Tinubu to achieve his target of affordable houses for Nigerians.

    The agency said it is happy that its management has been able to drive the institution to the position of a performing organisation, away from the state of affairs that  the agency met it about 36 months ago.

    Managing Director, Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Senator Gbenga Ashafa said this yesterday in Abuja at the unveiling of the FHA Golden Jubilee logo and the theme.

    The MD said: “The Authority has moved from high to low moments. We are happy that our management has been able to drive this institution to the present position of a performing organisation, away from the state of affairs we met it about 36 months ago.

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    “We are also grateful to providence, for choosing this historic period in our history, to give our country, a visionary leader, in the person of Mr President Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, whose manifesto and housing programme is aimed at providing livable and affordable houses for Nigerians.”

    As the nation’s premier housing agency, we will work to help the President achieve this target, in fulfillment of our mandate.

    “As a memorial, management has planned the construction of Golden Jubilee estates across the six Geo political zones of the country. Recently, we did the ground breaking of the Jubilee estate in the Mbora District of the Federal Capital Territory.”

  • FRC frowns at FHA over non remittance of operating surplus

    Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), is unhappy with the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) for not submitting its annual report and observing other FRC requirements.

    A statement from the FRC signed by Bede Ogueri Anyanwu, Acting Head, Strategic Communication Directorate, said the “Acting Chairman of Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC),  Victor Muruako frowned at the fact that FHA has not been submitting their annual audited account, receipts of their remittances, budgets, Medium Term Expenditure Framework, (MTEF) and operational strategic plan, thereby hampering prompt and accurate determination of operating surplus liabilities.”

    The Acting Chairman spoke at the Stakeholders meeting with the management of the FHA at the Commission’s Headquarters, in Asokoro, Abuja.

    Muruako pointed out that the independent revenue drive of the Federal Government is not encouraging and Federal Housing Authority has not been complying fully with the provisions of section 21, 22 and 23 of Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007.

    Muruako implored them to update their Chief Executive about the Commission’s readiness to offer them training on the recently launched template on the calculation of Operating Surplus to improve compliance.

    In his remarks, the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation of FRC, Alhaji Ola Tijani pointed out that Federal Housing Authority should not pretend about compliance, but must show proof of prudence, accountability and transparency in financial reporting in order to be in line with the FRA 2007.

  • Octogenarian accuses FHA of disobeying court order

    An octogenarian, Mr. Dan Awodoye, has petitioned the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), over alleged disobedience of a court order by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA).

    In the March 19 petition through his lawyer, Abiodun Layonu (SAN), Awodoye, who retired from the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said the FHA refused to allocate a three-bedroom bungalow he paid for about 21 years ago to him.

    The petitioner said he paid N778, 000 to the FHA in 1997 for the bungalow at Isheri Olofin 3 Estate, Federal Housing Authority Satellite C Housing Scheme, Isheri, to be used as a private residence after his retirement.

    According to him, upon his retirement on August 8, 1998 at the statutory age of 60, he was under serious pressure from his employer to vacate the government quarters he lived in while in service.

    He added that he was later told that the government quarters had been acquired by Chief Obianodo Vincent.

    He filed a suit before Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court in Lagos on May 16, 2000, and sought an order of specific performance against the FHA to immediately provide him with the accommodation.

    The Minister of Works and Housing, Federal Housing Authority, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Chief Obianodo Vincent were the defendants.

    “On the 16th of June, 2017, judgment was delivered in respect of the subject matter action.

    “The court granted an order of specific performance against the Federal Housing Authority in respect of the contract to provide the plaintiff with a three-bedroom bungalow or provide the plaintiff with an alternative suitable accommodation comparable to the allocated three-bedroom bungalow.

    “It is in this view that we, therefore, on behalf of our client urge you to use your good office to ensure prompt compliance with the court’s order particularly taking into consideration the age of our client who has diligently served this nation in his prime.

    “Our client should, therefore, not be allowed to suffer in his old age when he should be enjoying the fruits of his labour,” the petition reads.