FG Plans To Provide One Million Low Cost Housing Units For Vulnerable People
The Federal Government says its Renewed Hope Shelter Program will provide one million low cost housing units for the vulnerable populations for seven years.
Mrs Chidimma Makuachukwu, the National Program Manager, Renewed Hope Shelter for the Poor, IDP and Refugees disclosed this on Tuesday at the Sixth Nigeria Affordable Housing Finance and Innovation Summit (NAHFIS Expo 2023) in Abuja.
The Renewed Hope Shelter Program is a special program under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Makuachukwu said that the ministry would be working with the state government in conjunction with the local authorities to get land for the construction of these low cost housing units for the vulnerable groups.
She added that the ministry had began the project with 10 hectares of land allocated to the Federal Government by Benue state.
According to her, the project will be moved to all the states in Nigeria by 2024 with the aim to provide affordable houses to the vulnerable people especially the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to make them relocate back to their ancestral home.
“We are working with the state government in conjunction with the local authorities to get land, currently we are in Benue, what we are doing is to resettle the IDPs back to their ancestral homes with the support of state and local authorities.
“We have 10 hectares of land allocated to the Federal Government for this project specifically for Benue and also we are moving to other states by 2024, the agenda is to get the land, bring the government to the front.
“The people will use the local labour and the local content so that the economic of the local authorities will be empowered. This means they are trying to build houses for themselves and that is the agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
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“There is no selection process in this, it is about the vulnerable states across the Federation. If you look at Benue and what is happening there and other northern region, including the Southern states, you will be marveled, we are going everywhere by 2024.
“The idea is to move for need assessment, check what is happening so that we come back with need intervention and address the need,” she said.
According to her, the project is opened to every philanthropist including international donors, embassies who are willing to partner with the project.
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The National program manager, who said that the Federal Government would provide the basic fund to run the project,
said that the project was aimed at providing one million low cost housing units in seven years.
According to her, the ministry of Humanitarian Affairs has a national humanitarian coordination meeting with all United Nations agencies and development partners on the need to move into Benue due to the crisis ravaging the state.
Amb.Boladei Igali, who is the Chairman of the occasion and Pro Chancellor, Federal University of Technology Akure, stressed the need for collaboration between the states and the Federal government in order to achieve a desired result on the project.
He gave example of a practice in the United Kingdom and South Africa where Federal Government subventions were used for building of municipal housing or council flat for the low income earners at affordable prices.
“To get this project done, I think we have to work more closely with the states and with sub national entities, they have to play a great role, let our focus not only be on the Federal Capital Territory.
“The minister of Humanitarian Affairs has said that she will focus on low cost housing in the rural areas which is a good one.
“Sub nationals entities have a great role to play on this project, getting money as instrument can be worked out, people can be paying money to get these houses.
“In many countries, you get a two- bedroom flat and you pay for like 20 to 30 years, this is making it easy for the people and this is a commitment all Nigerians have to key into,” Igali said.