Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Architect Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, yesterday, said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu included the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in the supplementary budget of 2023 with N100 billion, from which N20 billion was integrated into building the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates, while N50 billion was integrated into slum upgrade and urban renewal.
Speaking when he received the team of Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) to the President on Community Engagement, on a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja, Dangiwa thanked the president for demerging the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development from that of works, noting that housing is one sector that increases the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of a nation and creates jobs, in the sense that for every house built, up to 25 jobs is created for the skilled and unskilled labourers.
He also told the team of SSAs which include, Abdullahi Tanko Yakasai, (NW), Abiodun Essiet (NC), Chioma Nweze (SE), Gift Johnbull (SS), Abdulhamid Yahaya (NE) and Moremi Ojudu for South West that the core functions of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is to increase the supply of affordable houses to Nigerians and to ensure that the urban and rural areas are developed in a way that the slums are upgraded, by increasing sanitation, support drainages, security lights, among others.
Dangiwa expressed optimism to engage with the team considering how pertinent their mandate is, saying that they provide a bridge between the presidency and the grassroots, as well as between the ministry and the communities.
On the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates, he said: “We have done groundbreaking for Katsina, Kano and Sokoto states in the North West; Yobe and Gombe states in the North East; we are still awaiting the sites in Nasarawa and Benue states for the North Central zone. For the others in the South due to time limit we have to now schedule it till after sallah to start precisely from the 24th. We are planning to do the groundbreaking for the south western states in Oyo and Osun states. For South East we have Ebonyi and Abia; South South we have Akwa Ibom and Delta states”, he stated.
The minister also explained that the Renewed Hope Cities are high rise multi storey block of flats and terraces supposed to be in each geo-political zone, aimed at decongesting the city centres to make another city, while for the Renewed Hope Estates he said they are to be done in the remaining 30 states.
“For the Cities we have just taken Kano as one of it. We are planning to do public private partnership in other cities; we have done one here in FCT at Karsana, commissioned by Mr. President to contain over 3112 housing units, and the project is ongoing. We are thinking Lagos through the funding of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) where 1500 units have already been recorded and construction has already started”, he said.