The federal government has commenced the construction of a 250-unit housing estate for civil servants in Azuba community near Lafia, Nasarawa State, under the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

Ahmed Dangiwa, minister of housing and urban development, said at the groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday that the estate project comprised 50 one-bedroom, 150 two-bedroom, and 50 three-bedroom semi-detached bungalows.

The minister noted that the housing units were designed in a way that the owners could expand them in the future as their income grows.

He said that the event was a continuation of the nationwide groundbreaking exercise under the Renewed Hope cities and estates programme of the ministry, which the president inaugurated in February with 3,112 housing units in Karsana, Abuja.

“The Renewed Hope Cities and Estates project is an initiative of the President Tinubu-led administration to bridge the housing gaps in the country, with the aim of delivering 50,000 housing units nationwide under Phase 1 of the project,” he said.

The minister explained that the Renewed Hope Cities would have between 500 and 1,000 housing units per site in each of the six geopolitical zones of the country and the Federal Capital Territory, while the Renewed Hope Estates would have 250 units per site in the remaining 30 states.

“Nasarawa is the 12th state where we are doing the groundbreaking, and our plan is to have all of them completed within three months and made available to Nigerians in line with Mr President’s desire to provide quality housing for all Nigerians,” he said.

According to the minister, the first phase of the project will be funded from the N50 billion 2023 supplementary budget of the ministry.

Mr Dangiwa further said that states not covered under the 2023 supplementary budget would be included in the 2024 budget on a first-come, first-served basis, with the condition that they provide land for the project at no cost.

“This initiative aims to address social inequality by offering various affordable ownership options, including single-digit, up to 30-year mortgage loans from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, rent-to-own schemes, and outright purchases for high-income earners,” he said.

He pointed out that the project at each site would generate more than 6,000 direct and indirect jobs for the community and boost economic activity in the area.

The minister urged the developers to deliver on the job within the stipulated three months and in line with the contract specifications.

“This government has zero tolerance for uncompleted projects, so you must deliver this project within three months,” Mr Dangiwa added.

In his remarks, Usman Osidi, managing director (MD), Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, said that the bank would remain committed to achieving the renewed hope agenda of the federal government in the housing sector.

On his part, Governor Abdullahi Sule appreciated the federal government for choosing Nasarawa as one of the states for the first phase of the project aimed at addressing the housing deficit in the state and the country.

Mr Sule said that the Nasarawa government had keyed into the laudable initiative of Mr Tinubu, which is why his administration recently sold government quarters in Lafia to civil servants on an owner-occupier basis.

He, therefore, promised to continue to initiate policies and programmes that would improve the working conditions of civil servants as well as members of the public.

In his remarks, Danmalam Sani, who spoke on behalf of developers, assured that they would deliver quality work within the stipulated period. 

(NAN)