The federal government says it has implemented viable programmes to tackle the housing deficit by providing affordable homes to meet modern real estate development benchmarks.

Ahmed Dangiwa, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, stated this during a courtesy visit to Governor Inuwa Yahaya on Wednesday in Gombe.

He said the federal government, under the Renewed Hope Estate, embarked on constructing hundreds of houses in 12 states across the six geopolitical zones.

According to Mr Dangiwa, the initiative aims to improve the citizens’ well-being by providing modern, affordable houses for the benefit of all.

“We have started the Renewed Hope Estates and Cities in the country, and I am pleased to say that Gombe state is one of the states that we have taken to be the pilot state in the North-East.

“We usually take two states per each of our zones, which Gombe state was one of the states. We are currently building 250 housing units of the Renewed Hope Estate.

“Most of the units have reached advanced level. They are at the roof level, and we assure you that work is ongoing. Our plan was that by the end of December, to inaugurate the project,” he said.

According to him, the ministry is also working on slum upgrades and urban renewal in four states in each of the zones in the country.

On land reforms, Dangiwa said the ministry was reviewing a report submitted by a land reforms committee towards initiating ideas that would transform land administration in the country.

“Our intention is to ensure that we establish the national land commission that will be able to operationalise the Land Use Act, which has remained unchanged over time,” he said.

Mr Dangiwa commended the state government for hosting the meeting of the 13th National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development.

Responding, Mr Yahaya commended President Bola Tinubu for implementing the Renewed Hope Estate project.

He said the initiative was in line with his administration’s development agenda, focusing on urban renewal, economic diversification and infrastructure expansion.

(NAN)