The federal government says it has created 252,800 jobs for skilled and unskilled workers via investment under its Renewed Hope Cities and Estate programme.

The Renewed Hope Cities and Estate programme is an initiative of President Bola Tinubu’s administration designed to address the housing deficit, reduce unemployment and enhance wealth creation geared towards improving Nigerians’ social and economic well-being.

Minister of Housing and Urban Development Ahmed Dangiwa said this at the 13th National Council on Lands Housing and Urban Development meeting on Thursday in Gombe.

He said housing investment had positively impacted economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation since the programme’s inception.

According to him, the ministry is constructing 10,112 housing units in 14 sites across the country under the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates programme.

“Constructing the 10,112 units underway nationwide has created over 252,800 jobs for skilled and unskilled workers, with an average of 25 jobs per home.

“Workers such as plumbers, masons and labourers earn an average of about N150,000 per month with a daily wage of N5,000, in addition to economic activities around the sites,” he said.

Mr Dangiwa listed the projects to include 250-unit Renewed Hope Estates designed with one, two and three-bedroom semi-detached bungalows in Yobe; Gombe, Nasarawa, Benue, Sokoto, Katsina, Abia, Ebonyi, Delta, and Akwa Ibom.

He said construction is ongoing on the 3,112-unit Renewed Hope City in the FCT and 2,000 housing units each in Kano and Lagos, respectively.

According to Mr Dangiwa, with the projection of the country’s urban population to rise by 2050, the government must invest more towards tackling the projected population growth in urban areas.

“Nigeria’s urban population is expanding rapidly, driven by an annual growth rate of 4.1 per cent. From just 9.4 per cent in 1950, our urban population now exceeds 52 per cent, with projections indicating a rise to 70 per cent by 2050.

“By then, Nigeria will likely be the world’s third most populous country, with over 400 million people,” Mr Dangiwa said, adding that the expansion spanned the six geo-political zones, where cities grow at unprecedented rates.

According to him, Nigeria has eight cities with populations above one million and 81 cities with populations between 100,000 and one million.

He highlighted that pressing challenges accompanied the rapid growth, with about  58.8 per cent of urban residents living in slums, indicating a national housing deficit from 16 to 18 million units.

Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State described housing and urban development as the cornerstone of any nation’s sustainable social and economic development.

He lauded Mr Tinubu for the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates programme to construct 100,000 housing units over the next three years.

(NAN)