Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State and Borno counterpart, Babagana Zulum, have pledged to make land available in their respective states for the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates programme of the Federal Government.
They gave the assurance to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, during the commissioning of the first phase and flag-off of the second phase of the Nasarawa Technology Village in Karu Local Council.
According to the governors, this is to ensure that their citizens become early beneficiaries of the affordable housing scheme.
“What we are doing here today is in line with the vision of the President for the housing sector,” they said.
Assuring that they would make homes accessible to the people, as “it is a priority of the Nasarawa and focus of the Federal Government,” Sule commended the efforts made so far in the housing sector by the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
On his part, Zulum noted that they had already concluded on the issue of land for the Renewed Hope housing project in the state, adding that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development had picked Borno as one of the states to be captured in the first phase of the programme.
Earlier, Dangiwa had described quality and decent housing as a prerequisite for dignified living and productivity, praising the initiative of the Borno government in leveraging Public Private Partnerships (PPP) for housing delivery, and the way it goes.
“Under this arrangement, developers are to source for construction financing, while the ministry creates an enabling environment and provides bankable off-taker guarantees. Twenty thousand housing units are billed to be built in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),” he said.
The minister declared: “We have engaged the Minister of FCT to help open the access road there, to enable us to begin work. These expansions and siting of cities on the outskirts of the FCT will help decongest the city centre, lessen pressure on infrastructure and create jobs in the FCT and Nasarawa.”
