The Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, has commissioned 100 Housing units in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
The Ministerial Housing Scheme was financed by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) in collaboration with Viva International Limited. The Housing Estate is equipped with 50, 000 litres of water supply and reservoirs, 2 nos 500 KVA transformers, lush green recreational areas, fully asphalted road network with street light, walkways and drainages is expected to accommodate about 100 families.
The Minister acknowledged that, ‘’though construction of the housing estate started during the tenure of the last administration, but President Buhari has proven that change does not have to be dysfunctional as a result of ideological and political differences by completing this laudable housing project’’.
Fashola said that a lot of skill acquisition training programme for artisans are currently on-going in the country which in effect provided about 1,000 job opportunities to artisans who were employed during the construction of this housing project. He added that this present administration will continue to pursue infrastructural development as a way out of the nation’s economIic woes.
The Minister applauded the present management and the leadership of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) for returning the bank to profitability and disclosed that the mortgage institution returned a surplus of 2.7 billion for the first time in 20 years in 2016.
The Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajumobi represented by the Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Isaac Omodewu commended the efforts of the Federal Government through FMBN in bridging the housing deficit gap in the country.
Sen. Ajumobi stated that because housing plays a major role in human development and other sectors of the economy, his government took the initiatives of providing housing loan to Civil Servants in the state and in operating land discount policy to encourage private developers to build in order to add to the housing stock in Oyo State.
In his address, the Acting Managing Director of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Richard Esin, stated that the estate and other housing estates across the country are being financed from the resources of the National Housing Fund (NHF) Scheme.
He informed NHF contributors that the Minister has graciously approved that NHF loans of N5 million and below will now attract 100 per cent funding for the purposes of affordability.
The Minister also paid a courtesy visit to the Executive Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajumobi where he briefed the governor about the federal government intervention on housing and road projects in the state. He commended the Federal Controllers of Works and Housing, adding that they are good ambassadors and representatives of the Federal Government and should be accorded necessary support to promote socio-economic development.
Olatunji John
Principal Information Officer
For: Director Information
