The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, has said that the housing ministry can generate N300bn from the sale of houses in two years.
According to a post on the ministry’s website, Dangiwa made this disclosure while briefing the Senate Committee on Lands, Housing, and Urban Development during their oversight visit to the ministry.
It stated, “While fielding questions from the journalists during the oversight visit, the housing minister was delighted to inform that the Senate Committee advocated more funding for the ministry to the tune of N500bn, further expressing hope that the ministry can return up to N300bn to the coffers of government from the sale of houses in two years, given a budgetary allocation of N500bn.”
He also noted that the ongoing efforts of the ministry were highly appreciated by the Senate Committee, having done groundbreaking for the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates in 13 sites, which is funded by the 2023 supplementary budget.
“We also took them through the public-private partnerships that we are doing with some of the reputable developers, to which Karsana is one of them, where we are building 3112 units; we have also discussed the Slum Upgrade and Urban Renewal, which cuts across 28 sites across the country. Most of these projects are almost completed, and we are about to commence the 2024 budget,” he added.
Furthermore, Dangiwa disclosed that 1000 housing units of the Renewed Hope Cities were slated to be delivered by the end of the year, with the other units to be delivered by mid next year for commissioning by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the pilot phase of the project in Karsana, Abuja.
He explained that a consortium of developers was contracted to deliver a total of 100,000 housing units all over the federation under the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates programme, 20,000 units of which will be in Abuja, with the pilot phase at Karsana to house 3112 housing units.
He also noted that the developers are to provide the financing for the units, the land, and off-takers, while the ministry guaranteed their loan with a bankable off-takers guarantee to enable them to access the finance.
Dangiwa made a comprehensive three-dimensional presentation of the work ongoing at the Renewed Hope City site in Karsana to the Senate Committee, stating that the developers have accessed funding through Family Homes funds and other means and are on site working to ensure they deliver in due time.
He informed that a steering committee comprising the honourable ministers, the permanent secretary, and the consortium of developers was set up, as well as a monitoring committee made up of officials from the ministry, the Federal Mortgage Bank, Family Home Funds, the developers, and other institutions, who monitor the projects on a weekly basis.
The minister, during his briefing, presented some documents earlier requested by the Senate Committee to include a comprehensive briefing of the activities of the ministry, the budget performance of the 2023 and 2024 appropriation acts covering all budget lines, including the 2023 supplementary budget act, and a detailed implementation of the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates programme.
Others are the detailed implementation of the Renewed Hope Urban Renewal and Slum Upgrade Programme, a detailed progress report of the National Housing Programme Nationwide, a list of the federal government properties under the control of the ministry nationwide, and details of the partnership between the ministry and the private sector or other public institutions for urban development, among others.
On their part, the chairman of the committee on Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, Aminu Tambuwal, noted that their visit signalled the commencement of oversight activities of the committee for the 2023 supplementary and 2024 budgets, pointing out that committees of the senate are saddled with the responsibility of overseeing the activities of ministries, departments, and agencies under them, as required under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He said, “The 2023 supplementary budget has advanced, hence the need to visit the ministry and proceed to some sites where the appropriations are being implemented to see for themselves and assess what is going on.”
Tambuwal thanked the minister for his cooperation, adding that it was in the interest of the country to make sure that monies appropriated are spent in accordance with extant laws and regulations.
He also consented that more funds need to be allocated to the ministry, given that housing is one sector that will generally distribute wealth to the lowest of the low.
