Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has commended President Bola Tinubu for the Renewed Hope Agenda, which aimed at improving the livelihood of low-income earners, adding that his construction of estates across the States will also tackle the housing deficit in the country.
Represented by the commissioner for works, housing and urban development, Tiza Imojime, the governor promised to strengthen partnerships with the federal government so that Benue citizens will get maximum benefits from federally owned parastatals such as the mortgage bank, federal housing authority, and Nigerian Housing funds, among others. He appealed to the FG to always include Benue in federal parastatal projects.
Governor Alia, who disclosed at the groundbreaking ceremony of the 250 housing units of the Renewed Hope Estate of President Tinubu at Angbaaye, Mbawa, in the Guma local government area of the state, said adequate housing is a key necessity and a major responsibility of governance and applauded the President’s decision for prioritising it.
In his address, the minister of housing and urban development, Ahmed Dangiwa, warned contractors executing uncompleted and substandard projects that it will not be business as usual.
Represented by the minister of state, Abdullahi Gwarzo, said the Federal Government is diligently funding these projects from the N50 billion 2023 Supplementary Budget that Mr President approved for the Ministry to ensure sustainability, quality, and geographic spread.”
According to him, the ceremony is a continuation of the nationwide groundbreaking exercise for housing projects under the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, which President Tinubu launched in February with the commissioning of a 3,112-housing unit in Karsana, Abuja, and I want to warn that we are Implementing a zero tolerance for uncompleted and substandard projects.
He maintained that “under Phase One of this programme, we plan to deliver 50,000 housing units across Nigeria. This includes 7 Renewed Hope Cities that will have between 500 and 1,000 housing units per site in each of the country’s six geopolitical zones and the FCT, while the Renewed Hope Estates will have 250 units per site in the remaining 30 states.
“With this housing programme, we plan to unlock the massive potential of housing development to create jobs, uplift lives, and boost economic development. This is in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President to Stimulate inclusive growth, lift 100 Million Nigerians from poverty and build a $1 trillion economy.”
Also, the district head of Mbawa, the community where the project is sited, Chief Joseph Ortese, who commended President Tinubu and the governor for the choice of his area, appealed for engagement of members of the community during the construction work with a promise to ensure that all the materials and contractors are secured for the actualisation of the project.