By Our Reporter
The Federal Government said it is committed to providing affordable and livable houses to Nigerians irrespective of creed , religion, race and Background.
This was the remark of Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume during the commissioning of a mall built by the Federal Housing Authority, FHA in Abuja on Tuesday.
Akume maintained that Prioritizing housing in Nigeria was obvious, hence the creation of Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in the current dispensation under the Renewed Hope Agenda, RHA, of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu .
Senator Akume expressed confidence in the leadership of the Federal Housing Authority, FHA and staff in it’s efforts at building affordable and accessible houses across the country.
He said the nationwide tour of states numbering about 28 with a view to providing Renewed Hope Agenda RHA Estates was quite demanding, saying the present administration underscores the need for a befitting shelter across the nation .
Senator Akume stated that the Renewed Hope Agenda, RHA policy on housing is a rejigged one as provided by the Shehu Shagari administration were low-cost houses were provided in all the local governments across the country.
The speech further stated…
“May I stand on the already established protocol.”
“It is with pleasure that I stand before you all on this occasion of the commissioning ceremony of this magnificent edifice. I am more pleased that what we are celebrating today was achieved by sheer determination and the will to succeed by the management of Federal Housing Authority.”
“I congratulate the management and staff of the Authority for what they have been able to achieve under these two years in office. It is very pleasing to note that FHA has turned into a performing agency and poised to face her core mandate of providing livable houses to Nigerians.”
“The resolve we are witnessing today is exactly what we need as a people and a country to overcome our challenges. We need to believe in ourselves and face what ever difficulties that face us frontally.”
“As a government, we are working to provide all the enabling environment that would make us to succeed as a nation. We started by taking some decisions that were initially considered tough, but today, we are beginning to see the positive effects.”
“The Renewed Hope agenda of the government is impacting positively on all aspects of our lives. Our economy is steadily growing with tremendous decrease in the cost of food. “
“On the security front, great efforts are being made to contain the threats.
Housing remains a top priority of this government. To buttress this, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, created the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development purposely to tackle the issue of housing Nigerians adequately.”
“The government has also provided enough windows for Nigerians to benefit from its housing initiative.”
“We are pleased with what the management of Federal Housing Authority has started doing in addressing the issue of housing provision in the country, especially by travelling through the length and breadth of the country in search for land to build for our people. Government we will keep supporting FHA to achieve more.”
“We encourage FHA to replicate this sort of amenity to all the parts of the country where they operate, for the comfort of all Nigerians.”
“I also call on Nigerians to keep supporting this government to enable us achieve all we have in stock for Nigerians.
God bless Nigeria.”
Earlier , the Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer, Federal Housing Authority, FHA, Hon Oyetunde Olubunmi Ojo said the era of abandoned projects is over, hence the completion of the shopping mall met almost two years ago and with the spirit of the Renewed Hope Agenda, RHA of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Ojo restated the determination of the present administration aimed at providing livable and affordable houses to ordinary Nigerians, as well as provide employment and business opportunities through commercialisation of some of its edifices.
With Gwarinpa and Lugbe at the initial stage , efforts are been put in place to construct such malls round FHA estates across the country, for the comfort of our residents as well as revenue generations.
The management has also registered its presence in all the existing estates across the country, and rolled out the enabling environment to develop the over 7,000 hectares of Kabusu estate located in the heart of the FCT among many others .
The FHA management said efforts is in top gear to commence simultaneously the Renewed Hope Housing Estates across 17 states of the country, as governors of 28 states has leveraged on the determination of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aimed at providing affordable housing through provision of free lands , with ground breaking ceremonies in Akwa Ibom and Kaduna state.
The project according to Ojo was completed by the present leadership of FHA, under the Public Private Partnerships, PPP, less than two years in office and record time .
The new mall with four story building included 59 lock up shops , Pent House with 600 sitting space , a lounge with two lifts , a stand by Generator, others are a Bore hole , Escalator, ample parking space , additional parking space by the shoulder of the road for patronage.
The structure was constructed by Horizon construction Limited, a PPP arrangements, modern in recent times.
Highlights of the occasion including the commissioning of the project by the Secretary to the Government of the federation, Senator George Akume , assisted by the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Shaibu Belgore.
Ojo further stated…
“The resolve of our management to deliver this project sums up the spirit and cohesion we share in carrying out our job. On assumption of duties, this was one of the projects we inherited and with the charge of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that the days of abandoned projects are over in mind, management put in everything we could to revive it, and today it is being commissioned.
The structure is a 4 suspended floor edifice, comprising of 59 shopping spaces and a penthouse, serviced with all modern amenities for the comfort of the users.”
“As Management, our mandate is hinged on the mantra of Renewed Hope, which is embedded not only on provision of affordable and livable houses to Nigerians, but also in the provision of such facilities as this, that would create conducive business atmosphere to Nigerians living or doing business in our estate.”
“We are not stopping only in Gwarinpa estate, our blueprint is to extend this type of facility to all our estates for the comfort of our residents.”
“Just like this edifice which was conceived and developed from our site office here in Gwarinpa, we were also able to construct another complex from our old site office in Lugbe to provide a more conducive working environment for our staff in the Lugbe office, and also as a way for generating revenue to the Authority. It consists of other business spaces and also houses our bank: FHA Mortgage Bank.”
“As the SGF is aware, on assumption of office, we quickly embarked on the acquisition of land, which is an essential ingredient in housing provision. To achieve this, we visited 28 states of the country and were given lands in all. The Governors displayed exceptional spirit of statesmanship as we were in most cases allocated lands free of charge and can boast of many Certificates of Occupancy.”
“With land secured, we have now commenced the process of constructing our Renewed Hope Estates in 17 states of the country in the 1st phase, having concluded the procurement processes with the intention of providing affordable homes for Nigerians.”
“In preparation for the massive housing construction we are preparing for this year, we have done ground breaking for our estates in Uyo Akwa Ibom, and Kaduna states. “
“As I said earlier, we have completed and commissioned many projects we inherited from our predecessor. Some of these projects are 100 housing units in Ajoda Ibadan, Oyo state, Express view estate Lugbe, Abuja, 1.3-kilometer road in Guzape Abuja, the corporate head office of FHA Mortgage bank, Gwarinpa Abuja. We are currently working round the clock to complete and commission 350 housing units of FHA estate in Bwari, Abuja within this first quarter of 2026.”
“Let me use this opportunity to tell Nigerians that our mission as management goes beyond giving our people affordable and livable estates and such modern facilities as this, we are committed to building a new Federal Housing Authority where our allottees will be secured and our services faster and seamless.”
“To achieve this, we initiated the digitalisation of the Authority’s property files, which are now secured in the Galaxy backbone. We are working for the full automation of all other aspects of the Authority’s operations. Our test laboratory has become operational, where we carry out geological and integrity tests.”
“We have commenced our presence in all our estates in a bid to respond swiftly to emerging challenges. Our zonal offices are now interconnected to the head – office for real time communication experience.”
“We have opened our Kabusu site and our partners are expected to move into site very soon. The project is expected to be a boost to the economy through all the associated value chains in the provision of direct and indirect employments.”
“Your excellency, let me make it known that we have been able to achieve this much due to the cordial relationship we have with our parent and supervising ministry. “
“We have a Minister in the person of Arc, Ahmed Dangiwa who has been very supportive to us as management. His direction, advice and overall leadership have impacted positively on us.
We thank you all for honouring our invitation.
God bless Nigeria.”
