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Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola has formally sworn in the new board of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), stressing on the occasion that current public data which pegged Nigeria’s housing deficit at about 17 million was baseless.
The minister argued that the challenge that Nigeria has is basically an urban housing problem, noting that even at that, the issue is how to ensure that empty, unoccupied buildings in major cities are put up either for sale or rent.
The newly-appointed board comprises Senator Lawal Shuaibu, Zamfara State, as Chairman, while other members include: Modestus Umenzekwe, Anambra State; Mumini Hanafi, Kwara State; Adamu Dadi, Yobe State and Mr Adamu Ismaila, Adamawa State.
Others are Zubairu S.N, Nasarawa State; Chinyere Anokwuru, Abia State; Yinka Ogunsulire, Ondo State: Veronica Shinnaan, Plateau State; Aleruchi Cookey-Gam, Rivers State and Olajumoke Akinwunmi, Ogun State.
Also to serve as statutory members are the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Housing, Mr Babangida Hussein and the Managing Director of the FHA, Senator Gbenga Ashafa.
Fashola thanked the president for the prompt approval of the list sent to him , noting that he was excited about the diversity of the new board in terms of ethnicity, gender and technical expertise which they would bring to bear on their duty.
The minister maintained that while affordable housing remains the goal of government in the housing sector, the term “affordable” was somehow ambiguous because what is affordable to one stratum of the society may not be affordable to another set of individuals.
He stated that while FHA is statutorily involved in building new towns in the class of Festac in Lagos and Gwarimpa in Abuja, it should ramp up its focus on rehabilitation of some of the old structures that are deteriorating.
The minister noted that under President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic recovery programme, there has been a plan to increase access to housing, ramp up employment opportunities through the building of infrastructure and invest in the Nigerian people.
“There has been something out there and it had been there before we came here; that Nigeria has 17 million housing deficit. It’s a lie. Unfortunately, it was from a document that emanated from this ministry in 2012.
“It has no scientific basis, it has no logical basis, so ignore it. Is there a deficit? Perhaps. There is a deficit in the urban centres. The housing problem is an urban problem. Let’s be honest about it.
“Many of the people who are renting houses in the cities have big houses in their villages. So, let’s understand this problem. In all the urban centres, whether Lagos, Kaduna, Aba, or Kano, there are empty houses, unoccupied houses. So, we need to rethink and understand this problem,” he stated.
He added that the problem remains how to ensure that people live in the empty houses, explaining that there can’t be a deficit in the real sense, when many houses remain empty in the urban centres.
He urged the new board members to put in their wealth of experience, including acquainting themselves with the necessary laws and regulations to be able to guide the organisation.
Fashola told the new appointees to report directly to the permanent secretary, adding that if any issue needed to be escalated, the immediate supervising minister of state, Abubakar Aliyu, should be contacted.
Chairman of the new board, Shuaibu, who responded on behalf of his colleagues, in his remarks, thanked Buhari for finding the team worthy of the appointment.
