Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that the Buhari-led administration is poised to build a nation where low-income earners have the dignity of a decent home and livelihood.
Osinbajo spoke on Friday in Masaka, Nasarawa, at the commissioning of 248 housing units and commemoration of the 1,000th home built by the Millard Fuller Foundation (MFF).
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, disclosed this in a statement he signed on Friday titled ‘Vibrant housing market will boost Nigeria’s economy, people’s livelihood — Osinbajo’.
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The Vice President, who described the commissioning as “a watershed event in the important work of providing housing for Nigerians who need it most,” said while the challenge of inadequate or no-housing undermines the quality of life of many Nigerians on a low income, it also denies the economy and, therefore, the collective welfare the growth that is possible through a vibrant housing market.
He maintained that the Buhari administration takes the challenges seriously by addressing the concerns.
The most recent initiative, being the N200bn National Social Housing Programme under the N2.3tn Economic Sustainability Plan, aimed at delivering homes for Nigerians on a low income, as well as providing jobs for the local industry.
“We are negotiating another 400 homes with them: the one-bedroom self-contained costs N2m and N3.2m for the two-bedroom. We negotiated with Dangote, BUA and Lafarge to give the Family Homes Fund cement at a 30 per cent discount. So we now have low-cost cement.”
Highlighting the Millard Fuller Foundation’s housing units in Nasarawa as an example of private sector partnership with the Government in reducing the social housing supply gap, Osinbajo expressed hope that “it can serve as a model for many others to follow, with the potential for creating homes that are affordable to Nigerians on a modest income, particularly our young people as they start out in life.”
