By Adeyinka Adeniran
The Federal Government through the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has disclosed plans to incorporate the informal sector to benefit from the mass housing project in line with the directive of President Bola Tinubu.
The Managing Director/ Chief Executive of FHA, Oyetunde Ojo made the disclosure at the commissioning ceremony of 100 housing units at the FHA Estate, Ajoda Ibadan on Monday.
The ceremony which also saw the presentation of keys to the 100 home owners and subscribers of the Estate who were mostly doctors and medical practitioners at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan was attended by the top management staff of the Authority, traditional rulers, community leaders among others.
The 100 units which comprises 2bedroom and 3bedroon flat was the first phase of a targeted 1,000 housing units by the Authority in the Ajoda Estate.
Speaking, Ojo said the mandate given the Authority by Mr President is to make affordable houses available for all categories of Nigerians but that most people in the informal sector always sees such move as mere words that is beyond their means.
He added that, although the project had started since 2018 under a different government, the current administration was committed to ensuring the actualization of the project in phases in the interest of the citizens.
He added that, the Authority will take advantage of the traditional rulers and community leaders to document residents in the informal sector who may be interested in the housing scheme.
Noting that the informal sector even have more resources than the formal sector, the MD said it won’t be a wrong idea to allocate 100 to 150 units to them, adding that studio apartments are also being planned for young Nigerians starting life.
Ojo said, “I would like to congratulate Mr. President. This is Mr. President’s achievement from his Renewed Hope agenda. If Mr. President had not appointed us, the executive management team, we wouldn’t be able to deliver. Like I said, Mr. President knows who to put the right peg in the round hole.
This administration is about Renewed Hope Agenda. It is about delivery. When we started this, thank God you were with me. And I knew when we said we were going to commission the first phase in less than a year. I know people were laughing at me because they were wondering how a project that started in 2018 could be achieved, in phases within a year.
“And I said, don’t worry. God will deliver. Because we know the marching order given to us by Mr. President. And that’s what we’re doing. Remember, it’s going to be 1,000 housing units. We have delivered 100 units.
“You can see the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries are high calibres individuals in the society, medical doctors of the University of Ibadan. And it’s mortgaged. So they’ll pay for about 30 years and or 20 years. So this is also a style of letting the people know there’s an administration that cares about them. We’ve also said it, we’re going to the informal sector.
“You can imagine at the end of this place, the 1,000 housing units. How massive the economy will be. And we are not interested in about delivering the 1,000 at once. Because we are not funded. And that’s the truth. But we don’t need to be funded, because we have our IGR, and it’s about utilisation of resources.
“And that’s the way Mr. President has trained some of us who have worked with him to make sure you deliver something out of nothing. And I can tell you, under one more year, the second 100 units will be ready. So that means we’ll have in over 200 beneficiaries. And the beauty about this is it’s decent. It’s livable for a big family. It’s livable for a small family.
“Thank God our royal fathers are here. Thank God the informal sectors, they have leadership that they’re under control. Once you go to the right place, I always tell people, when we want to get the informal sector in this Ibadan, this is Kabiyesi here, there’s nobody who’s an informal person in this Ibadan. I mean welder, carpenter, artisans, they will name the household that you come from. They know. They will be the one to guide us.
“They will be the one to advise us. Even when that person is coming from UK, even not on the informal level, they’ll be able to tell us, this one we can guarantee you, this one we can’t guarantee. And that’s why the collaboration is key.
“That’s why we keep saying, government can’t do it alone. The fear of government on the informal sector is, where is this person’s wages? How does his payroll end? But I can tell you, most of the informal sector earn more money than the formal sector. You employ a bricklayer now, and you know how much they will charge you. You cannot even get enough welder, I’m telling you.
“But these people from far, when they see houses like this, they’re always afraid. They say they won’t give them because probably they are not learned, they are not educated. And that’s why we are calling on the Kabiyesis’, and the people to come. There’s mortgages for people in the informal sector.”
To demonstrate appreciation for the traditional institutions that he said provided the land, Ojo announced the allocation of a two-bedroom unit each to the Alajia of Ajia, Oba Akinsola Oladepo, and the Onisade of Isade, Oba Saliu Oguntayo, on behalf of the President.
Speaking earlier in his remarks, FHA Executive Director of Project Implementation and Chairman of the Commissioning Committee, Engr. Remi Omowaiye, said the next phase of project commissioning would take place in Abuja.
Also speaking earlier in his address, the Managing Director of the Federal Mortgage Bank, Alhaji Shehu Usman Osidi, said Nigerians can access mortgage facilities at six percent interest for a period of up to 30 years, saying “It’s open to all Nigerians. Just walk into any of our branches to pick a form. We have zero tolerance for corruption,” Osidi said.
The representative of Greenwood Construction and Equipment Leasing Nigeria Limited, the developer of the property, Mr. Ige Ayeni, praised Tinubu’s commitment to housing for all, saying “This place was a forest before we moved in. Now, it is giving hope to Nigerians who had lost it,” he said.
Ayeni added that the project is not limited to government workers but also open to traders and artisans.
Traditional ruler, Oba Oladepo, commended the government’s efforts, but urged more infrastructural development in the estate, Ibadan and Oyo State in general. He thanked Preaident Tinubu through the FHA for the housing scheme saying, it is bringing development to the area. He appealed for consideration of the common Nigerians so as to benefit from the initiative.
Deputy Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Oyo State, Fatunola Timothy, called for security considerations in estate designs, including armouries and accessible security posts.
Prof. A. Adenipekun who spoke on behalf of the subscribers, urged the FHA to expand housing for young professionals, saying “We still have many doctors and health workers who need homes. When this is completed, subscribers will exceed expectations,” he said.
Responding, the Alajia of Ajia, Oba Akinsola Oladepo Ibadan, thanked Preaident Tinubu through the FHA for the housing scheme saying, it is bringing development to the area. He appealed for consideration of the common Nigerians so as to benefit from the initiative.
He said, “First of all, we have to thank our almighty God for giving us today. At the same time, we thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for a job well done. When we had a Renew Hope, Renew Hope, this is true Renew Hope. We appreciate the federal government for its job well done. And we are looking forward to more projects in our city.
