Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun has said that his administration would build about 10,000 housing units before the end of his tenure.
The governor also disclosed that over 4,000 houses have so far been built across the state.
Prince Abiodun spoke on Friday when he received the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Mr. Oyetunde Oladimeji Ojo, who paid him a courtesy call in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
The governor noted that although the cost of building materials is on the high side, the government can not abandon its responsibility of providing shelter for the people.
Prince Abiodun said: “To date, we have built about 4,000 affordable houses within four years, and we are still building. By the time I’m done, we will probably build about 10,000 houses.
“We have built medium and upper income houses that have been completely sold out. They were fully four-bedroom detached with Boys Quarters, infrastructure, water, and internet facilities.”
He said his administration is currently working on another project called “Civil Servants Village” that would seat on a 50 hectares of land, provided with infrastructure and layout, saying it would offer an opportunity for members of the state workforce to buy land and build their houses.
Abiodun who noted the place of trust between between the government and the citizen in the area of housing delivery, said: “We noted that there were some estates that were built by my predecessors that were not habitable. We realized that because they did not consult where to match the needs of our people with the design of the estates, that led to the estates becoming homes for miscreants.
“After consultation, we began to build our first estate at the heart of Abeokuta and sold them between N5million-N6million. They were sold out before we even completed building them.”
He described housing as the largest employer of labour and fundamental to the Sustainable Development Goals, emphasizing that it is imperative for states to key in and support President Bola Tinubu’s efforts at providing affordable housing for Nigerians.
The governor assured that his administration would establish a system where Nigerians in diaspora would acquire property in the state online and track their development wherever they are.
The governor informed the FHA Chief Executive and his management team that his administration would share its experiences in housing delivery to guide them into making decisions that would be of benefits to Nigerians.
He also assured that land would be made available anywhere in the state for the construction of a federal housing project.
Speaking earlier, Mr. Oladimeji Ojo lauded the state government for its housing delivery schemes, saying he was in the state to intimate the governor of plans by the President Tinubu’s administration to provide affordable houses to Nigerians in the shortest possible time.
He said as the custodian of land in the country, the FHA would liaise with states to get land for the construction of different categories of houses ranging from one to two bedrooms to be sold to Nigerians at affordable prices.
Mr. Ojo also informed the governor that his agency is planning a studio apartment for the youths just as it would partner with state governments on housing digitalization for diaspora to buy property in any state of their choice.