Speaking at the ceremony held at Dungal Village of Bauchi Local Government, Governor Bala Mohammed said the project was designed to be completed within 12 months.
The governor said the houses are coming in a period when the state’s demographics have changed dramatically due to internal displacement caused by insurgency as many people within the region came to the state thereby creating a significant imbalance especially in respect of existing facilities.
He assured that, quality assurance mechanism has been established with a corresponding compliance arrangement to drive the project to effective delivery as that will protect the goodwill of the government and people of the state as well as the federal government.
” I wish to reiterate that, in tandem with our desire to comply with the established building codes and the best practices in Basic Engineering Management and Evaluation. I will in addition to the statutory supervision of the Ministry of Housing, establish a task force in my office for monitoring and evaluation of the projects.
” As part of our effort in regaining the lost glory of our education sector as we address school enrollment, my government is going to rebuild the Government Secondary School Bauchi, an offshoot of the Bauchi Provincial School, in the new city with a view to sustaining the legacy of the school that produced significant quantum of the intellectual capital that Bauchi state is proud of today and beyond.”
Governor Bala Mohammed said in compliance with the government intention of providing opportunities to the people, his emphasis on the local content and community engagement is very clear.
The governor therefore called on the contractors of the housing project in all the emirates to patronize local suppliers to enrich the value chain that this project will create for the benefit of the host communities.
” Let me thank Mr President for his kind intervention that led to what we are witnessing today. We call on developers to partner with us to build shopping malls and other facilities in compliance with established procurement standards and global best practices.
On her part, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed Shamshuna applauded Governor Bala Mohammed for recognizing housing as a major need for his people by partnership with the Family Homes Funds.
Represented by the Ambassador Adamu Jumba, the Minister said the flagg off of the construction project was not just witnessing the ground breaking of the 2,500 houses, but also the beginning of milestones that will bring great development to the state.
The Managing Director of the Construction Company, Family Homes Funds Limited, Mr Femi Adewole said affordable housing project was part of the efforts of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to improve the well-being of Nigerians.
The Managing Director said over 20 thousand youths in the state are expected to be engaged for the work and applauded the governor for ensuring the actualization of the project.
” The Family Homes Funds Limited is a sub sahara Africa’s largest housing fund focused on affordable homes for Nigerians on low income as it is a social housing initiative promoted by the Federal Government of Nigeria as part of its social intervention programme with initial shareholding by the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority.”
In a welcome address, the State Commissioner for Housing and Environment, Honourable Hamisu Muazu Shira explained that the state affordable housing project has a moratorium span of about 4 years while the period of repayment is in the bracket of 12 years and 15y years as the building provides expansion spaces as family grow.
According to him, the three-bedroom flat has expansion capacity of four bedrooms while the two bedroom has provision to expand to three bedrooms.
” We salute the courage of the indefatigable Executive Governor of Bauchi state, His Excellency, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, for his immeasurable leadership vision and administrative foresight, which yielded to this epoch event. This is typical of whose high definition administration, this Infrastructural development could not have been possible.
” The positive economic gains accuable from this project come in chain reactions and connections. A part from the contractors, the artisans and job men would be occupied with daily work opportunities that would translate into improved family economy.
Hamisu Muazu Shira said the affordable housing project will go along way in cushion the effects of the devastations due to insurgency activities, noted that the project could not have come at a better time than
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