Housing: Minister Tasks States On Land Donation

As part of efforts to
    provide  sustainable solution to housing problems in the country, the Minister of Lands, Housing  and Urban  Development, Mrs Akon Eyakenyi, has appealed  to state governments to make plots of land available for the Federal Government’s Mass Housing project for Nigerian workers.
The  minister who made the appeal  while interacting with journalist in Abuja  said that the federal  government was working out modalities to reduce the housing  deficit in the country,  to promote  access to home ownership and affordability  by giving free lands  to developers .
She urged the state governments to do the same, as it  would help  reduce the cost of  houses, while increasing the rate of construction of more houses to alleviate the plight of low income earners.
Eyakenyi commended the FCT administration for providing land for the take-off of the initial  20,000 units of various  types of homes to be built, and the  two workers union, for  their concern  for Nigerian workers.
The minister said funding for the first phase of the scheme in APO, FCT,  was provided  by the Federal Mortgage  Bank of Nigeria (FMBN),  through its national housing  scheme.
According to her, the scheme is a veritable source for long-term financing mechanism for  affordable homes ownership, which  calls for  further strengthening  and  recaptalisation of the bank to  enable it perform its function of providing  funds for housing development in the country.