By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
Abia State Government has said its policy on housing is in agreement with that of the Federal Government.
Governor Alex Otti made this known when he received a delegation of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) led by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Oyetunde Ojo, who visited him on Tuesday.
Governor Otti said that his administration would show sufficient interest in the proposed federal housing project in Abia, stressing that the importance of shelter, which is one of the three most basic needs of man, cannot be over emphasised.
He disclosed that his administration had already identified a location as it had been working on the idea of a diaspora village in the state, which is also one of the propositions of the Federal Government’s housing programme.
He thanked President Bola Tinubu for the decision to ensure that Nigerians have roofs over their heads and particularly for assuring that contractors for the execution of the federal housing project would be sourced from within the benefitting states.
He equally expressed joy that the Federal Housing Authority would be consulting with states to know what exactly the people want in terms of housing, adding that it is the best approach for achieving an acceptable housing project.
Otti said, “Please give our regards to Mr. President and reassure him that where housing is on his vision is also where housing is on our vision here. So, we’re aligned.
“I also want to thank you for not just imposing on people, but recognising the differences in culture and lifestyles. We are the same but again different people, and we must respect our choices. So, for respecting those choices and consulting on what the people want, I want to say, thank you.
“I also want to thank you for your decision to ensure that the contractors are local. Before now, schemes like these are used to settle boys, settle interests and all that, but you now bringing it home to say that the contractors must come from here (Abia) and we take responsibility, places a burden on those that are going to recommend the contractors because if you don’t recommend the right contractors, you’re going to live with it.
“For us, it’s so critical and that is why anything we’re doing, we must use the best, and sometimes people say it’s expensive. But just like the wise saying, if you think education is expensive, try ignorance. So, when you take half-baked contractors, they would produce half-baked jobs.
Ojo stated that housing was key to Tinubu’s administration. He told the governor that his team’s visit to Abia was to intimate the governor on the proposal of the Federal Government to acquire land and build affordable houses for Abians.
He said the president identified that there was deficiency in shelter in Nigeria and he is willing to provide affordable housing for Nigerians.
According to him, the plan is to meet with state governors and design together, the kind of housing to be built in each state, saying that the inputs of the governors are important to the project.
The FHA Chief Executive, who came in company of the former governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, was accompanied on his visit by some senior management team of the agency.
