FG: "We'll Provide Affordable Houses to Nigerians"

Ms Ama Pepple, the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development announced that the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development is to build unity villages in the country -- totaling 10,000 units -- in each of the six geo-political zones, in partnership with Cyrus Projects Nigeria Limited, a consortium of Nigerians in the Diaspora.
Under this agreement, the Ministry is currently funding the provision of infrastructure for the social housing component of the project in a pilot phase in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
The Minister, speaking at her presentation in the 2013 Ministerial Platform in Abuja, further stated that another 144 mixed housing units of 1-3 bedroom apartments are under construction in Lugbe,
Abuja, by the Ministry in collaboration with Aso Savings and Loans Plc and Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria.
The Ministry is also partnering with domestic producers for supply of building materials to estate developers at factory prices.
The Minister enjoined estate developers to embrace the concept of mixed development in housing delivery and ensure that at least 20% of the total numbers of housing units built in a project site are allocated to low cost housing ranging between N1.5 million – N5.0 million for 1- 3 bedroom houses.
A significant development in current effort at housing delivery is the adoption of alternative building technologies in some of the project sites, she reiterated, and worthy of note are light gauge, steel construction technology, plasswall and plassmolite technology, hydraform technology and burnt bricks.
Housing and urban development sector is valuable in terms of job creation as construction of housing units requires the services of a pool of professionals.
She also noted that sustainable funding of housing delivery promotes investment in the production of building materials and boosts linked businesses, which help to increase employment generation in the economy.
The sector has contributed its own quota to job creation through the employment of 1,568,286 persons in its housing projects and through the sale of building material across the nation by the informal sector.
In his remark, Mr. Labaran Maku, Minister of Information extolled the Housing Minister for delivering more than 16,000 houses for Nigerians in the last two years