Abuja (Min. of Police Affairs) – The Honorable Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, has opined that good shelter is a prerequisite for effective service delivery.
He made this statement when the Management of Family Homes Fund Limited paid him a courtesy visit in his office recently. Dingyadi expressed his displeasure at the dilapidating state of the Police Barracks across the country and welcomed President Muhammadu Buhari’s priority to decent and affordable housing for Nigerians and the Police respectively.
According to him, affordable homes for the Police Force, particularly after retirement from service is a necessity, he assured the Family Homes Fund of the Ministry’s readiness in partnering with them. He said the proposed 1000 units for the Nigeria Police may be inadequate considering the number of officers in the force who will be interested particularly since it is targeted to reach every state in Nigeria.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Nnamdi Maurice Mbaeri in his remark, applauded the group in their choice to partner with the Ministry in acquiring housing units for the Police, he noted that it is an opportunity that will equally provide jobs for indigenes, owing that most of the insecurity lurking around is as a result of joblessness.
Mbaeri emphasized on the need for proper sensitization of the project saying, “There is need for proper sensitization of this intervention project in order to cut across the main target, if there is no sensitization, there is every likelihood that the main targets will end up not benefiting from it.”
The Managing Director, Family Homes Fund, Femi Adewole who spoke earlier, revealed that the company was established 2years ago and is a joint venture between the Federal Ministry of Finance and Sovereign Authority as part of its intervention program geared towards Mr. Presidents intentions of alleviating the burden of the masses as regards housing for low income earners. He said, “Apart from the housing intervention, it is an avenue designed to create 1.5million jobs for Nigerians and facilitating finance for low income earners”.
He further noted that the project is being carried out through 3 different phases for different categories of would be customers as follows:
a. Affordable housing fund: This is housing for Nigerians on low income, the houses on this category intends to sell at an average of 3million for a bedroom flat, 4.5million for a 2bedroom flat and 5.5million for a 3bedroom flat. (these figures exclude Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano).
b. Home Loans: It provides for households who earn less than a N100,000.00 (one hundred thousand naira only) monthly. This will function through mortgage bank. The modalities will be worked out.
c. Social Rental Housing Fund: This may not be eligible for mortgages. The modalities of rent to ownership will be worked out.
He said the Fund has invested 60billion naira in financing 16,000 homes across 9 states in the country so far.
Odutayo Oluseyi
Head, Press and Public Relations
