Housing Perm Sec, Ogunbiyi Assures Staff of Better Days Ahead    The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, has assured staff of the ministry of better days ahead.    He gave this assurance, Friday,  August 9th, 2024, during his interaction with the staff of the ministry to brief them on the ongoing transformational projects lined up for execution in the ministry.   Dr. Ogunbiyi told the staff that the challenges of office and parking space, and that of electricity and water supplies would soon be a thing of the past as the ministry was already addressing them assiduously.    " Very soon all those issues will be a thing of the past as concrete and deliberate  measures have been put in place to ensure an enhanced and conducive working environment is provided " he stated    The Permanent Secretary disclosed that the ministry will soon take possession of one of it's office building that has been occupied by another ministry to provide additional space for the staff.    He also mentioned that staff training and welfare would be a priority under his watch in order to encourage and motivate the teaming staff for high performance and productivity    While appreciating members of staff for their patience and perseverance in the discharge of their duties under the circumstances, Dr Ogunbiyi stated that "No pain No gain" as there would be a greater value rewards for hard work in the service.   ...

We Will Ensure Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Building Collapse  – Dangiwa   * Reviews Recommendations of Building Collapse Committee with Regulatory Bodies  * Charges the Commitee to develop a checklist of professionals involved in construction process to ease investigation   Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa,  has stated that the ministry would ensure prosection of persons responsible for building collapse in the country.    The Minister stated this during a review meeting of recommendations of the ministry's building collapse commitee along side regulatory bodies in the built environment.    To ensure proper investigation and prosecution of the Culprits, the minister also charged the Ministry's Committee on building collapse to develop a checklist of professionals involved in the construction process in order to ease investigation and identifying the Culprits.   Dangiwa told the committee " You must come up with a checklist of things to observe during inspection or assessment of building collapse and there must be a column to aportion blame to who is culpable"    According to the Minister, the checklist must ensure quality assurance of the design,  concrete quality, slumb and soil tests  before the construction, who designed the building, who certified the designer, who approved the design and who supervised the construction so as to identify those culpable to stop the embarrassing tie of building collapse in the country.   "Once there is building collapse, we should immediately move there with our checklist, identify it and fill in. Once that is done, you can independently sit down and identify the culprit and support it with tangible evidence that this is the person that hasn't done the correct thing, either the design had not been done or the professional not certified or development control has not given approval or supervision was not done by a professional and it was converted to different use".   The checklist when developed would be presented to  the National Council on Housing for all to understand and be carried along in the implementation.   Dangiwa requested the regulatory bodies in the built environment to forward their  submissions and inputs to the committee on building collapse set up by the ministry for consideration and inclusion in the checklist.   Earlier the Committee on building collapse had presented Twelve recommendations for consideration among which are as follows; Reconstitution of the National Building Code Advisory Committee, Review of the Acts establishing ARCON; CORBON and TOPREC to make them more effective in curbing quackery; Implementation of punitive measures and sanctions for professional negligence, regulatory bodies to collaborate in event of collapse amongst others.   Commenting on the Committee's recommendations, the Chairman of the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), Bldr. Samson Ameh Opaluwah fnib, comended the Honourable Minister for this initiative and his laudable achievements within one year in office.   "Before, when there was an incident of building collapse, nothing  was done to it but this initiative shows that the Federal Government and the Ministry are concerned and ready to tackle this issue to ensure safety and security of lives and properties.   Many of the regulators advocated for the implementation of punitive measures on those found wanting to curb the menace of building collapse in the country.   They called on the ministry to resuscitate the training schools for Artisans and Technicians to train more Artisans, Carpenters and Technicians to follow exactly the specifications in the drawings while doing their work to ensure a perfect job.   The regulatory bodies present at the meeting were; The Council for the Regulation of Engineers in Nigeria (COREN) Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), Town Planners Registration Council (TOPREC), Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, NIESV, Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) and others.   ...

Ministry of Housing to Assist Nigerian Airforce Acquire Affordable Houses for Officers    Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, has assured the Nigerian AirForce of the readiness of the  Ministry to provide  housing units to its personnel under the National Housing Program (NHP) at subsidized rates.   The Minister disclosed this when the Chief of Air staff, Air Marshal Hassan Bala Abubakar, led a delegation of key officers from NAF on a courtesy visit to the Ministry in Abuja.   While appreciating the dedication of the Nigerian Airforce to providing security and protection of sovereignty of the nation, the Minister reiterated the obligation of the ministry to provide affordable housing for all class of Nigerians, covering low, middle and high level income earners.    He stated "As the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, we recognize the importance of providing suitable housing for members of the Nigerian Airforce. We assure our commitment to working with you towards meeting the needs of our Airforce."    Dangiwa noted that the leadership of the Ministry under the Renewed Hope Housing Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu provided various options to enable Nigerians become home owners, saying that the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates programme launched by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at Karsana, Abuja  is one opportunity available to Nigerians for home ownership    According to him, the program which aims at providing 50,000 affordable housing to Nigerians nationwide under phase 1,  has started in 13 locations of the country with the Cities in Abuja to contain 3112 Units, 500 units in Kano state under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, and 1,500 units ongoing in Lagos, in partnership with Federal Mortgage Bank Nigeria (FMBN).   Dangiwa also explained that construction of houses was currently ongoing in 12 locations across the nation, two states in each geopolitical zones of the country where lands were provided and currently at various level of completion     Similarly the Minister highlighted the various purchasing options available to potential buyers to include; Outright, Rent -to - own, instalmental and mortgage loan with a single digit interest payable under 30 years period.   To ensure seamless accessibility in acquiring the houses Dangiwa added that the ministry has launched Renewed Hope Housing  Portal   Speaking on the  National Housing Program (NHP) constructed by the previous administration in the 30 states of the federation,  Dangiwa explained, the houses have been advertised and have been over subscribed, saying also that the ownership option plans made available to prospectus buyers also include; outright purchase  installmental payment, mortgage loan as well as rent-to-own.   Responding to the request for the National Housing in Bauchi, the Minister said, “We are ready to offer the whole estate in Bauchi to the Nigerian Air Force at a discounted rate to offer installmental payments as the chief of Air staff deems fit to pay"   The minister directed the Permanent Secretary to coordinate the teams from both the Ministry and the Airforce to undertake  an  assessment tour of the NHP site in Bauchi state in order to facilitate a speedy process of acquisition, giving assurance,  the discounts will cover the cost of repairs for some of the houses that have become dilapidated.   On appeal to engage the Nigerian Airforce Investment Limited Housing and Construction Company,  the Minister gave assurance that the company would be considered for the next procurement bid since the Ministry has just concluded its procurement process.   While expressing his elation on the Post- Service Housing pursuit of the Nigeria Airforce for its personnel, Dangiwa acknowledged the gesture as a welfare that could  boost the morale for both serving and soon to retire officers.   He said, "we want to offer you the National House Programme across  the country and the Renewed Hope Estates and Cities across the country," suggesting Nigeria Airforce could purchase their preferences either by outright purchase or instalmental thereafter make deductions from the pensions of beneficiary to recoup the money.   Speaking earlier, the Chief of Air Staff,  Air Marshal Bala Abubarkar, while commending the Minister for the achievement recorded so far under his leadership,  said they were in the ministry to seek collaboration on providing affordable houses for Airforce personnel covering both the officers in service and post -service.   Air Marshall Abubakar told the Minister that they also came to appeal for the NHP Bauchi housing units to either be given to Nigeria Airforce free or sold to them at a discounted rate with friendly payment terms, as acquiring it will go a long way to enhance the "operational readiness of the force.   Tge Chief of Air Staff also requested collaboration with the Ministry on engaging the Nigeria  Airforce Investment Limited Housing and Construction Company in the ongoing construction of the Renewed Hope Cities and Estate projects across the country, affirming the company  has handled several civil works and construction of houses such as the one the force has in Asokoro.   ...