President Muhammadu Buhari has listed efforts which his government has been making in the last eight years to lift Nigerians From Poverty.
The President, who inaugurated 748 units of houses by presenting keys to some new homeowners at the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Zuba, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), today, May 2, said that the successful completion the project is another testament of his administration’s commitment to lift people out of poverty.
The estate covers a total of 18.5 hectares of land and consist 748 units of various house types in 75 blocks.
President Buhari described Housing supply as one of the indices of multi-dimensional poverty that challenges the people.
“The completion of this estate provides a solution for the beneficiaries.
‘‘The new home owners who benefit from this estate have taken a step up on the ladder of prosperity and away from poverty.”
President Buhari acknowledged that more Nigerians are waiting to benefit from the mass housing project, and called on the management of FHA not to relent in delivering other projects at various stages of construction and development across the states.
‘‘One of the measures that we have consciously deployed to attack poverty, create prosperity and develop our economy is the aggressive provision of infrastructure nationwide.”
According to him, such investments also lead to creating employment opportunities for artisans and other skilled members of the society.
This was even as the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said that the completion of the project was a product of team work and leadership by the President, who gave approval for appointments into the leadership of FHA Board and Management.
‘‘Instead of abandoned projects, we now have 748 completed housing units for Nigerians and their families to shelter.” He said that 75 contractors were engaged in the course of the project, while over 13,000 Nigerians were employed both directly and indirectly.
Fashola said that the five beneficiaries who received keys to their flats, including Tina Orkpe, Salisu Iliyasu, Ado Maude, Rabina Abdulkadir and Flight Sgt. Musa Mohammed, subscribed through FHA Rent-to-Own delivery model.
‘‘Although many of the beneficiaries of this project will never meet the President personally, your policies and programmes have met them personally at the point of their needs.”
The Chairman, Board of Directors, FHA, Senator Shuaibu Lawal thanked the President for providing the grant of N7.5billion for the project to commence in May 2018.
‘‘Without that grant, which served as the seed money, this project would not have been possible. Mr President, you take all the credit for what we are seeing here today.”
Lawal said that the Estate is ideal for Nigerians who cannot afford houses in areas such as Maitama and Asokoro in the FCT, even as helauded the Minister of Works and Housing, FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello, for their passionate commitment to the project.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Office of FHA, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, described the commissioning of the project as a manifestation of the visionary and deliberate housing policy of the President, who in keeping with the promise of providing shelter to Nigerians approved the grant to FHA.
He said that the Authority delivered the project at a total cost of N9.5billion with the subvention of N7.5 billion from the Federal Government.
He explained that the balance of 2 billion of construction cost came from the Authority’s other projects which was ploughed into to complete the estate.
Ashafa disclosed that the Authority has also commenced the development of Bwari Estate, Abuja near the Nigeria Law School, which will deliver 336 units of various houses under the first phase of the project.
He said that the proposed Diaspora City initiative, which targets Nigerians in the Diaspora, is in progress, with intention of extending the programme to all the regions of the country, with Abuja as the pilot scheme.

The President-elect for Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured workers in the country that he would always fight for the improvement of their welfare and conditions under which they work.

In his message to the workers to mark May Day today, May 1, Tinubu said: “your fight will be my fight because I will always fight for you.

“My plans for better welfare and working conditions are clearly spelt out in my Renewed Hope Agenda for A Better Nigeria. It is a covenant born of conviction and one I am prepared to keep.”

Tinubu extended hands of friendship to the Nigerian workers through the two central Labour unions – Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress.

He said: “in me you will find a dependable ally and co-labourer in the fight for social and economic justice for all Nigerians, including all the working people.”

The President elect reminded Nigerian workers that “we all have a common battle to wage; one which we must win together. And it is the fight against poverty, ignorance, disease, disunity, ethnic and religious hate and all negative forces that contend against the stability and prosperity of our country.

“In the Nigeria I shall have the honour and privilege to lead from May 29, workers will have more than a minimum wage. You will have a living wage to have a decent life and provide for your families.

“The days ahead will, however, demand better understanding and cooperation from all sides, because leadership will require that we take tough and hard decisions so that our people and all Nigerian workers can live more abundantly.”

The Board of Trustees of the Aliko Dangote Foundation has resolved to be fully involved in the evacuation and resettling of thousands of Nigerians that are stranded in Sudan.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), Zouera Youssoufou is believed to already be in contact with the Management of Air Peace and the Federal Government to indicate the Foundation’s readiness to support the stranded Nigerians.

A statement today, April 30 from the Foundation, quoted Zouera Youssoufou as saying: “The Foundation will collaborate with the Federal Government and Air Peace in ensuring  seamless transportation of the stranded Nigerians and more importantly provide logistics and succour to the evacuees, to make them settle more comfortably when they return to Nigeria.”

The Managing Director said that ADF’s understands the challenges of the Federal Government and Air Peace that are involved in this mission and has contacted relevant Federal Government agencies, in humanitarian disaster relief intervention.

“It indicates our interest in collaborating with them to ensure that all Nigerians stranded in Sudan are brought back home safely.”

It would be recalled that Aliko Dangote Foundation supported the Nigerian government with logistics support for the Nigerian volunteer health workers who supported the Ebola containment efforts in Liberia and Sierra Leone upon their return to the country in 2015.

Also, during the recent Covid pandemic, ADF supported the return of Nigerians from India and Dubai during the outbreak of the pandemic with specially chartered flights and Covid testing and quarantining when they arrived back in Nigeria.  Since 2011, ADF has supported several thousand IDPs in Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, and Abuja with a total spending of over 25 billion naira in the provision of food, shelter, and health services.

Meanwhile, a Joint press release from the Ministry of foreign affairs and the federal ministry of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development revealed that the first batch of 13 buses conveying 637 evacuees had arrived at the identified safe borders at Aswan, Egypt, and are undergoing necessary documentation and clearance before admission into the Egyptian territory for their eventual evacuation to Nigeria.

Sudan has been experiencing intense clashes between the country’s military and the main paramilitary force. Hundreds of people have been killed, while thousands that are fleeing the bloody civil war are reported stranded on the Sudan-Egypt border because of visa requirements demanded by Egypt.