Ministry To Monitor Implementation Of Housing Council Resolutions
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is taking comprehensive measures to monitor the full implementation of the resolutions of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi said ensuring comprehensive compliance with the Council’s resolutions by all stakeholders will advance the nation’s housing agenda.
A statement issued by the ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Salisu Badamasi Haiba, said Ogunbiyi stated this on Wednesday in Gombe in his remarks during the meeting of the body of Permanent Secretaries at the ongoing 13th meeting of the Council.
The Permanent Secretary, who is the Chairman of the body of Permanent Secretaries in the Council, said the resolutions of the meeting will be presented to the ministerial body of states commissioners for deliberations and adoption.
The theme for the 13th council meeting is “Housing the Future: Affordable Housing for Economic Growth, Climate Resilience and Urban Development”.
“Concerned with the non-implementation of Council resolutions over the years, the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development sponsored a memo this year to seek the approval of Council for the mid-term monitoring of the implementation of Council resolutions. I am happy to inform you that the Technical Session held yesterday accepted the prayers and this will be presented to the body of Permanent Secretaries today”, he stated.
He reminded the Permanent Secretaries that the meeting was to remind all stakeholders to the collective responsibility of advancing housing and urban development in Nigeria.
Outlining some challenges facing the housing sector, Ogunbiyi listed, shortages of affordable housing, rapid urbanization, and poor access to land.
He however said that the ministry has taken measures to tackle the challenges by embarking on the construction of the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates across the country.
In addition, he stated that the ministry is working to establish the National Housing Data Center aimed at creating a comprehensive housing data framework to support housing policy and planning.
He explained that the Steering Committee on the Housing Data, which he chaired, was charged with the responsibility of providing direction and oversight, and collating the housing data to aid policy planning and decision-making.
“This Committee has already mandated its Technical Working Group (TWG) to come up with the Governance and Data Gathering Frameworks and modalities for setting up the National Housing Data Center (NHDC). This Programme is among some of the key initiatives of the Ministry geared towards the achievement of our mandate”, he added.
Ogunbiyi stressed the need for stronger public-private partnership, innovation, and community engagement to meet the urgent demand for affordable and sustainable housing in Nigeria.
He described the theme of the meeting as a call to action, urging the stakeholders to bring their expertise to drive meaningful development in the sector.
Speaking earlier, Gombe State Commisioner of Works, Housing and Transporrtation, Engr. Usman Kallamu, said the council meeting afforded delegates the opportunity to identify the importance of housing to Nigerian’s economic and urban development.
He urged the participants to provide insights to help achieve the national objectives in housing and urban development sector.
Papers were pesented on Building Collapse and Mortgage Registry Administration by the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), respectively.
On building collapse, it was noted that failure to engage appropriate building supervisors, pressure to rush the design, non-engagement of professionals, lack of appropriate technology and professionals manning the building permit agency, use of substandard building materials, among other, as the main causes of building collapse in Nigeria.
