Fashola Advocates A Housing Economy For Rebuilding Economy, Country *      Minister commends private sector participants in the Housing Sector at the 11th Abuja International Housing Show in the FCT *      Says FG is now building models that respond to nation’s cultural and climatic diversities in 33 states “as a pilot to then interface with the Private Sector” *      We remain committed and we will deliver and improve what we met, he declares The 11th Abuja International Housing Show kicked off in the Federal Capital Territory Monday with the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, advocating a Housing Economy as a viable means of rebuilding the nation and its economy. In a keynote address at the International Conference Centre venue of the three-day event, Fashola, who explained the concept of Housing Economy to mean “an economy that delivers on a continuous basis at every spectrum of the value chain”, starting from the construction sites. He said such continuous construction would impact mostly on the lives of artisans, labourers, builders and others at the construction sites, whom he described as “the most vulnerable members of the society”. Stressing that the society has a duty to support such people, the Minister pointed out that the construction site has provided a major source of income for, not only construction workers such as plumbers, welders, bricklayers, retailers, but also suppliers of building materials and food vendors, adding, “It is the place where we can impact most on peoples’ lives”. “Those are the most vulnerable members of our society that we must continue to support”, he said adding that the kind of response that could be received from creating a sustainable housing construction through building on a continuous basis would be “almost unbelievable”. Recalling his inspection of Housing sites in Taraba, Gombe, Ekiti, Oyo and other states across the country earlier in the year, Fashola declared, “the story I can tell you is that plumbers, welders, bricklayers, food vendors, all say,  ‘Thank Buhari for us because we are back to work’. And that is the story; that is where it starts”.  Particularly recalling his visit to the Oyo State site where he met a couple working at the site with the husband as a mason and bricklayer while the wife sold food to workers, the Minister, who noted that the couple relocated from Lagos to the site on learning of the project, added, “Let us just continue to build because the opportunities that it provides for rebuilding the economy and for rebuilding our country are simply prolific”. On plans to include members of the informal sector in the Housing programme, Fashola said his Ministry was currently working on how to expand and register cooperatives and assist people to key into the programme adding that work in that regard has almost been concluded. The Minister said the plan had become necessary because within the financing sector it had become important to ensure that those who have legitimate assets and income but were not in the formal recorded form could still be assisted to participate in home ownership. Using the level 07 or 08 Civil Servant, who earns N50,000, as example, the Minister said although the amount may not be enough, he may have other assets like a farm or his wife’s business that they could put together adding that the plan was to expand the frontiers of how to determine what was affordable and the kind of income that could come into the programme. “What we are currently working on now is how to expand and register cooperatives and assist people; because we have seen that the formal sector has its own structured organization where they contribute money, they help each other to build it. How can we use that to help them to build for themselves? We are almost completing work in that regard”, he said. Fashola, who acknowledged that there is a challenge in the nation’s Housing sector, however, said the way to solve it was not to look at the size but to focus on how to solve it urging that the size of the problem should not dampen the enthusiasm to seek for solutions. Debunking the estimated size of the nation’s housing deficit as not based on any audit or accurate census, the Minister, who stated that life without problems was unimaginable, added, “I always say that it is because there are problems that opportunities also arise, whether in public or the private sector”. “I think the most important thing I want to say here is that the size of the problem should not dampen our enthusiasm to find solutions. Let us focus more on what we can contribute, what we can do rather than how big the problem is”, he said adding, “I will say this in the context of every time I hear 17 million Housing deficit; who did the census; who did the audit?” The Minister recalled that barely 15 years ago Nigerians needed to get international direct dialling to be able to call somebody outside the country adding that although it was a big problem, the country just focussed on how to find a solution and, indeed, found a solution with many Nigerians now owning phones. According to him, although not everybody in Nigeria today has a telephone, “But inch by inch, step by step, village by village, community by community we are connecting”, adding, “That must be the same attitude here”. Still emphasizing the need to focus on solutions, Fashola, who recalled the time in the country when the only television station available was the Nigerian Television Authority, stated that Nigerians now have more channels than they could watch, adding that Nigerians must adopt the attitude that having overcome many problems in the past, the housing problem could be overcome. The Minister commended Nigerians for their innovativeness pointing out that the  banner, depicting the many brands of exhibitors at the Housing Show was a demonstration that Nigerians were not idle. He declared, “Look at all of those brands, it means that Nigerians are doing something. So we are not idle, we are not inactive and step by step we will get to our destination”. On the theme of the Show, “Solving Nigeria’s Housing Challenges Through Innovative Finance and Infrastructure Solutions”, Fashola, who said the financing problem would remain for as long as humanity, explained that the growth of global population was not proportionate with the increase in availability of funds. The Minister explained further, “The public Housing programme in the United Kingdom started since 1918. Next year it will be 100 years old. And, you know what, not everybody in the UK owns a house. There are people who still sleep on the streets. They have only managed to achieve about 65 per cent home ownership”. “And it varies depending on the economy because even home owners also lose their homes. They have reduced rental and increased ownership; but from 1918 till now, not everybody owns a home and that is just about 65million or 70million people”, he said. Also, according to the Minister, Singapore, with barely five million people, started her Housing programme in 1962 and has achieved a home ownership of 80 per cent of their population after about 60 years while in Hong Kong, one of the biggest financial centres in the world, people live in cages; in flats cut into pieces “because the average cost of a house is 19 times higher than the average wage”. “And this is the context in which I said the issue of financing will remain for a long time. But within that we can improve the quality of our lives if we focus on what we can do, if we focus on major progress, if we understand that housing delivery is a long time commitment”, he said. Expressing the commitment of the Federal Government to deliver on its promises of affordable housing for Nigerians, Fashola declared, “We remain committed and we will deliver and improve what we met”, adding that in discussing financing it should also be understood that there are many other problems such as issues of affordability and issues of acceptability. The Minister declared, “We have empty houses in many states of the Federation. Why are they not occupied? Can people afford them? Where they can afford them, do they like the way they are built?” adding that these were the problems that must be addressed in order to build for the choice and demand of the off taker. Fashola commended his team in the Ministry for the work they have done in the last one year during which, according to him, “they have designed a National Housing model that responds to the cultural and climatic diversities of Nigeria”, adding that the Ministry was now building in 33 states of the Federation “as a pilot to then interface with the Private Sector”. Also present at the Opening Ceremony of the Housing Show which is featuring hundreds of exhibitors and stakeholders in the Housing Sector, include, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri, Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie Oyegun, who was Chairman of the Opening Ceremony, Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, Legislators, Governors, Traditional Rulers and other stakeholders in both Public and Private Sectors.   ...

Osinbajo Visits Site of Collapsed Bridge on Ilorin-Mokwa-Jebba Road *Inspects Ongoing Repair Works & Assures Motorists, Residents Of FG’s Commitment To Address Their Plight The flow of vehicular traffic on the Ilorin-Mokwa-Jebba road would be normalized within two weeks according to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. Already the Federal Government has commenced work to make the road passable pending the commencement of work on re-construction of the collapsed Bakino bridge at Tatabu community near Mokwa in Niger State. Prof. Osinbajo who visited the site for an on-the-spot assessment earlier today gave the assurance having received assurances from top government officials including Power, Works & Housing Minister, Mr. Babatunde Fashola and the contractors on site. Specifically the Ag. President received briefs from relevant officials on site including the site engineers and supervisors from the Federal Ministry of Works. He also embarked on a tour of the collapsed bridge. Prof. Osinbajo then told newsmen at the site that government was fully committed to ending the difficulties on the Ilorin-Mokwa-Jebba road by addressing the remote causes of the deterioration on the road. According to the Acting President, ``the Minister of Works is working on a lasting solution but in the interim we have assurances from  the contractors and engineers working here that this road will be made passable in about a fortnight.’’ He assured that construction work on building a new bridge would commence but that it would take some time for it to be completed due to the slow movement of material from Ilorin to the site. According to him, ``The contractors have informed me that movement of material to this location would be difficult and slow because of the deplorable nature of the road but with the commitment and support of the Federal Road Safety Corps and other agencies, the job would be done in good time.’’ He added the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport were both working on a more lasting solution that will reduce the over -dependence on the highway especially by diverting the movement of heavy duty cargo from the roads to the railways. While speaking to youths who had gathered at the site of the collapsed bridge, Prof. Osinbajo conveyed the greetings of President Muhammadu Buhari to the community and urged for patience while government's efforts are in top gear to fix both the collapsed bridge and the road. The Acting President was companies on the visit by Mr. Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing; the Governor of Niger State, Abubakar Bello, the Estu Nupe, HRH, Dr Yahaya Abubakar and other senior government officials. ...

Fashola To Goje : Don’t Trivialize The Issues Raised On Budget 2017 *  Says Senator’s language is unparliamentary, therefore  not deserving of a reply *  I need a better budget as a tool to do my work and that is why l am speaking out  Minister The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN on Thursday said it was regrettable that the Senate Committee Chairman on Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje would seek to trivialize the issues he raised about the unilateral slashing of the budgetary allocation to key national infrastructure by the National Assembly. In a Statement personally signed by the Minister and sent in from Zimbabwe where he is currently attending the 35th Annual General Meeting of the Shelter Afrique, Fashola said he was responding only for the purpose of refocusing attention to the issues at stake. According to the Minister, the Senator’s reference to the patriotism of legislators should not be spoken but demonstrated as regards his calls for a more developmental budgeting approach. Explaining this further, the Minister declared: “In this context, it is left for Nigerians to then decide whether budgeting for constituency roads is more patriotic than budgeting to complete the Kano-Maiduguri Road that connects 5 states, the Lagos-Ibadan road that connects 3 states and helps to move food, imported goods and fuel across the country; or the 2nd Niger Bridge that connects the East and West geopolitical zones of at least 11 states together. “I will also leave Nigerians to judge whether it is more patriotic to budget for the Mambilla Power Project that will contribute to more power across Nigeria or reduce the budget to build street lights in legislative constituencies.” The Minister noted that the response to the issues he raised certainly should not have been accusations of his blackmailing the Legislature or referring to  those who shared his views as his “surrogates”. Reiterating his respect for the Parliament as a house where very vigorous debates about development should take place, Fashola advised Senator Goje to acquire the temperament for such debate and disagreement. “Let me Let me reiterate that I see Parliament as a house where very vigorous debates about development should take place and it is important for Goje to acquire the temperament of debate and disagreement”. Decrying the Senator’s admonition that he should learn how to “behave” like a “Minister” and the reference to the Senate awaiting how he would be “handled” by the House of Representatives, the Minister declared, “ I think first that the language  is unparliamentary and therefore not deserving of a reply”. Noting that Goje’s faux  pas gave a clearer insight into how the Senator and those who may be minded like him may be thinking having transited from the Executive arm to the Legislative arm , the Minister called for caution. ” It seems that it is such people who need a behavioural prescription about legislative function,” Fashola said. According to the Minister, a good budget remains a necessary tool for the Executive to do its work because when services are inadequate, the members of the public often  look to the Executive arm for answers. “ I need a better budget as a tool to do my work and that is why l am speaking out”, he said. ...