Arc Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, has applauded the Nigerian Army’s concept for providing affordable housing for its soldiers.
On Tuesday, July 16, 2024, Dangiwa gave the commendation after welcoming Major General Joseph D. Omale to his office. Omale is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Army Post Service Housing Development Limited (PSHDL), a subsidiary created to carry out the Nigerian Army Housing Scheme.
Noting that housing is a basic human need, the Minister praised the Nigerian Army for embracing the Ministry’s housing mandate to provide affordable housing for all Nigerians, regardless of class or income.
He said, “I am glad you are ahead of the game in providing that welfare to men of your service.”
Dangiwa also praised Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, the Chief of Army Staff, for acknowledging the soldiers’ need for affordable housing by kindly eliminating land and infrastructure costs that would have made purchasing a home prohibitively expensive. He pointed out that the primary obstacle to housing is its cost.
“I am glad the Chief of Army Staff has kindly addressed the majority of the men’s affordability concern; otherwise, the houses will be built and become unaffordable,” the speaker stated.
He confirmed that the price of land and the availability of infrastructure play a crucial role in the affordability and development of housing.
The Minister gave advice on how to approach the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to obtain a loan to build the houses, provided that the agency had title deeds and encumbered land, identified the off-takers, and designed the houses.
In a similar vein, Dangiwa stated that all Nigerians must contribute 2.5 percent of their salary to the NHF scheme. He explained that mortgages from this fund have the lowest interest rates available in Nigeria, with a 6 percent rate for a 30-year period.
The Minister listed the ministry’s accomplishments under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, citing the creation of land reform, task forces to reform the ministry’s housing agencies, and the creation of hubs for the manufacturing of building materials in each of the nation’s six geopolitical zones as essential to the nation’s housing development.
Dangiwa also disclosed that the ministry has been approved to set up a machinery to provide the framework for the establishment of the National Social Housing Fund, NHSF, to cater for those who do not have means of purchase, as part of President Tinubu’s efforts to ensure that all Nigerians have access to affordable and dignified homes.
Regarding the National Housing Program, or NHP, the Minister stated that the ministry has homes in 36 states across the federation and suggested that the Nigerian Army consider having its officers purchase homes from this program. “These National Housing Units are the ones Mr. President directed us to provide to the fallen heroes,” the Minister added.
The Minister urged them to move quickly to ensure full implementation of the Presidential directive, as the sales of the housing units are already underway. The ministry is waiting on Defence Headquarters to provide the list of the fallen heroes so that the ministry can allocate houses to their families.
Major General Joseph Omali, the Managing Director of Nigerian Army Post Housing Development Limited, had earlier stated that the ministry was present to request the honorable minister’s help in granting their soldiers’ soldiers at FMBN access to mortgage facilities.
He revealed that the Chief of Army Staff launched the Affordable Home Ownership Option program for all soldiers upon taking office. This program is aimed mainly at soldiers who are not in the officer cadre, as it was noticed that the previous housing program only allowed officers to buy homes.
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