In order to fast track the implementation of the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Housing Project in Nasarawa State, Governor Abdullahi Sule has presented the certificate of occupancy of a piece of land to the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

Governor Sule presented the allocation documents for a 24.62 hectares of land located in Auta Balefi, Karu Local Government Area to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc Ahmed Musa Dangiwa in Abuja on Monday.

Handing over the documents to the Minister during a courtesy visit, the Governor said that the gesture was to demonstrate the commitment of his administration towards the efforts of the Ministry aimed at providing affordable housing to Nigerians.

“We want to sincerely thank you for selecting Nasarawa State to be part of the first phase of the project. And to show you our gratitude we decided to bring the Certificate of Occupancy for the land which we have already identified as the site for the project.

“In fact, our Director General, Nasarawa Geographic Information Services (NAGIS), Mr. Sonny Agassi is doing more than that. He is bringing a certificate and the conveyance of approval for the grant of land in Nasarawa State for this project,” he said.

He pointed out that the choice of Karu Local Government Area for the project was strategic, especially that Karu, according to available statistics, is one of the fastest growing local government areas in the country.

“Out of the 774 local government areas in the country, Karu Local Government is one local government that is receiving more visitors every day than any other local government area in Nigeria according to available statistics. The population of Karu LGA is right now running into over 1.5m people out of our 13 LGAs,” he stated.

While further appreciating the Minister, Governor Sule emphasized that Nasarawa State holds great promise, especially with the proximity of the state to the Federal Capital Territory.

“We are extremely proud of what you are doing in the sector, and we can see how proud Mr. President is of what you are doing. He always makes reference to your promise that you will transform Nigeria into a giant construction site whenever we have our meetings, and we can see it happening already,” the Governor said.

This is just as the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc Ahmed Musa Dangiwa said with the receipt of the allocation of piece of land in Karu Local Government Area, the Renewed Hope Cities And Estates Project will commence within the next one week in Nasarawa State.

The Minister appreciated Governor Sule for responding to the request of the Ministry for a piece of land towards addressing the shortfall in affordable housing for Nigerians.

Reiterating the commitment of the Ministry towards actualising the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for Housing and Urban Development, Dangiwa said the project in Nasarawa is just one of the several cities and estates to be built across the nation.

“The first phase of the programme aims to deliver Renewed Hope Cities ranging from 1,000 housing units per site in one location in each of the six geopolitical zones of the country while the remaining thirty (30) states will have Renewed Hope Estates each with a minimum of 500 housing units.

“As you already know, Nasarawa State is a beneficiary under phase 1. The contract for the construction of 250 units has been awarded and with these documents now in our hands, the contractors will be moving to site in less than a week from today,” he said.

Dangiwa further called on the Nasarawa State Governor, who doubles as the Chairman, APC North Central Governor’s Forum, to prevail on other governors to do the same, as well as support the efforts of the Land Reforms Task Team constituted by the Ministry in January 2024, noting that their support and participation is necessary to successfully streamline land administration in Nigeria.

“Unfortunately, despite sending official invitations, many are yet to send representatives. We are not discouraged because we understand the pressures that Governors face. So, today, I want to use this special occasion of your visit to specifically solicit your cooperation for the active participation of Nasarawa State in the Land Reforms Task Team and to also use your influence within the Governors’ Forum to get other Governors involved in this important national assignment,” he said.