Mrs. Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, has revealed the Federal Government’s intention to construct affordable housing for the underprivileged, Internally Displaced Persons, and refugees nationwide.
Edu further revealed that the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s dedication to offering dignified shelters for the less privileged, internally displaced persons, and refugees in the country, as part of a comprehensive approach to tackling multidimensional poverty.
The details were outlined in a statement signed by the Deputy Director of Information in the Ministry, Rhoda Iliya, on Tuesday, subsequent to the minister’s examination of prototype shelters, including one-bedroom and two-bedroom sample houses, at Idu village in Abuja.
Edu, as stated, conveyed the government’s aspiration to expedite the project, intending to meet the needs of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) across diverse areas in Nigeria. She underscored the pressing need to provide dignified shelters, specifically addressing the recent challenges, such as the burning of an IDP camp in Borno State and the displacement in Benue State resulting from farmers-herders clashes.
‘What is also interesting about the project is the fact that we want to introduce solar energy to it, so that the shelters are not dependent on the National Grid, but they can use solar energy to provide at least the basics such as bulb light, electricity for charging their phones, and do their basic things within the locality,’ she said.
Further details from the minister revealed that the President had instructed the local community to spearhead the construction of the shelters. This directive aims to empower them with skills and economic opportunities, as well as instill the pride of homeownership through the construction of their houses under the attentive supervision of professionals.
‘The project is not a contract or to be built by a contractor. The local community will be given the dignity of building the houses they will live in. They will see it as their project, they will own it, and they will not vandalise or destroy it’.
‘To ensure quality control, the construction of the houses will be supervised by professional architects, engineers and support from the Federal Ministry of Works’, she added.
The statement also read that the shelters ‘will be built in Benue, Borno, Zamfara, Yobe, Cross River, Ebonyi, Lagos, Adamawa, Bayelsa and other states that have large numbers of IDPs, Refugees and extremely poor Nigerians’
In her disclosure, Edu stated that the ceremonial groundbreaking for the houses happened in Benue State, launching the construction of forty shelters. She noted the completion of ground clearing on the 10-hectare land in Benue, with ongoing activities including block molding and initial excavation.