The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, has assured the Nigerian Police of the Federal Government’s commitment towards providing decent and affordable housing to its officers and men across the country.
The minister gave the assurance while speaking at the maiden edition of the Nigeria Police Housing Summit held at the Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja.
Dangiwa, who reiterated that President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for Housing is a holistic plan to ensure every Nigerian, including members of the force, has access to decent and affordable housing, also said the theme of the summit, “Renewed Hope for Police Housing in Nigeria”, speaks to the acknowledgement of past challenges, the commitment to overcoming them, and the optimism for a brighter future.
Speaking through the Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Shehu Usman Osidi, the minister reiterated the essence of the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme, and urged the police to embrace strategic partnerships with housing agencies like the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Housing Authority towards realising decent, affordable and safe housing for its personnel.
Earlier in his address, the Inspector-General, Kayode Egbetokun, alluding to the importance of the summit, disclosed that “the housing capacity of the force is about 10-12% of the over 400,000 workforce, and due to long years of neglect, the existing and available barracks accommodation are largely unsuitable and incompatible with 21st century policing architecture.
