Nigeria’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has expressed its willingness to support diaspora initiatives in the housing and urban development space.
The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Architect Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, made this known when the Chairperson, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and her team paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.
Architect Dangiwa said the ministry is also committed to supporting the NiDCOM’s plan to ensure that Nigerians in diaspora can own homes in Nigeria.
“NiDCOM has over the years championed several initiatives and programmes that are helping our country leverage the massive potential of our diaspora for national development.
We have over 20 million Nigerians in diaspora remitting an average of over $24bn per annum,” he noted.
The minister also said that the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), in supporting the ministry’s efforts to cater to the diaspora, has undertaken to develop the Diaspora City Project under a Public-Private Partnership, which comprises the FHA, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and the private sector. The project is situated in Maitama 2, with over 675 hectares of land.
“The overall goal of the project is to ensure that as our brothers and sisters sojourn abroad, they also have a decent shelter over here in Nigeria to call their home,” Dangiwa said.
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He commended the innovative drive of the NiDCOM chairperson and her team and assured them of the ministry’s commitment to taking relevant actions towards ensuring that the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) deliver on the stated objectives of these initiatives.
Earlier in her remarks, the Chairperson, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said they were in the ministry to appreciate the minister for attending the 6th edition of the Nigerian Diaspora Investment Summit when the Diaspora Mortgage Scheme was launched.
She acknowledged receipt of the minister’s letter to the commission on the sale of houses built by the ministry under the National Housing Scheme across the nation. This will avail Nigerians in diaspora of the opportunity to directly buy houses in any state of the federation.
“With this initiative, Nigerians abroad are eager to come back home so that they can join hands in developing their country, as they do not have any other country except Nigeria,” she added.
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