Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has affirmed that prioritizing affordable housing for the state’s residents will be the top item on the agenda of his second term.
Senator Diri disclosed this on Friday, May 3, 2024, when the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Hon. Oyetunde Ojo and the management team paid him a courtesy visit in Government House, Yenagoa.
The governor, who expressed his administration’s commitment to collaborate with the federal government to attract more development in the housing sector, approved the provision of land for the FHA to actualise President Bola Tinubu’s housing vision for the people of the state.
He said: “In our first term, we focused more on infrastructure development to open up the state. We saw road construction as our number one priority. But, this time around, we are prioritising housing for our people. Our focal person in the sector will liaise with you to ensure that President Bola Tinubu’s dream of providing housing for Nigerians is realised.
“We will acquire land and make it available to the FHA free of charge. We will collaborate with you so that we can build a new Bayelsa.”
While commending Ojo and his team for consulting with state governments on the federal government housing project, the governor urged other federal appointees to also take into consideration the peculiarities of states and regions in the country in fashioning national policies.
“I commend you for coming to consult with us. Most officers of government stay back in Abuja and make decisions, some of which are inimical to the states. This should be the standard of every official.”
Diri stressed the need to map out high and low-density areas in the construction of federal housing estates just as he thanked President Tinubu for the ongoing construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
He, however, advised the federal government to fast-track the project, by also undertaking it from the Calabar end.
In his remarks, the FHA Managing Director, Hon. Oyetunde Ojo, said the visit was to solicit partnership with the state government in delivering the president’s mandate for the housing sector.
Ojo, who noted that affordable and accessible housing was essential to the people, expressed the president’s desire to provide housing for all Nigerians regardless of political party affiliation.
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While soliciting 100 hectares of land for the project, the FHA CEO applauded the Bayelsa governor for his developmental strides, particularly in the construction of road projects across the state.
He said as one familiar with the state, its terrain and developmental challenges, he can appreciate what Governor Diri has done since he assumed office.
