The Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Engr Richard Yunana Dauda has expressed displeasure at the abuse of the mass housing concept by developers, to the effect that rather than selling houses, they now sell lands. He however indicated the readiness of the FCDA to always support genuine effort by developers and others aimed at providing affordable houses for Abuja residents.
He noted that “The concept of mass housing as we knew, was that if land is provided free, then, the cost of land is removed and so the cost of the houses is reduced. But overtime, those that were given mass housing were also selling the lands, not houses. This was why the government eventually began to see it differently as people took advantage of that model by abusing the process.”
The Executive Secretary made the remark during a courtesy visit by a delegation from the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), FCT Chapter, led by the Chairman, Ehikioya Anthony, on Monday.
He indicated the readiness of the FCDA to always support any effort by developers geared towards ensuring that the quality of houses and infrastructure provided for Off-takers meet the required standard, stressing that “Land administration is out of the FCDA, the allocation of lands lies with the Honourable Minister, he has that responsibility on behalf of the President. But we will always support that the quality of houses being produced meet the standard for a city like the one that we are building and the infrastructure you provide also meet the standard”
Speaking earlier, the Chairman, REDAN noted that collaborating with the FCDA in the provision of mass housing would not only provide affordable houses for Nigerians, particularly the residents of the FCT, but also provide job opportunities for them, among others.
“We felt that collaborating with the mother organisation will help us to curtail this problem of housing in the FCT, help us to move in such a way that the society will benefit from the work we do in the society”, he stated.
