FG receives lands from 27 states for mass housing

The Federal Government has said it has so far received lands from 27 states and considering over 500 contracts for mass housing across the country.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed this on Monday in Lagos, at the opening of the 4th Commonwealth Public Relations Congress.

The event organised by the Management School, London and the Business Education Examinations Council was themed: “Strategic Management of Reputation Risk in an Interdependent World.’’

Mohammed, who briefed the gathering on what the government was doing to better the lots of Nigerians, stressed that government was spending massively on infrastructural development.

“We have a lot to tell Nigerians. Spending our way out of this recession, we are investing massively on roads, railways, power, etc, and creating jobs in the process.

“Some 200,000 of the 500,000 jobs promised under the N-Power Volunteers Programme will be filled from December 1, 2016.

“Out of this, N-Power Teach/Community will provide 150,000 jobs, N-Power Agro will provide 30,000 jobs and N-Power Health 20,000 jobs,’’ he said.

The minister said in the agricultural sector, the government is expecting a bumper harvest that would loosen the pangs of hunger being felt in many homes.

He said the agricultural initiative, “Anchor Borrowers Programme’’ that was launched by government, has significantly reduced the price of local rice, especially in states participating in the programme.

“As more and more states join the programme, we will gradually but surely achieve self-sufficiency in staples such as rice while at the same time forcing down food prices,’’ he said.

The minister said the Ministry of Water Resources is ensuring step up irrigation farming to address the challenge of depending on rain-fed farming.

Mohammed said government had re-mobilised contractors back to work on roads across the six geo-political zones.

The road, according to him, included the Port Harcourt-Aba Road, Sokoto-Tambuwal- Makera-Kontagara Road, Ilorin-Jebba Road and Shagamu-Ibadan Road.

Others were Abriba-Arochukwu-Ohafia Road, Abuja-Airport Road-Lokoja, and Ikot Ekpene Border-Aba-Owerri Dualisation.

He said government had paid consultants supervising the roads that had been denied payment for three to three years.

“This has helped to recover lost jobs, and put some money back in circulation, as part of a government strategy to build out of this recession.’’

On power, Mohammed said that as at November 5, the nation recorded a peak generation of 4,010 MW, without the 3,000 MW lost to gas pipelines vandalism, that would have taken generation to an unprecedented 7,000MW plus.

He said work is in progress to repair and restore the damaged gas pipelines, and also to fast-track emergency gas supply to power stations.