Social Housing: Confusion rages over N2billion Dangote’s grant

A typical housing estate in Nigeria

There seems to be confusion surrounding the N2 billion donation promised by business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote to the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, FMLHUD for the provision of housing for no-income and low income earners.

The scheme which comes as part of the social housing initiative by the FMLHUD under the new housing policy and piloted through the Ministerial Implementation Team for Housing Delivery chaired by the Minister, Ms Amal Pepple was to deliver about two million housing units in the next three years.

According to the scheme, the objective is to significantly improve the well-being of the poor, needy and other vulnerable groups in the society, such as women, single mothers, elderly, widows and widowers, the physically challenged, homeless, and those who fall into the group as well as provide a sustainable way of reducing the housing deficit in the country, estimated at about 16-17 million units nationwide, as at 2011.

An estate in the UK

Source in the ministry of Housing said, in order to facilitate early take off of the scheme, government decided to launch the scheme with a N2 billion grants from Alhaji Aliko Dangote, which was said to have been released and the Ministerial Team on Housing had penciled down four cities for the pilot phase of the scheme. The cities are Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt and Abuja.

However, more than one year after the promise made by the business mogul, the housing scheme is yet to commence.

During a visit to the ministry, the director of press, Paul Onuoha told our correspondent that the money has not been paid by Dangote.

At the groundbreaking ceremony of Goodluck Jonathan Legacy City in Abuja recently, the minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms Amal Pepple told newsmen that the money has not been given to them.

Mass housing estate in Malaysia

When Nigerian Pilot put a call through to Chief Operating Officer of Dangote Cement, Engineer Joseph Makanju, he simply told your soar-away paper that the policy of the company is that they don’t make promises and not fulfill it. He disclose that they don’t waste time to fulfill their promises and that cannot be an exception.

The proposed social housing

There are allegations in some quarters that the money must have been paid by the business mogul but must have been misappropriated by some people in the FMLHUD.