…approves land for FG project, as Denmark backs UNODC community security, empowerment initiative
Yenagoa – Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has said affordable housing for people of the state will be accorded top priority in his second term.
Senator Diri disclosed this on Friday 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 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.”
In a statement by Daniel Alabrah, Chief Press Secretary to the Bayelsa State Governor noted that 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.
While soliciting for 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 who is familiar with the state, its terrain and developmental challenges, he is able to appreciate what Governor Diri had done since he assumed office.
Meanwhile, the Danish government, last Wednesday, launched a programme in support of the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) crime prevention and enhancement of community-based security projects in Bayelsa State.
The European nation has earmarked the sum of 1.19 million Danish Krone (about N2.4bn) for the community-based security and vocational skills projects.
The initiative, which is in furtherance of ongoing UNODC projects in the state and the Niger Delta region, will be implemented in five communities across, empowering them through joint security committees to manage their security environment proactively as well as helping to address the root causes of crime and violence.
It will also enhance collaboration between communities and law enforcement agencies building trust and fostering lasting partnerships.
The Ambassador of Denmark to Nigeria/Cameroon/Equatorial Guinea/Republic of Congo/Central African Republic/Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, Mr. Sune Krogstrup, disclosed this at a joint press conference alongside Governor Douye Diri, the European Union Ambassador to the Republic of Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Samuela Isopi, the Ambassador of Finland to Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and ECOWAS, Ms. Leena Pylvänäinen, the German
Deputy Consul General in Nigeria, Gerald Wolf, and the UNODC Country Representative, Dr. Oliver Stolpe, in Government House, Yenagoa.
Mr. Krogstrup said the importance of Bayelsa State and the entire Niger Delta region to the economy of Nigeria cannot be overemphasized.
He said as a seafaring nation with between 30 and 40 vessels at any point in time around the Gulf of Guinea, Denmark was concerned about the area, Bayelsa and Niger Delta.
