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Reps Accuse Fashola of Completing 4,000 Houses, Abandoning Them
The House of Representatives has alleged that the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing has built about 4,000 housing units, but left them unsold and unoccupied.
The allegation is contained in a motion unanimously adopted at the plenary on Tuesday.
The motion moved by a member, Mansur Soro, is titled, ‘Call on the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to Dispose of Houses Constructed under the National Housing Programme.’
Adopting the motion, the House called on the ministry, which is headed by Babatunde Fashola (SAN), to “earnestly begin the process of disposing the completed houses to most deserving Nigerians,” while mandating the Committee on Housing and Habitat to interface with the Ministry of Works and Housing to ensure compliance with the resolution.
Moving the motion, Soro said, “The House notes that since 2015, Nigeria has been contending with over 15 million housing deficit, which requires about 150,000 houses to be built yearly to bridge the gap.
“The National Housing Programme (Phase I) was launched in January 2016, with the construction of 2,500 units of houses in the 36 states and the Phase II of the programme was launched in 2018.
“The House is aware that nearly 4,000 houses have been completed and have remained unoccupied and if not disposed of to interested and deserving Nigerians, they may begin to wear out, a development that will not address the Housing deficits in Nigeria.”
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, on Monday, held a crucial meeting with service chiefs and heads of security and intelligence agencies in the country
The crucial meeting took place at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Abuja, followed reports of a directive by the President of United States, Donald Trump to prepare for possible military action in Nigeria over the alleged genocide of Christians in the country.
Security sources hinted that the emergency meeting, which began in the afternoon was aimed at assessing the implications of Trump’s statement accusing the Nigerian government of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militant groups.
Trump’s remarks, made late Saturday, stated that the U.S. military was being prepared to “act in Nigeria to tackle Islamist militancy” a statement that had triggered widespread concern across diplomatic and security circles in Abuja.
Reports said that the NSA convened the session to coordinate a unified national security response and review intelligence assessments on the potential fallout of the U.S. president’s pronouncement.
The outcome of the meeting is expected to be communicated through official channels from the Office of the National Security Adviser.
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (NWC) has suspended the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade; National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; Deputy Legal Adviser, Okechukwu Osuoha; and National Organizing Secretary, Umaru Bature for one month.
The suspension comes on the heels of the judgement of the Federal High Court On Friday, which stopped the party’s planned national convention.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, told journalists in Abuja on Saturday, that the decision followed an emergency meeting of the national working committee, which was held in Abuja.
President Donald Trump of the United States on Friday designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), in response to allegations of widespread persecution and genocide against Christians.
Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump stated that Christianity faces a serious threat in Nigeria.
The US leader also added Nigeria to a State Department watch list.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote.
According to the US president, he was placing Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer and most populous nation, on a “Countries of Particular Concern” list of nations the US deems to have engaged in religious freedom violations.
According to the State Department’s website, the list includes China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, and Pakistan, among others.
Trump said he had asked US Representatives Riley Moore and Tom Cole, as well as the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, to look into the matter and report back to him.
