Federal Government Allocates N4.1 Billion for Slum Upgrading

The project will provide essential amenities to the selected slums, including water supply, solar street lights, rehabilitation of access roads, construction of drainages, and waste management and sanitation services.

It is worth noting that at the 12th meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development last month, the Minister of Housing and Rural Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, pledged to reshape the narrative of housing and urban development in the country by curbing the proliferation of slums.

“For the Slum Upgrading Programme, the ministry’s plans to upgrade 26 slums in the six regions of the country, and the Federal Capital Territory, to improve the living standards of the slum residents and urban poor by providing key infrastructure and ancillary services,” Dangiwa said.

An examination of the document revealed that the ministry is set to undertake urban renewal and slum upgrading. This involves completing the construction/rehabilitation of roads, culverts, and drains in Ondo, Sokoto, Katsina, Kano, Yobe, Kwara, Lagos, Bauchi, Enugu, Uyo, Akwa-Ibom, Adamawa, Osun states, and the Federal Capital Territory.

For urban renewal and slum upgrading, including the provision of solar street lights, the initiative will be implemented in Imo, Edo, Ogun, Ekiti, Yobe, Katsina, Ondo, and the FCT.

In financial terms, the ministry has allocated the sum of N18.19 billion for the construction of 20,000 units under the renewed Hope Agenda housing scheme. Additionally, 200 million has been earmarked for the national social housing fund to execute various housing initiatives aimed at reducing the number of homeless persons.

Furthermore, N1.8 billion has been designated for the establishment of local building material manufacturing clusters in the six geopolitical zones in the country.