The Managing Director of the Federal Housing Authority, Hon Oyetunde Ojo has declared that renewed hope of housing construction across the country will Kick start in August 2024 with a groundbreaking ceremony in Kaduna.
Ojo made the declaration during a three-day retreat for FHA staff held with the theme “Enhancing Federal Housing Authority for Improved Housing Solutions in the Era of Renewed Hope.
Hon Ojo Kaduna posited that, since his appointment he has been working together with other management staff to reposition the authority, saying, “we have put in a lot of energy to be able to achieve this.
“The first thing we noticed on coming to board was that the FHA bears ‘Federal’ only in name because its operations were restricted mainly to only Abuja and Lagos.
“This we found repugnant and decided that our presence would be felt throughout the country. This is the nucleus of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda on housing, which is aimed at every state of the country irrespective of political, religious or ethnic inclination.
Given the enormous role the Authority would be playing in the coming months in the country towards the provision of livable and affordable housing to our people, our management noted the truism that our workforce needs re-direction and reorientation to conform with the new FHA we are building.
“May I proudly state here that the Federal Housing Authority has a collection of some of the best professionals in the built industry working for it in the country.
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While the Authority may not have performed to expectation in its 50 years of existence, lots of factors such as paucity of funds, and political interference; accentuated by frequent changes in management; which saw the agency having more than 20 Chief Executives since its inception, to siting of projects based on political considerations.
Ojo also said despite the prospects and potentials at the disposal of the Authority, which remain unharnessed, the staff of the Authority remain inadequately remunerated. With poor motivation of employees, it is obvious that productivity can not be high.
“It is with all this in mind, giving the wide door and limitless potentials and opportunity the Renewed Hope housing agenda of the President has brought to the agency, that has made it imperative for us to have this retreat, so as to be able to adapt to the new expectations, new targets, different ways of doing things, new work ethics, behavioral and attitudinal changes that are expected of us. These are the deliverables expected from this retreat.
Thus, he noted that the inclusive disposition of management, which sees FHA as a family is the reason why we tagged along our subsidiaries; FHA Mortgage Bank and FHA Energy Distribution Ltd.
“There is no doubt that the gains from the Renewed Hope housing initiative would snowball on the operations of these two institutions of ours.
Declaring the retreat open, the state governor, Senator Uba Sani represented by the state deputy governor, Hadiza Balarabe said the housing deficit has become necessary for both federal and state governments.
According to the governor, the state government is ready to assist the federal government to fill the gab of the housing deficit in the country.
