Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has flagged off the construction of Peninsula Hills Housing Estate as part of activities to commemorate the second anniversary of his administration.
Speaking at the flag off exercise in Karu Local Government Area (LGA), the governor said the projects would have 4, 400 houses. Governor Sule noted that the Peninsula Hills Housing Estate is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative with ‘Affinity Realty’.
He added that 270 hectares of lands were earmarked for the project, but for a start the government had given approval for only 100 hectares to be used for the 4, 400 houses.
Sule noted that all long controversies surrounding the issue of land in the area were settled and part of the remaining 170 hectares would be allocated to persons who hitherto had land in the area.
Governor Sule said the state has provided land, constructed a network of roads and other necessary logistics for the smooth execution of the project. He said provision of housing was one of the important things his administration intends to achieve to change the situation of the less privileged for better.
Sule said the project would, “create wealth, employment opportunity, create development, boost economic activities in the state especially in Karu as well as provide homes for the less privileged. Governor Sule therefore expressed gratitude to Affinity Realty for partnering the government towards addressing the problem of housing deficit in the state.
Earlier, Mohammed Abubakar, Chairman Affinity Realty, expressed gratitude to the state government for giving them the opportunity to address the problem of housing deficit in the state. He said the estate would stimulate economic activities, provide sustainable living and help toward addressing the problem of housing deficit.
The Chairman of Affinity Realty explained that the project would also include schools and recreational facilities.
He said that the company has already finalized their construction and delivery strategies, project branding and marketing and have attained financial close as well as project liquidity.
The company Chairman therefore explained that they would invest an initial N7. 8 billion in the project and promised to deliver a quality work that would stand the test of time. Earlier at the Palace of Esu Karu the governor said his led administration must have taken some wrong steps in discharging their duties since assumption of office which informed his meet-the-people tour to get feedback.
According to him, as human beings, “we cannot be perfect and have decided as a government to visit the palaces of traditional rulers and hold town hall meetings to hear from the people with a view to addressing concerns and observations raised by them”.
Governor Sule also said the government had wanted to meet the people for feedback in 2020, but could not because of the coronavirus pandemic that has ravaged and is still ravaging the world. The governor noted that the traditional rulers and stakeholders should feel free to talk to the government using this opportunity to enable the government to serve them better.
He added that given the population of people in Karu and it’s proximity to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the government would create a lot of infrastructures to meet with demands of the residents in the area.
On his part, Luka Panya-Baba, Esu Karu, welcomed the governor and his team for the visit adding that, “this is the first time a sitting governor is carrying out this kind of exercise”.
The royal father who doubled as Chairman traditional council of Karu, commended the governor for his developmental strides in the area. He explained that the Ultra-Modern-Bus-Terminal being constructed by the government is highly significant to them as it would address the issue of traffic in the axis.
Panya-Baba also lauded the governor for the work currently going on in Gitata/Panda road and appealed that the government should contract feeder roads in the area.
He also appealed to the governor to give approval for the selection of village heads to fill the existing vacancies in the area. The royal father also appealed that an additional General Hospital should be established to meet the health needs of the most populated Local Government Area (LGA) in the state as the existing health facilities are over-stretched.
MoneyCentral gathered that the governor had a similar meeting with traditional rulers in Nasarawa local government, where he addressed the stakeholders and commissioned some projects embarked upon by his administration.