FCTA to build 10,000 houses for masses, says Wike

Kunle Sanni

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, stated that the current administration of President Bola Tinubu would in its next budget begin the process of building 10, 000 houses for the masses.

He said this Thursday while delivering his remarks on some key achievements of the current administration of president Tinubu since he assumed office on May 29.

The event tagged, Ministerial Sectoral Update to mark the first anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration was held at the National Press centre in Abuja.

Wike also decried the high cost of accommodation in the territory, lamenting that some businessmen who got free acres of land in the past to embark on mass housing projects, instead turned around to partition the plots and sell to Nigerians at exorbitant prices.

“In our next budget, we want to build a Renewed Hope City. This is for affordable houses, not for the big men

“We are going to provide infrastructure, build and allocate the houses to the poor. We have in our mind to build 10,000 houses for the poor”, he stated.

In addition, Wike asked the National Assembly to reconsider the FCT’s anti-vandalism legislation, arguing that the paltry fines imposed by current legislation are insufficient to stop criminals from carrying out their evil deeds.

He said, “Take for example, the issue of streetlights on Abuja streets. Today you put streetlights, tomorrow night, they are no longer there. What happened? They have vandalized them. They cut off the cables.

“You arrest them for prosecution, and what does the law say on conviction? N10,000. So, they continue with the act.

“We have told the National Assembly that they must come to our aide by amending and reviewing the law to make it very tough so as to discourage vandals from vandalizing our infrastructures”, he stated.