Taraba State Governor, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku says his administration is poised to provide affordable houses to low and medium income Civil Servants through private partnership.
Governor Darius Ishaku said this on Monday during a ground breaking ceremony for the construction of 5000 housing units at Jauro Yinu adjacent NYSC Orientation Camp along Jalingo to Wukari road as part of activities lined up to celebrate democracy day and his two years in office.
Darius Ishaku stated that one of his administration’s cardinal objective is to provide comfortable and affordable accommodation with specific focus on civil servants.
He remarked that, his administration is holistically looking at viable means that civil servants would retire from service with a befitting house that they could call their own, and explained that, most of the problems civil servants encounter after retirement is accommodation, particularly, those of low and medium income category, promising to end such anomaly.
The Governor revealed that, in one of his trips to Germany, he met a firm, WESANI International concepts that specialises in building a befitting and well packaged houses for low and medium income earners, where he saw the need to partner with them so that civil servants in the state can take advantage through owner occupier basis.
Darius Ishaku maintained that when the 5000 housing units are completed, it is going to be a full packaged settlement with school, shops clinic, police station, recreation center and would be solar powered to serve as backup whenever there is power failure.
He said the first phase of the project is targeted at Civil Servants to be payable within an agreed period, adding that, private organisations that want to be part of the initiative should indicate interest so that they too would be incorporated into the project.
In his speech, the Commissioner of Housing, Hon. Sule Abubakar Ndigmay said, shelter is one of the basic necessities of life and that is why the present administration led by Darius Ishaku through the Rescue Mission is partnering with WESANI International Concept to develop the houses.
Sule Ndigmay stated that, there is going to be a paradigm shift from the usual full Government participation in construction of houses for Civil Servants, rather it will be private partnership driven with a view to giving Civil Servants the opportunity to own personal houses.
Speaking further, the Commissioner maintained that because of the Governor’s desire for the State Civil Servants to own befitting accommodation, he signed an MoU with WESANI International Concept in Germany to build 5000 housing units to ease accommodation problems faced by Civil Servants in the State.
He remarked that the houses would be built in phases, comprising of two and three bedrooms apartment respectively and added that, the Rescue Mission has now extended its magic touch to the housing sector.
Sule Ndigmay commended WESANI International Concept for agreeing to partner with Taraba State Government through public private partnership, saying that the State Government has started fulfilling its own part of the agreement by providing land for the project to immediately take off, adding that, other part of the MoU would be met.
Speaking on behalf of WESANI International Concept, their partner in Nigeria, Engr. Emeka Igwe said that the houses that will be built would be powered by German technology.
Emeka Igwe explained that the houses would be carefully built to provide beautiful and serene environment with access roads, independent water source which would be powered by solar energy as a source of electricity to the housing units.
The Nigerian partner maintained that WESANI International Concept has come to stay in Taraba State and appealed to people of the State to accord them the desired support so that they will be able to bequeath to the State the best of German technology.
The ground breaking foundation laying ceremony was performed by the State Governor, Darius Dickson Ishaku, flanked by the Deputy Governor, Engr. Haruna Manu and other top Government functionaries.