By Daniel Tyokua
The federal government has said the proposed diaspora city in the country will be developed under Public Private Partnership (PPP) to help Nigerians in diaspora own homes in Nigeria.
Minister of Housing and Urban development, Ahmed Dangiwa disclosed this when the chairperson, Nigeria in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) , Abike Dabiri-Erewa and her team visited him in his office in Abuja.
In a statement issued by the director information in the ministry, Badamasi Haiba on Tuesday, said the diaspora city project situated in Maitama 2, Abuja with over 675 hectares of land will be driven by Federal Housing Authority (FHA) with the close supervision of the ministry under a PPP arrangement.
Dangiwa said the overall goal of the project was to ensure that “as our brothers and sisters’ sojourn abroad, they also have a decent shelter over here in Nigeria to call their home”.
He pledged his administration willingness to support Diaspora initiatives in the housing and urban development space towards making a change in the housing and urban development narrative of the country.
“NiDCOM has over the years championed several initiatives and programmes that are helping our country leverage the massive potential of our diaspora for national development. We have over 20million Nigerians in Diaspora remitting an average of over $24bn per annum” he said
Dangiwa commended the innovative drive of the NiDCOM Chairperson and her team and assured them of the Ministry’s commitment to taking relevant actions towards ensuring that FMBN and FHA deliver on the stated objectives of these initiatives.
In her remarks, the Chairperson, Nigeria in Diaspora Commission,Abike Dabiri-Erewa said they were in the ministry to appreciate the Minister for attending the 6th edition of the Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit when the diaspora Mortgage Scheme was launched.
She acknowledged receipt of the Minister’s letter to the commission on the sale of houses built by the ministry under the National Housing Scheme across the nation which will avail Diasporans opportunity to directly buy houses in any state of the federation.
