By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has alerted the general public that it has not yet commenced any process for the sale of the 753 – unit housing estate linked to former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele which it has taken custody of from the EFCC, a few days ago.
This was contained in a statement signed and issued by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the ministry, Badamasi Haiba .
It said the clarification became necessary as reports indicated that scammers were already on the move to defraud Nigerians, claiming they have slots from the housing ministry to sell the houses, asking for N500,000 for purchase of non existent expression of interest form.
“For avoidance of doubt, the Ministry has just taken over the estate from the EFCC as directed by Mr. President, the houses will be completed by the ministry and all the necessary infrastructure will be provided before offering to the public for sale and for special needs of the government.
“The Hon Minister, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa had in that regard announced that the Ministry would set up a technical comittee to carry out physical assessment of the facility, conduct integrity test of the buidings and assertain the infrastructure needs that will make the estate habitable and finally come up with the disposal strategy.
“The public is hereby informed that the Ministry will give a clear and adequate announcement, as well as strategy outlined for the sales of the houses, as directed by His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
“Accordingly, the general public is therefore warned not to fall victim to fraudsters, and are advised to directly contact the ministry’s officials through the departments of Public Building and Housing Development, and the Press and Public Relations for clarification before they commit any resource as regards to the purchase of the houses.
“The Ministry remains committed to ensuring that the process is guided by transparency, public accountability, and inclusivity, while delivering on the Renewed Hope Agenda in the housing sector.
“We urge all Nigerians to remain vigilant and rely only on official communications from the Ministry.”
