By Stanley Onyekwere
The FCT Minister, Mr. Nyesom Wike has expressed dissatisfaction with the N85 billion contract for the provision of infrastructure for the Wasa Affordable Housing project in Wasa District, Abuja.
Wike however, said the project would be revisited for proper planning in a way that the government would benefit from the project, and ensure that the masses that the houses were being built for could afford it.
The Minister spoke yesterday, when he and the Minister of State for FCT, Dr Mariya Mahmoud along with other government officials visited the road construction site for the housing estate.
He noted that under such arrangements, the government would be able to determine the price the houses would be sold to the masses, saying that the masses would not afford N7 million for a house.
“We are not impressed with the arrangement made by the FCT. Government cannot just cough out N85 billion in providing infrastructure and then give land out to private developers, who will build and sell.
“This kind of arrangement is not commendable at all at all. We think that the government must also participate, having provided the land and infrastructure.
“If we are partnering with private individuals or developers, the common sense is that you provide the land, provide infrastructure and they come and develop.
“Then government for example can take 10 per cent then the developers take 90 per cent, depending on the value,” he stressed.
While commenting on the project delay, which was nine years and counting, Wike reiterated that FCT would not be awarding contracts for awarding sake.
He adds: “We will award contact that we know we will finish before embarking on another contract.
“Every contract is abandoned because there is no money. So, we are going to look at everything.”
Earlier, acting Coordinator, Satellite Town Development Department (STDD), Mr. Olusegun Olusan, had explained that the contract for the provision of the infrastructure was awarded in 2014 at N26 billion but revised to N85 billion in 2018.
Olusan told the minister that so far, a total of N21 billion has been paid to the contractor with a balance of N64 billion, adding that the percentage of work done so far was 21.4 per cent.
According to him, the government’s role was to provide the land and infrastructure, while private developers build houses and sell to the masses at an affordable rate.
He added that at the conception of the project, a two-bedroom flat was to be sold to the masses at N7 million.
In a related development, the minister visited the ongoing road construction leading to the Headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the Body of Benchers building.
He noted that the contractor was invited for a meeting on Tuesday to work out ways to complete the road project.
He said: “We have also been to Kabusa Junction, Abuja, where shanties were destroyed by development control. Like we said, we cannot allow shanties to take over the FCT.
“The development control has done well by making sure that the shanties in the area are destroyed and we are going to protect the area to ensure that the miscreants do not return to mess up the place again.”
