We Will Be Building 10,000 Houses For The Poor

The minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has promised to begin the process of  building 10, 000 houses for the masses in his next budget.

He condemned the high cost of accommodation in the territory, lamenting that some business men who got free acres of land in the past to embark on mass housing projects, now sell to people at exorbitant prices.

The minister made the disclosure in Abuja at the ongoing Ministerial Sectoral Update to mark the first anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

“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.

The minister also called on the National Assembly to review the law against vandalism in the FCT, adding that meagre fines provided in the extant laws cannot deter criminals from continuing with their nefarious activities.

“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.