Nigeria is taunted with mirage of challenges that cut across all sectors of the economy. In this report, CHIKA OKEKE highlights eight priority areas that the new APC-led administration must revisit in order to redeem the gloomy tales of the country in the international space.
L-R: President Bola Tinubu, ex- Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari
As Nigeria advances both in age and size, such growth presents overwhelming pitfalls. With a population of over 200 million people, the path to development appears wobbly for the past 62 years of its existence as a sovereign nation.
From insecurity, down to unemployment, poor healthcare services, shortage of power supply, ill-equipped educational institutions, fuel crisis, poor livelihood opportunities, shortage of affordable housing and poor infrastructure, the narrative remains the same.
Regrettably, experts have attributed the daunting crisis to bad leadership, corruption, greed, ineptitude, poor planning, absence of team spirit, lack of continuity in governace and policy somersault.
All these played out across different sectors of the economy such as agriculture, mining, construction, transport and petroleum.
Also, infrastructure, manufacturing, forestry, financial services, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had during his electioneering campaign in October, 2022, released 10 manifestos that his administration would leverage to deepen growth in the country. They are as follows:
1. Build a Nigeria, especially for our youth, where sufficient jobs with decent wages create a better life.
2. Manufacture, create, and invent more of the goods and services we require. Nigeria shall be known as a nation of creators, not just of consumers.
3. Export more and import less, strengthening both the naira and our way of life.
4. Continue assisting our ever-toiling farmers, through enlightened agricultural policy that promotes productivity and assures decent incomes, so that farmers can support their families and feed the nation.
5. Modernise and expand public infrastructure so that the rest of the economy can grow at an optimal rate.
6. Embolden and support our young people and women by harnessing emerging sectors such as the digital economy, entertainment and culture, tourism and others to build the Nigeria of tomorrow, today.
7. Train and give economic opportunity to the poorest and most vulnerable among us. We seek a Nigeria where no parent is compelled to send a child to bed hungry, worried whether tomorrow shall bring food.
8. Generate, transmit and distribute sufficient, affordable electricity to give our people the requisite power to enlighten their lives, their homes, and their very dreams.
9. Make basic healthcare, education, and housing accessible and affordable for all.
10. And, most importantly, establish a bold and assertive policy that will create a strong yet adaptive national security architecture and action to obliterate terror, kidnapping, banditry, and all other forms of violent extremism from the face of our nation.
But to set Nigeria on the pedestal for growth and development, there is a need for the new administration to critically focus on these eight priority areas.
They are power supply, education, security, unemployment, fuel subsidy, health, housing and infrastructure.
These, would not only provide massive employment opportunities for Nigerians especially the youths but would also serve as an avenue to revamp the ailing industries.
Power
Before the 2013 privatisation, the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity were solely government business and operated by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
This implied that government generated power from various gas and hydro power plants, transported power from hundreds of substations across Nigeria and distributed power from hundreds of distribution stations nationwide, as well as supplied meters, billed customers and collected the money.
But after the privatisation, government sold and retained six Generation Companies (GENCOs) and eleven Distribution Companies (DISCOs).
Given the critical and sensitive nature of power supply, the Federal Government did not restrict power supply to DISCO's. At the federal, state and local government levels, the former employees of PHCN hold 40 percent of the shares of DISCOs.
In addition, government is responsible for regulating behaviour and compliance through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
Interestingly, China is the world's largest electricity producing country, followed by the United States and India. No wonder they are consistently witnessing massive growth in all sectors of their economy.
Though President Tinubu had promised to distribute sufficient and affordable electricity, the power sector has deteriorated 10 years after privatisation.
In 2020, the Federal Government increased the electricity tariff on a promise that there would be an improvement in supply but Nigerians are still grappling with darkness.
Currently, Nigeria spends $1.5 billion annually to address the shortfall in the country’s electricity sector, according to World Bank statistics in 2021.
This was even as the bank attested that 78 per cent of power consumers in Nigeria get less than 12 hours of daily supply of electricity.
To buttress World Bank claims, the Federal Government had in 2022, paid N120 billion to subsidise electricity for consumers in C, D and E bands.
The former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-rufai had disclosed that the Federal Government plans to spend N300 billion to subsidise electricity in 2023.
Because the Federal Government is not a business venture, every attempt to provide steady power supply since the days of ECN, NEPA and PHCN had encountered mirage of problems.
However, a 2022 report of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), published in January 6, 2023, pointed out that the country’s power generation capacity in the First Quarter of 2022 decreased to 4,712.34MW from 5,465.72MW in the Fourth Quarter of 2021.
It also revealed that in the First Quarter of 2022, the average hourly generation of all available units decreased by 190.58MWh/h (-4.44%) from 4,294.02MWh/h in 2021/Q4 to 4,103.11MWh/h.
The commission attributed the decrease to incessant technical faults, gas constraints, likewise undulating load demand patterns that have consistently affected the amount of energy generated by power plants.
Lending its voice, the Association of Rural Electrification Contractors of Nigeria (ARECON) pleaded with President Tinubu to priortise electricity projects and challenges confronting the sector.
ARECON’s spokesman, Rotimi Raheem, noted that the association had approached the business of electrification differently since 2020, through a five-year strategy document.
He disclosed that ARECON has consistently delivered clean and sustainable energy infrastructure nationwide through the Ministry of Power.
In 2022, Rural Electrification Agency (REA) officially hit and crossed the one million connection milestone by deploying a standalone Solar Home System (SHS) for improved energy access across Nigeria.
Raheem said that the objective of SHS was to assist millions of households, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) access better energy services at affordable rate.
Education
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had on February 14, 2022, commenced a nationwide strike over the adoption of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) of the government as the payment system for university staff.
Other issues raised by ASUU were non-paymentof salaries and allowances of some staff, poor funding of universities and the inability of government to pay earned academic allowance to lecturers, amounting to N1.1 trillion.
Several talks between the Federal Government and lecturers of public universities ended in deadlock.
In a bid to get the lecturers back to the citadels of learning, the Federal Government dragged ASUU to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN).
Delivering a ruling on the interlocutory injunction filed by the Federal Government on September 21, Justice Polycarp Hamman of NICN restrained ASUU from continuing with the industrial action pending the determination of the suit.
NICN said that the industrial action was detrimental to public university students, who cannot afford to attend private tertiary institutions.
Despite the court’s ruling, ASUU maintained its stance on continuing with the strike and filed an appeal to counter the judgment.
This irked the Federal Government, who on September 26, 2022, directed vice-chancellors to reopen universities and resume academic activities across the country.
The directive was contained in a letter by the Director of Finance and Accounts, National Universities Commission (NUC), Sam Onazi on behalf of the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Abubakar Rasheed.
It was addressed to all vice-chancellors, pro-chancellors and chairmen of governing councils of federal universities.
“Ensure that ASUU members immediately resume/commence lectures; restore the daily activities and routines of the various university campuses,” the letter reads.
While the crisis lingered, the Federal Government registered two factional unions – the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA)–to weaken ASUU's power.
But ASUU fired back, saying that they were unperturbed about the government’s decision, describing the new unions as illegal.
In order to salvage the already worsened situation, ASUU announced the suspension of the eight-month strike in October 13, 2022.
President of ASUU, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke noted that the decision to suspend the strike was due to pleas by former President Muhammadu Buhari, parents, students as well as the former Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.
He lamented that the issues that triggered the strike were not satisfactory addressed.
However, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) had recommended that developing nations should map out 26 per cent of their annual budget to fund public education.
Sadly, Nigeria’s allocation to the education sector is 4.3 per cent compared to Ghana, Kenya and South Africa that set aside 15 percent of its annual budget for education.
Out of the N55.3 trillion budgeted by the Federal Government in the last six years– 2016 to 2021–only N3.5 trillion was allocated to education, representing less than 10 per cent.
The entire budget for education in the 2022 budget was N1.290 trillion. Out of the sum, N875.93bn was mapped out for the Ministry of Education, universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, unity schools and other federal-owned schools.
In addition, the Universal Basic Education were expected to receive N108 billion and TETFund, N306 billion for the provision of infrastructure in tertiary education.
At the joint session of the National Assembly in October, 2022, former President Buhari proposed N1.79 trillion for the sector, representing about 8.8 per cent of the total N20.5 trillion budget proposal.
For the nation’s education sector to be competitive and meet global challenges, Osodeke suggested that President Bola Tinubu must devote a minimum of 15 per cent budgetary allocation for the sector in order to guarantee robust development.
He enjoined the APC-led government to see education as a public good in deference to the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Osodeke added:“In the Southwest, during the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo era, they gave more than 30 per cent of their budgets to education, but successive governments reduced their allocations to the sector. The new government should see education as a key to the success of any country.
“During the era of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as CBN Governor, he put one structure in every federal university in this country, which was called social responsibility fund. But since he left, there has not been anything of such, yet the money is somewhere.
“Last year, within six months, we paid over N500 billion to other countries as tuition, still we have not taken care of our own.
“What we are saying is that government should increase funding of the sector to between 12 and 15 per cent, and all the challenges confronting the sector would be resolved."
He advised that proceeds from the stamp duty charges should be used to fund education.
The ASUU president suggested an end to proliferation of universities, given the inadequate number of lecturers and lack of resources to maintain the institutions.
Insecurity
The deepening security challenges in Nigeria led to the emergence of Boko haram insurgents in the Northeast, who later joined forces with the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to unleash more terror in the States.
Unfortunately, over 350,000 persons lost their lives through insurgency-related conflicts by the end of 2020, according to a report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The activities of bandits deepened in the Northwest and parts of the North Central, just as herder-farmer crisis intensified in the six geopolitical zones of the country.
While the Southeast is grappling with attacks from unknown gunmen, kidnapping has been raging across the country, particularly, the mass abduction in schools and communities.
Since the eruption of insurgency in the Northeast which extended to some parts of the country, the government at both the Federal, State and Local levels increased its annual budget on security.
At least, over N12 trillion was allocated to security in the last seven years from 2016 to 2022 during forner President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
Buhari proposed to spend N2.41 trillion on security and defence as contained in the proposed 2022 budget estimate, amounting to 15 percent of the entire budget of the federation.
In 2023, about N2.98 trillion or 13.4 per cent of the entire budget was mapped out for Security and Defence sectors.
Tagged: "Critical Sectoral Allocations in the 2023 Budget", the allocations included the recurrent and capital expenditures for the military, police, intelligence and paramilitary.
The security budget suffocated other critical sectors that needed governments intervention such as education, health, infrastructure, power, among others.
Days after the inauguration of the new APC-led government, the Birnin-Gwari Emirate Progressive Union (BEPU) in Kaduna State sent save-our-soul message to President Tinubu.
The Chairman of BEPU, Ishaq Usman Kasai, lamented the continuous infiltration of the Birnin-Gwari area by the terrorists, who had maimed and kidnapped innocent people unchallenged.
He said: “The security situation in our area is a serious cause for concern, where Birnin-Gwari people are being kidnapped and killed by bandits daily. The economy of Birnin-Gwari which relies majorly on farming has been seriously crippled. Today, people no longer access their farmlands due to insecurity. Most basic schools were closed and transportation halted, which affected trading.”
“Farming Communities are being sacked by bandits almost everyday and persons majorly women and children are becoming internally displaced on daily basis. Even today (May 27, 2023), the community is grieving because on Sunday, May 21, Dadin Kowa village was attacked and sacked by bandits, who rode on motorcycles while wielding different kinds of riffles."
Kasai disclosed that one week after the attack, large number of people including women and children were kidnapped along Dogon Hawa, about two kilometers away from the Birnin-Gwari main town.
He pleaded with the President to take decisive action towards ending the carnage in the emirate.
Unemployment
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had in April, 2023, announced the revision of methodology for the Labour Force Survey which produced the Unemployment Report in Nigeria.
It was designed to align with international standards and best practices.
The World bank had faulted the NBS methodology on employment index, which did not conform to global standard, especially the ILO format.
However, the bureau revealed that Nigeria’s unemployment rate rose to 33.3 per cent as at March 2021, which translated to 23.2 million unemployed persons. The 2020 index was the highest in about 13 years and second-highest rate in the world.
It was titled: ‘Labour force Statistics: Unemployment and underemployment report- Abridged labour force survey under COVID-19 (Q4, 2020)."
Three years down the line, the bureau is yet to release the unemployment status of Nigeria.
Regrettably, the 2016 economic recession and 2020 coronavirus outbreak were the major factors responsible for the dwindling unemployment rate in the country, as highlighted by the NBS.
At an Inter-Ministerial Training Workshop on Boosting Job Creation in October 2023, the immediate past Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige said that the Federal Government would provide the enabling environment for the creation of 21 million full-time jobs and lift 35 million people out of poverty by 2025.
He said that unemployment was a major contributing factor to the increased insurgencies, agitations and other criminal activities manifesting in different parts of the country.
Fuel Subsidy
Currently, Nigeria spends more than $850 million monthly on fuel subsidy as revealed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
But in the last 17 years, from 2005 to mid- 2021, the Federal Government had spent over N13. 697 trillion on the payment of subsidy, just as the Organisation of Petroleum Countries (OPEC) pegged the country's daily import of petrol and diesel at 465,000 barrels per day.
In 2022, the Federal Government spent over N3 trillion on subsidy, while in 2023 budget, N4 trillion was mapped out for fuel subsidy. The capital project for the entire country in 2023 is N6 trillion.
This implied that Nigeria spends at least, N18.397 billion to subsidise PMS daily due to high cost of petroleum products, redundant refineries, wobbly exchange rate, and failure to implement the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Following the announcement of an end to subsidy regime, queues returned to fuel stations across the nation's capital.
News Rider reports that fuel stations in Lugbe, Central Business District, Wuse, Gwarinpa, Kubwa, Maitama and other parts of Abuja were overwhelmed with long queues from motorists shortly after the announcement.
It was also learnt that many civil servants, traders and other government officials abandoned their official assignment and businesses in search of the 'gold'.
President Bola Tinubu had in his inaugural speech on Monday, May 29, ruled out the payment of subsidy on PMS from third quarter of 2023.
Tinubu was emphatic that from the 2023 budget he inherited from the immediate past administration, that subsidy is supposed to end by June, 2023.
The President maintained that the funds set aside for fuel subsidy would be invested in infrastructure, education, healthcare and jobs for Nigerians.
He said: “We commend the decision of the outgoing administration in phasing out the petrol subsidy regime which has increasingly favoured the rich more than the poor. Subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources.
"We shall, instead, re-channel the funds into better investment in public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs that will materially improve the lives of millions."
Recall that in November 2021, the Federal Government declared its intention to remove fuel subsidy and replace it with a monthly N5,000 transport grant for poor Nigerians.
The idea was later jettisoned after the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) threatened to embark on massive protests across the country.
Reacting, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) assured that it is collaborating with the NNPCL and other stakeholders for a smooth transition.
A statement by the General Manager, Corporate Communications of NMDPRA, Mr Kimchi Apollo, revealed that the organisation would address issues bordering on the removal of fuel subsidy.
He promised that NMDPRA is working round the clock to avoid disruptions in the supply of PMS likewise to ensure that consumers were not short-changed.
Apollo vowed that NMDPRA would meet the demands of Nigeria, adding that it had taken necessary steps to ensure that the distribution channels remained uninterrupted and fuel would be available at all filling stations nationwide.
He cautioned Nigerians against panic-buying, saying that the product would be available in all fuel stations across the country.
The spokesperson noted that contrary to speculations and concerns, the announcement was in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA 2021) which provided for total deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector to drive investment and growth.
He enjoined Nigerians to remain calm and resist the temptation to stockpile the product, as it poses significant safety hazard.
Apollo reassured all Nigerians that the removal of subsidy on PMS is a step towards building a more sustainable and prosperous future for the nation.
He promised that the authority would continue to monitor activities and implement necessary measures to enhance transparency and accountability in the petroleum downstream sector.
However, President Bola Tinubu who resumed at the villa on Tuesday, May 30, 2023, held a long meeting with the CEO of NNPCL, Mele Kyari and embattled Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele on fuel subsidy and multiple foreign exchange rates.
But the NNPCL and its stakeholders had at a meeting on Wednesday, May 31, approved the upward review of the PMS pump price table for Mega/Standard/Leased Stations.
To this end, they instructed all marketers to adjust retail prices for the petroleum product across states.The new price was effected from May 31, 2023, as announced by the NNPCL.
The statement reads: “Please implement meter change as approved, effective today 31st May 2023. We will attend to all locations as it relates to their area of coverage in our network.”
According to the new price, petrol will sell highest in Maiduguri and Damaturu at N557 per litre and N550 per litre in the rest of the Northeast zone.
Benni Kebbi residents are expected to buy petrol at N545 per litre in the Northwest zone, while the average price in the North Central zone will be N537 per litre, except in Illorin, where it will sell for N515 per litre.
Consumers in the Southeast are expected to buy at an average of N520 per litre.
Apart from Uyo and Yenegoa, where petrol will sell at N515 per litre, the rest of the Southsouth zone will get the product at N511 per litre.
In Lagos, consumers will buy the product at N488 per litre, while the rest of the Southwest zone will get the product at N500 per litre.
Aside the Independent Petroleum Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), the Federal Government, Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress also resolved to adopt CNG in order to address the constant fluctuation of petrol price.
CNG is a gas composed of methane that produces less emission and it is the cleanest burning fuel currently in use, with less vehicle maintenance and longer engine life.
Health
In September 2000, 189 countries and 23 international organisations met at the UN General Assembly for Millennium Summit and adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration.
Nigeria was a signatory to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) which was designed to improve social and economic conditions in the world's poorest country by 2015.
While the MDG’s comprised of eight goals with 21 targets, goals 4, 5 and 6 dwelt on health related issues like reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
In furtherance to the objectives, Heads of African Union countries including Nigeria met in Abuja in April 2001 and pledged to allocate 15 percent of their annual budget to improve the health sector.
Determined to attain the target, the Federal Government had in 2013 allocated 5.6 percent of the total budget on health while in 2014, it increased slightly to 6 percent.
However, in 2015, most African countries failed to meet up with the deadline set for the MDG’s inclusive of Nigeria as highlighted in the performance appraisal.
While over 69 percent of Nigerians still live in abject poverty, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS dropped to four percent, even as HIV prevalence in pregnant women aged 15-24 years also dropped to 4.2 percent in 2008.
Maternal mortality fell from 800 deaths per 100,000 births in 2003 to 545 deaths per 100,000 births in 2008. Reproductive health through the use of contraceptive was pegged at the rate of 4 percent.
A breakdown of Nigeria’s health sector budget in the last nine years revealed that the Federal Government allocated 5.8 percent in 2015, 4.1 percent in 2016, 5.1 in 2017, 3.9 percent in 2018 and 4.1 percent in 2019.
Also, 4.0 percent in 2020, 4.3 percent in 2021, 4.6 percent in 2022 and 5.7 percent in 2023 fiscal years.
Though the health budget increased from N278.31 billion in 2015 to N1.179 trillion in 2023, Nigeria is yet to meet up with at least, half of the target as contained in the Abuja declaration.
Painfully, twenty-two years after the Abuja declaration, Nigeria is still contending with crisis in the health sector as seen in the number of doctors that fled the country in search of better placement.
The wobbly figure is a pointer to the fact that the Federal Government may never attain the health declaration target as other crisis such as insecurity, poor funding of education sector, poor medical facilities, and unskilled doctors and nurses contributed to the slow pace in attaining the goals.
Experts were optimistic that the proposed N1.179 trillion for healthcare in the 2023 budget is not sufficient for Nigeria to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030, meet the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and tackle emerging epidemics and pandemics.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Representative to Nigeria, Dr Walter Mulombo noted that Nigeria is still far from achieving the 15 per cent Abuja declaration on improving the health sector.
While advocating for adequate funding of Nigeria's health sector, he lamented that the sector is poorly funded compared to areas such as defence, army and security.
He said:: “We need to start talking about human rights violations because it is not acceptable for any child to miss a vaccine.
“Many countries continue to consider health as luxury or something that is costing the government money whereas it should have been taken like an enabling factor for economic and socio-economic development."
Mulombo regretted that some surveys carried out by WHO in Nigeria revealed that 80 per cent of the money budgeted on health were channeled to tertiary hospitals instead of primary healthcare.
He said that the primary healthcare is where 80 per cent of the population in the communities get their first exposure to healthcare services.
Mulombo said that addressing social determinants of health is important for improving health and reducing longstanding disparities in health and healthcare.
He requested for more facilities with dialysis machines and more expensive equipment to combat non-communicable diseases.
Irked by the pitfalls in the heath sector, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) had on April 29, 2023, issued a two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to meet its demands or face industrial disharmony.
The ultimatum ended on Saturday, May 13, 2023. But on Wednesday, May 17 at exactly 8 am, doctors commenced a five-day warning strike to demand for improved conditions of service.
Interestingly, the immediate past Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the doctors on Friday, May 19, ahead of the warning strike, which was expected to end on Monday, May 22, at 8am.
Top officials of Federal Government agencies in the health sector and other relevant agencies signed the MoU on the part of government, while President of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) Dr Uche Ojinmah and his counterpart at the NARD, Dr Emeka Orji signed on behalf of the doctors.
The doctors demanded immediate increment in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) to the tune of 200 per cent of their current gross salaries.
NARD also requested the immediate withdrawal of the bill seeking to compel medical and dental graduates to render five-year compulsory services in Nigeria before receiving full licence to practise.
In addition, they sought the immediate implementation of CONMESS, domestication of the Medical Residency Training Act, and review of hazard allowance by all the state governments and private tertiary health institutions, among other issues.
But the spokesman of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr Olajide Oshundun stated that since health is in the Residual List and not on the Concurrent List of the Constitution, the Federal Government cannot compel state governments to effect payment of salaries and allowances in the health sector.
On the bill for bonding of doctors for five years before licensing, sponsored by Rep. Ganiyu Johnson (APC-Lagos State) he said: “It was agreed that the Executive arm of government could not interfere with it being a private member’s bill and not an Executive bill.
“The meeting resolved to await the public hearing on the bill, where the doctors will deal with it through the NMA to ensure it does not see the light of day."
He maintained that the recommendations of the Federal Ministry of Health’s Brain Drain Committee on exited doctors had been forwarded to the Office of Head of Service of the Federation (OHSF) for further action.
Housing
As at 2023, the housing deficit stood at 22 million despite the growing number of slum settlements, completed and unoccupied houses dotting the landscape of major cities in Abuja, Lagos and PortHarcourt.
To this end, President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration initiated and commenced the pilot phase of the National Housing Programme (NHP) in 34 States including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with the exemption of Lagos and Rivers states whose governors failed to donate land for the project.
The two agencies, Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) under the Ministry of Works & Housing are also pushing for the provision of affordable housing to workers as seen in various projects and programmes.
The pilot phase of the NHP was directly executed by the Federal Government through the ministry, just as the private sector may likely participate in the second phase depending on the acceptability of the designs by the off-takers.
Investigation revealed that the sum of N35 billion was budgeted for the NHP in 2016.
About N41 billion from the N64.9 billion budgeted for capital spending in the housing sector's 2017 budget was set aside for the project while in 2018, N35 billion was also mapped out for the project.
The same was replicated in the 2019 to 2023 budgets. The essence of the project was to provide affordable homes for low income earners.
In order to key into former President Muhammadu Buhari's vision on housing, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) commenced the construction of Abuja Mass housing project in Zuba, Federal Capital Territory in the second half of 2017.
The Zuba project was initially planned for 16 nos 3 bedroom blocks of 8 flats, 25 nos 2 bedroom block of 8 flats, 10 nos 1 bedroom block of 16 flats and 5 nos 3 bedroom block of terrace duplex of 4 units, with a total of 508 housing units, but was later increased to 748 units.
It was completed and commissioned in May, 2023, by Buhari.
In addition, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has played a crucial role in providing shelter and loans for workers across the states.
The bank in partnership with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (NUC), and Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) planned the construction of affordable housing units for workers nationwide.
News Rider reports that the project was conceived in 2016 during Mr Gimba Ya'u Kumo's administration as the MD/CE of FMBN.
But in 2018, the ground breaking ceremony of the first phase of FMBN/NLC/TUC/NECA National Affordable Housing Delivery Programme (NAHDP) commenced in six states of Jigawa, Nasarawa, Kogi, Enugu, Akwaibom and Adamawa.
This was followed by additional units in Ondo, Ogun, Delta, Abia, Sokoto, Katsina and Borno States while the FCT and Lagos were designated as special centres.
The partnership was targeted at building and delivering decent, safe, and quality housing for workers at affordable prices.
However, between January 16 to 26, 2023, the FMBN unveiled 1,071 completed houses in eight States of Ondo, Adamawa, Katsina, Yobe, Sokoto, Borno, Ebonyi and Kogi.
It was part of the over 3,560 homes built under Phases 1 & 2 of the NAHDP in collaboration with labour unions.
The houses comprise of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units, with prices ranging from N3.1million to N8.3 million.
Managing Director/ Chief Executive of FMBN, Mr. Hamman Madu was excited with the completion of the housing units, just as he commended the labour unions for their cooperation and support.
"We are excited at the progress that we have made on the NAHDP. Indeed, it is a historic initiative as it marks the first time that FMBN and the organised labour and NECA are working together on the basis of a realistic and acceptable framework for delivering affordable housing to Nigerian workers", Madu said.
He disclosed that the stakeholders involvement and contributions to the project design made the NAHDP a fit-for-purpose tool that would provide affordable houses to workers.
This, he said was part of the bank's overall national efforts towards addressing the huge housing deficit pegged at over 22 million units.
The Family Homes Fund (FHF) is another housing project domiciled in the Ministry of Finance. It is a Social Housing Programme initiated by the Federal Government to provide inexpensive mortgages for low-income individuals and families across the country.
Through the fund, the Federal Government is expected to invest up to N1.3trn (US$3bn) in five years for the construction of 500,000 new homes for low income earners.
In addition to providing affordable housing, the company also aims to create up to 1,500,000 jobs, through its various initiatives and projects.
So far, the FHF has financed 15,722 homes, created 84,478 jobs and invested ₦ 69.4 billion in the construction of new homes since it commenced operation in 2018.
Despite the interventions, the housing gap is still large as many Nigerians are unable to purchase homes given the tight economic conditions.
At the Shelter Afrique 2023 Roundtable Session of African Ministers, the immediate past Minister of Works & Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, enjoined Africans to stop binging on deficits.
"We seem too eager to accept, own and propagate the worst narratives about our countries and our continent, based on data whose sources or integrity are unproven.
"While awaiting reliable census data, my approach has been to concentrate on housing supply and construction activities in the urban centres of our states, even as I am mindful of the existence of empty houses in the same urban centres," Fashola added.
Infrastructure
The escalating number of fatalities during road crashes is an indication that Nigeria lacks good infrastructure.
Major roads, bridges, water systems, electricity grid and other basic amenities built several years are still in a state of disrepair.
Given that Nigeria's vast infrastructure deficit is valued at $3.1trillion; the possibility of bridging the gap in one decade is lean due to the absence of long-term funding for infrastructure development.
This was further underscored in the Nigeria Integrated Infrastructure Masterplan (NIIMP) which revealed that a total of $3.1 trillion would be required to build, maintain and manage the nation's infrastructure from 2014-2043.
The short-term plan of the NIIMP which covered a 5-year period had indicated an investment of about US$127 billion over the first 5-year period to close the infrastructure deficit.
Annually, Nigeria needed about $100bn which is approximately N38 trillion to close the infrastructure gap.
The Nigeria Integrated Infrastructure Masterplan (NIIMP) was designed to serve as the blueprint for boosting infrastructure stock by 2043.
The NIIMP which was developed by the Federal Government, provided a starting-point and a roadmap for building a world class infrastructure stock that would not only guarantee sustainable economic growth but would also boost the nation’s economic recovery from the worst recession experienced in the past two decades.
This was even as the Nigerian Infrastructure Report Card (NIRC) published by the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) in 2015 rated the national infrastructure stock as E2 (2.08 out of 5), an indication that the poor state of infrastructure is a threat to public safety.
However, only about N5.5 trillion roughly US$11.5 billion (N1.1 trillion 2014; N0.6 trillion in 2015; N1.75 trillion in 2016 and N2.24 trillion in 2017) was budgeted for capital projects, which was rather meagre to boost development.
Although President Muhammadu Buhari had in 2017 at the National Assembly presented the 2018 budget of N8. 612 trillion, the Ministry of Power, Works & Housing known for its heavy infrastructure development had N555.8 billion which was a breakaway from previous budgets.
In 2019, the sum of N2.031 trillion was captured for capital expenditure while in 2020, an aggregate sum of N2.46 trillion (inclusive of N318.06 billion in statutory transfers) was proposed for capital projects.
Infrastructure was allocated N1.24 trillion in 2023, representing 5.7 per cent of the budget. This includes provisions for works and housing, power, transport, water resources and aviation sectors.
The Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Field Marshal Integrated Engineering, Engr Ben Ossy-Oko maintained that implementing one quarter of the NIIMP would reverse Nigeria's status from third world country to second world country.
He said that addressing infrastructure deficit required urgent attention by the government, stressing that infrastructure is essential in the development of every country.
Ossy- Oko pleaded with governments not to focus more attention in creating new committees or formulating new polices but to implement the existing policies that were formulated from 1960 till date.
Experts are optimistic that Nigeria could surmount the problems if the new administration would create a conducive environment for investors through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative.
In addition to PPP, there should be transparency in government spendings and dealings with international donors.
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