FCT minister mulls high rise buildings to conserve land
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has said the concept of building that was done in the territory 20 to 25 years ago is no longer sustainable. He stated this when he received Dr Folasade Yemi Esan, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, on a courtesy visit to […]
The FCT minister, Muhammad Musa Bello
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has said the concept of building that was done in the territory 20 to 25 years ago is no longer sustainable.
He stated this when he received Dr Folasade Yemi Esan, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, on a courtesy visit to the FCT Administration, during which he also called for partnership for new models that would help conserve land.
A statement by the minister’s chief press secretary, Mr. Anthony Ogunleye, quoted the minister as stressing the need for the provision of affordable houses for civil servants, and that partnership is needed among government agencies to provide high rise buildings in the face of inadequate land to carter for the teeming number of civil servants in the FCT in need of personal accommodation.
“What we have also observed is that the concept of building that hitherto was done here in Abuja may be 20 or 25 years ago, even for the affordable housing, is no longer sustainable in the sense that land is simply not available in the areas that are accessible by all the means of transportation and more importantly, where there is infrastructure,” he said.
He insisted that affordable housing can only be possible if the concept of high rise building can be applied.
“I recall that in Lagos, civil servants had high rise buildings in Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Surulere. This is the concept we now have to start looking at because massive parcels of land are simply no longer available and you will be surprised with what you can do with half a hectare,” he added.
Malam Bello also said with strong collaboration, a robust high capacity bus system could be worked out to meet the transportation needs of civil servants. This, he said, will greatly ease the hardship faced by civil servants in transporting themselves to and from work.
He pledged to partner with the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to improve the welfare of civil servants in the FCT.
Earlier, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Yemi-Esan, had solicited the assistance of the FCTA to improve the welfare of civil servants across the country, especially in the areas of affordable housing and transportation.
She said it was worrisome that many civil servants cannot afford to own homes hence the Federal Government introduced the FISH (Federal Integrated Staff Housing) scheme designed to enable civil servants own houses at affordable rates.
She disclosed that over 50,000 civil servants had signed for the scheme and requested that the FCT Administration expedites action on the provision of land for the programme.