Niger Delta Ministry Allocates Houses to Beneficiaries

Concerned by the lingering challenge of completing the various housing projects which have been on-going for years now, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Doctor Usani Uguru Usani has disclosed that his Ministry was considering the option of allocating the houses to various beneficiaries for completion and proper maintenance.

The Minister disclosed this while playing host to the members of the House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta who were on oversight visit  to the Ministry in Abuja, on Thursday.

The Ministry is handling  housing projects in the nine states of the Niger Delta region, some of which have been completed and awaiting allocation.

On the East West Road Project, Usani said that the Ministry was mandated to transfer Sections 1 to 4 of the project to the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (N.S.I.A) for completion.

He noted that the process of tranfering the project may further delay the completion of the flagship project, adding that the Ministry was preparing a response to that directive.

The Minister said only about 74 per cent of the budgetary allocation was released to the Ministry from the 2017 Appropriation, as 10 percent has so far been released from the 2018 Appropriation.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee, Honourable Essien Ayi said the mass housing projects in the Niger Delta region had become ‘abandoned projects’ and ‘dens of criminals.’ He said the Committee would advise that the houses be allocated in their uncompleted stages to the rightful beneficiaries and allow them complete the houses while the Ministry deploys subsequent allocations to other projects like skills acquisition Centres which he said  will be more beneficial to the indigenes of the Niger Delta region.

Honourable Ayi added that the Committee was in the Ministry to know the level of performance of the 2017 and 2018 Budgets, particularly the funding level of the on-going and new projects in various states in the Niger Delta region.

He reiterated the need for the Ministry to always take input from both the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Niger Delta, in preparing the Ministry’s budget proposals in a bid to reduce to the bearest minimum, Legislative  and Executive Friction  in budget passage exercise.

Oru Leonard