Jonathan Commissions 200-Unit Modern Police Housing Estate •Decries Naming Of Project After Him While Still In Office

timthumb.phpIt was another milestone achievement for the Nigeria Police under the leader of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar when President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday commissioned a multi-million naira police housing estate in Idimu, Alimisho Local Government Area of Lagos State.

Comprising 200 units of 3-bedroom flats, the estate named “Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Police Housing Estate,” was built under a Public-Private Partnership, PPP, scheme financed by Aso Housing and Loans and developed by Remax developers.

A visibly elated Mr. Jonathan, while speaking during the commissioning ceremony, said this was the first time in Nigeria’s history that the Police would embark on such a laudable project. He also stressed that his administration remains committed to improving the standard of living of all police officers in the country, irrespective of rank or status.

The president hailed the PPP initiative saying it was the only way government could achieve many of its goals of providing much needed infrastructural amenities.

Mr. Jonathan commended the leadership of the Nigeria Police for “taking the initiative to develop an estate for its members. Not only is this commendable, it is remarkable because it goes a long way in complementing the efforts of the Federal Government in providing low cost housing for the citizenry.”

“This government places huge emphasis on housing, because the housing sector has the potential of increasing the productivity of every person. A viable housing sector creates jobs and enhances employment opportunities,” the president said.

He also noted that one of the ways in which government was looking at to improve the standard of living of police officers in the country, was to embark on massive transformation of all barracks in the country.

“This will cost the government a lot of money to achieve, but at the end it will be worth it,” he said.

While appreciating the police boss and his management team for naming the estate after him, the president noted that it would have been better for him to be receiving such honours after leaving office.

Earlier in his remarks, Mr. Abubakar disclosed that the housing units which would be made available for different cadres of police officers, was completed over a period of eight months.

Though he did not mention how much the project gulped, the IG declared that each flat would be given out to interested police officers at N8 million with interest buyers expected to repay through a mortgage scheme made available by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).

The IG pointed out that similar estates were currently being replicated in other parts of the country including Abuja, Kaduna and Kano for police officers.

Alluding to the fact that one of the major challenges confronting police officers all over the country is the issue of accommodation, Mr. Abubakar appealed to the FG to ameliorate the sufferings of his men by constructing more barracks across the country and rehabilitating the existing ones.

“It is only with the aggression of the Federal Government that acute housing shortage of the police can be tackled,” he stated.

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