...says partnerships with private sector enhancing development
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji on Tuesday flagged off the construction of 1000 units of affordable housing units under the Ado Ekiti New Town Project.
The project is in partnership with the private sector, which according to the Governor is one of the strategies of his administration to enhance growth and development.
Governor Oyebanji disclosed during the ground breaking ceremony at the Ado Ekiti New Town along the State University Road, said his administration will prioritize provision of housing scheme capable of relieving the populace to overcome the stress of building houses for themselves.
He also disclosed that 100 units of the houses would be delivered within the space of a year.
While promising to leave an indelible legacy in the provision of mass housing in Ekiti state, Governor Oyebanji observed that the deficit faced by the state in housing was not pleasant, stressing the compelling need for government to adopt a housing model that would harness limited space for delivery of safe home through public/private partnership for the Ekiti people.
He reassured that government will embrace the global housing policy that will make people become homeowners through an inclusive and convenient financing system based on their incomes, adding that the policy, along with outright purchase for those who can afford it, will support a sustainable system in which houses are consistently available to the populace.
While affirming publicly that he would subscribe to one unit of the housing scheme, Governor Oyebanji said his administration will attempt exploring innovation and partnership with more private investors to attract more housing projects to the state. He added that government is unequivocally committed to driving development in all sectors of the economy, working with private sector players, institutions and development partners.
He thanked the management of Citec International Estates Limited led by its Managing Director, Dr Oludare Bello for their agreement to invest in the state, stressing that his administration will not relent in promoting urban harmony and set new standards for property development with a view to ensuring that all category of residents are presented with opportunities to acquire property without living any one out of the arrangement.
“I give glory to God for a day like this and I am happy that we are all here to do the ground breaking of this Ado Ekiti New Town. What excites me about this project is the preservation of the Ado culture, we are not disrupting the old Ado, and we are building a new city. So, it tells me that development can happen without distorting our culture and our tradition, so, this is the new town, that place will be called the downtown, we now have an idea of what it used to be and what is possible.
“You said in the next one year, one hundred keys will be given, I will be one of them by God’s grace, my wife too will be one of them and Kabiyesi the Ewi of Ado Ekiti just announced now that he would subscribe to one unit as well.
“I just plead with all of us to take position, the structure is flexible, what has been brought to the state is joy, prosperity, development, and job creation.
“To those people saying Ekiti is not fertile for investment, we shall see, the risk has been taken and I appeal to all other blessed Ekiti indigenes , the time is coming when we will not beg them and they will have to beg us to take a position in this state.
Governor Oyebanji also called on civil servants, artisans, market women and Ekiti citizens in the diaspora to develop vested interest in acquiring properties in the new town saying there is property for all categories of people in the state. He added that his government is moved by renewed drive to provide and deliver affordable housing units for the people as he promised to continue to encourage private developers to invest in the state.
“I am happy the Head of Service is here, the SSG is here, I will also talk to the labour union, this is not based on politics, it is based on interest and commitments. Nothing stops the civil servants, drivers, artisans, market women from getting property here. Everybody has a space here and I don’t want us to be intimidated. Like the investor said, let us live in a community that is structured. Where we live is very important, because the opportunities here cannot be found elsewhere”. He said.
Earlier, the Managing Director of Citec International Estates Limited, Dr Oludare Bello, expressed appreciation to Governor Oyebanji for his rare kind of leadership and for giving him the opportunity to invest in the housing project aimed at repositioning housing facilities in the state.
Dr Bello noted that the project of 1,000 housing units in Ado Ekiti was almost impossible except those who could fathom what the future holds for the state, adding it was his pleasure to replicate what his organization is doing all over the country in Ado Ekiti by bringing people out of their abysmal living condition and deliver to them houses that will redefine their ways of life with the most modern facilities.
He disclosed that 100 units of the housing scheme would be delivered by October 2025, to mark Governor Oyebanji’s third anniversary. He also disclosed that there are nine distinct strata of the project cutting across various classes of the society as it is expected to redefine standards and offer Ekiti residents a wide range of top quality affordable houses with flexible payment regimes.
The Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejuyigbe, expressed delight at the project and hailed the Government for doing it in a manner that does not distort the the original structure of the city. He also expressed willingness to subscribe to one unit in the project, saying he would like to occasionally leave the “ downtown to the new town”.