N2bn housing scheme in 2017 budget not our project, Fashola tells senate

Babatunde Fashola, minister of power, works and housing, has disowned the sum of N2bn allocated to regional housing scheme in the 2017 budget proposal of his ministry.

Appearing before the senate committee on housing and urban development on Tuesday, Fashola said the scheme entitled “family homes” and numbered FMOW99934089 was an initiative of the finance ministry.

He explained that his ministry did not submit proposals for the project in its budget.

“It is not our project. It came in from, I think, the budget (office). It is a ministry of finance initiative; saying that they want to do what they called ‘family homes’. It is not from us,” Fashola said.

“That is why I have come. I am explaining to you now, sir, on how it comes into our budget. That is not what we submitted. We didn’t submit that proposal.”

Barnabas Gemade, chairman of the committee, while querying the regional housing programme, said government could not be operated in secrecy.

He requested that Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, should be invited to explain the housing programme.

“What is this provision of N2bn for regional housing scheme? What is regional housing scheme? Where is it taking place? What is happening? Have you seen it on Page 18?,” Gemade asked.

“Let us know what is regional housing programme because government cannot be operated in secrecy.

“Write to the minister, we have seen this line, which costs N2 billion. Let them send information here for us to know what it is all about,” he said.