Al-Makura flags off sight, services scheme 21 years after

Gov. Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has flagged off the state’s sight and services scheme to provide housing for low and medium income earners.

The estate is located in Karu Local Government Area near the FCT Abuja.

Al-Makura, while performing the flag off ceremony on Monday, reiterated the commitment of his administration in ensuring security, sanity and housing to the people.

He said that the scheme was designed to ease the burden of accommodation for the people in the state and at the corridors of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that the state Sight and Services Scheme was first conceived in 1997.

Al-Makura said that the scheme was aimed at attracting developers with the interest in housing to invest in the state.

He added that government could not afford not to develop the greater Karu master plan due to its proximity to the federal capital.

The governor stated that since he came on board, one of the cardinal policies of his administration was to develop infrastructures across the state.

According to him, this has been my major priority consequently the establishment of Nasarawa Geographic Information Service (NAGIS).

“My administration has invested so much and has transformed almost all the sectors of the economy such as education, health, works, agriculture and commerce, among others.

“This is done in order to reduce poverty, unemployment and to boost the socio-economic development of the state,” he said.

Al-Makura said the policy trust of the government on urban development was a project to be accomplished despite the lean resources of the state, hence the need to establish a robust housing estate.

“Government is ready and has put every machinery in place to make the project a realisable dream as it will also allocate plots to private spirited individuals with the interest of estate development,” he added.

He explained that in six months when the project might have been completed it would be offered to the low and medium income earners.

Al-Makura said the project, which has a space of 21 hectares of land, would include a bus terminal to give the estate a befitting outlook to add value to Abuja.

The governor restated his administration’s commitment to continue to deliver good policies and programmes that have direct bearing on the lives of the people of the state.

Mr Shehu Tukur, the consultant to the Nasarawa State Government on projects development, said the idea which was the second attempt was purely to establish a residential layout to ensure urban renewal.

He commended the governor for flagging off the project and the will to actualise it.

Earlier, the State Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Mr Sony Agassi, said since the introduction of NAGIS, it had availed the state the opportunity to be placed higher in the sub-African region in the area of land administration.