By Yinka Kolawole

Ministry of Interior has sealed a deal with a property development firm, Byuan Resources Limited, to provide 100,000 housing units for officers and men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Prisons Service and the Federal Fire Service.

The housing units, comprising two and three-bedroom detached and semi-detached flats, will be constructed in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory under the name, ‘Paramilitary Villages.’

Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro, during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the project in Abuja, said the conception of the project was based on the high premium the ministry places on staff welfare.

Moro added that the task of ensuring internal security could not be fully accomplished without the provision of accommodation for members of staff of the different outfits. According to him, the ministry is poised to discharge its mandate of securing the nation in the face of prevailing security challenges.

Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Alhaji Sheidu Ozigis, explained that the construction of the paramilitary villages across the country would enhance the mobilisation and deployment of officers and men of the outfits in time of emergencies. He said that under the arrangement, the developer would provide land for the estate as well as raise funds for the execution of the project.

Ozigis said the developer, in collaboration with the ministry, would also appoint a primary mortgage institution (PMI) where money deducted from the beneficiaries’ salaries would be remitted. “The benefiting members of staff will be entitled to the possession of their houses upon the payment of between 30 per cent and 60 per cent of the total cost of the property,” he explained.