Nigeria Remains Committed To Its Obligations: Says Minister Gwarzo

The Honourable Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development Abdullahi Tijjani Muhammad Gwarzo has said that Nigeria remains committed to fulfilling her obligations to United Nations Habitat as contained in the extant MoU and contribution agreement.

The Minister made the remarks when he received the Portfolio Manager for West Africa in UN-Habitat Mr. Mathias Spaliviero, who paid him a courtesy visit to the ministry on Thursday.

The Minister, who expressed delight for the notable milestone achievements in the Human Settlement sector in Nigeria since establishment of the UN-Habitat Programme Support Office (UNHAPSO) in 2023 explained that Nigeria found a veritable ally in country’s quest to provide adequate and affordable housing in both urban and rural areas.

He reiterated the commitment of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in securing, healthy, and decent environments for all Nigerians as one of the cardinal focuses of the administration.

Minister Gwarzo, therefore, seeks more collaboration between the ministry and UN-Habitat as critical partners realising the vision of President Bola Ahmad Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for Housing and Urban Development in Nigeria.

He assured the portfolio manager that the ministry is making concerted effort towards ensuring that the arrears of 2022 and 2023 contributions amounting to USD500,000 is paid as soon as possible.

Earlier, the team leader and Portfolio Manager for West in UN-Habìtat, Mr. Mathias Spaliviero has told the minister that they were at the ministry to strengthen the relationship between the ministry and UN-Habitat.

Mr. Spaliviero informed the minister that UN-Habitat has a long tradition of collaboration with Nigeria, saying it was involved in water and sanitation programmes in different parts of the country.