From Segun Ayinde, Abeokuta
Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun has expressed satisfaction with his administration’s urban renewal housing scheme for Government Reservation Areas, GRAs.
Abiodun disclosed this when he paid a visit to GRA in Abeokuta to witness the completion of the first phase of 35 houses at Ibara Government Reservation Area.
He said it is being replicated in Kobape, Iperu, Ijebu Ode and Ilaro.
The governor, who decried the deplorable condition of GRAs, commended the Commissioner for Housing, Jagunmolu Omoniyi and his team for providing quality and affordable housing units for residents to live comfortably.
He said the new housing projects show that his administration is capable delivering state-of-the-art affordable units.
Abiodun assured that similar housing projects would be done in Sagamu and Ota to leverage the area’s proximity to Lagos, insisting that through his GRA regeneration initiative, more people would leave Lagos and reside and invest in Ogun.
He said “We began to carry out urban renewal in Abeokuta, the state capital, in phases with three hectares of land. The first phase has 30-35 houses and what we have done is exemplary.
” The construction is done by our artisans which is another way of creating employment. The houses are affordable despite their high quality. This project presents a new face of Abeokuta.
“You can see that the designs are pleasing to the eyes and the completion is also commendable. This project was not executed by foreign contractors.
“Abeokuta is the capital of the Gateway State and everything we do must be of standard. These structures can be compared to any structure any where in the world and I believe we have done this to bring more people to live in Abeokuta” he added.
The commissioner for housing said Ibara GRA renewal project aims to modernise the outdated and abandoned housing estate, originally built in 1976 when the state was created.
Earlier, Special Adviser to the Governor on Housing, Prince Faruq Adenugba, commended Abiodun for developing a magnificent estate that would showcase Abeokuta’s beauty.
