In the 2024 budget, Office of Drainage Services & Water Resources had a total of ₦35.7 billion.

When I placed the Renewed Hope Agenda before Nigerians, I did not speak of housing in vague terms. I gave my word that this administration would work to make decent homes affordable again, and that a hardworking family, after years of paying rent, would finally have a path to a house of its own. Let me account for that promise plainly, by juxtaposing what we pledged beside what we have actually achieved. We promised a programme built on a national scale, 100,000 homes in all, with 50,000 in the first phase through cities of 1,000 units in every geopolitical zone and the Federal Capital Territory, and estates of up to 500 units in the remaining 30 states. What stands today is no longer a drawing. We broke ground on more than 3,000 homes at Karsana in Abuja, the 2,000-unit city at Ibeju-Lekki in Lagos has reached advanced completion with sales already underway, and across the country, more than 15,000 units are rising as I write this. A house does not begin at its walls, and we refused to govern as though it did. We promised to confront the foundation, the tools and the cost of building itself. So we have moved to title land that sat for generations as dead capital, working with the World Bank to lift this nation from fewer than one plot in ten formally registered toward one in two. We have strengthened the framework that governs equipment leasing, so that a builder or contractor can secure the machines a project needs with legal certainty and the confidence of those who finance them, and no site stands idle for want of a crane. And,we have published uniform prices on our homes, so that no Nigerian pays a bribe to learn the cost of a roof, while raising materials hubs in all six zones so that we build with our own hands and our own resources. But a home that is built and cannot be bought is only a monument, and on this point, Nigeria has stumbled for decades. So, we turned to the question of money. Through the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund, 1,859 families across 25 states have now drawn ₦128 billion in mortgages, fixed at 9.75 per cent and repayable over 20 years, terms our people were told for a generation they would never see. Through Family Homes Funds, we have kept faith with the poorest, housing widows and low-income earners, under a mandate to reach 500,000 homes and the 1.5 million jobs that rise with them. I will not stand before you and declare the work finished, because it is not. The housing deficit this nation carries is counted in the millions, and it will take years of steady labour to close, and I would rather say that to you plainly than flatter you with a lie. But the difference now is real. For the first time in a generation, the whole housing value-chain is moving together: the land and its title, the building, the materials, the equipment, the finance, and the family at the end of it, and no part waits idle on another. Housing has moved from a welfare conversation to a national growth strategy. Real estate and construction now sit among Nigeria’s major GDP contributors, proving that every affordable home financed is also a factory order, a labour contract, a mortgage asset, a household balance sheet and a contribution to national output. That is what I promised for our housing sector, and that is what is now being delivered. Renewed Hope was never charity. It is the right of every Nigerian to a place called home. Bola Ahmed Tinubu President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria @officialABAT

IGP DISU, BURNA BOY EXPLORE CREATIVE POWER TO REBUILD POLICE TRUST The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, and Nigerian music star, Burna Boy, are exploring how Nigeria’s creative industry can help rebuild public trust in the Police, particularly among young Nigerians. At a meeting, the IGP and the music star discussed stronger collaboration between the Nigeria Police Force and the entertainment industry, recognising the influence of music, culture and popular voices in shaping public perception and strengthening police-community relations. IGP Disu emphasised the importance of partnerships in his administration’s efforts to reposition the Nigeria Police Force and build an institution Nigerians can trust and be proud of. He also highlighted the potential of the Orange Economy to create opportunities while using the creative sector to bridge gaps between the Police and the public. Burna Boy expressed support for the direction and willingness to contribute to efforts aimed at strengthening the relationship between the Police and Nigerians, especially the younger generation. The engagement reinforces the message that rebuilding public confidence requires collaboration between the Police, creatives, youths, media, civil society and other stakeholders. @Bur