Nigeria remains committed to its obligations to UN Habitat – Gwarzo

By Abdullahi Yusuf

The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo,says Nigeria remains committed to fulfilling its obligations to the United Nations Habitat as contained in the extant MoU and contribution agreement.

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

This is contained in a statement issued to newsmen on Thursday by the Minister’s SSA Media,Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi.

Abdullahi quoted Gwarzo as expressing delight at the notable milestone achievements in the Human Settlement sector in Nigeria since the establishment of the UN-Habitat Programme Support Office (UNHAPSO) in 2023.

He said that Nigeria found a veritable ally in the country’s quest to provide adequate and affordable housing in both urban and rural areas.

He reiterated the commitment of his ministry to securing healthy and decent environments for all Nigerians as one of the cardinal programmes of President Bola Tinubu administration.

The Minister, therefore, sought for 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 efforts towards ensuring that the arrears of 2022 and 2023 contributions amounting to USD500,000 are paid as soon as possible.

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

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.