FG to establish N100bn Police Housing Fund
The Federal Government, under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is putting plans in place to establish a N100 billion Police Housing Fund to address the housing deficit faced by the officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olukayode Egbetokun, disclosed this during the launch of the inaugural Nigerian Police Housing Summit in Abuja on Monday on the theme: “Renewed Hope for Police Housing in Nigeria.”
Hitherto, the police boss had lamented the police’s housing deficit and stated that only 10 per cent of the workforce had adequate housing.
The IGP revealed that the objectives of the Nigerian Police Housing Summit 2024 were intended to orchestrate a vision of ‘effective and efficient’ housing as an essential apparatus for the welfare of the NPF men and officers.
“A critical discussion point will be the establishment of a 100 billion Naira Police Housing Fund. Preliminary assessments are underway, and engagements with key players and institutions have begun. The experts and facilitators gathered here today will play a crucial role in refining our strategies and ideas,” Egbetokun said.
“A key aspect of enhancing our officers’ conditions is the provision of appropriate housing during and after their service. This task is monumental, as the Nigerian Police Force currently grapples with a significant housing shortage for its members across all ranks,” he added.
“Presently, housing capacity meets only about 10 per cent of the needs of our more than 400,000-strong workforce. Moreover, years of neglect have rendered existing barracks accommodations largely inadequate, failing to meet the demands of modern 21st-century policing,” the police boss stressed.