GEJ Lauds Police Housing Scheme

President Goodluck Jonathan has lauded the leadership of the Nigeria Police for its giant stride in responding to the housing needs of the Nigerian Police Force.
The president was full of praises for the Police Force while commissioning the Inspector Sunday Badang Housing Estate in Lugbe Abuja built by the Nigeria Police under Public Private Partnership (PPP).
Goodluck Jonathan, who spoke through his vice Arc Namadi Sambo stated that the commissioning of the 80 units of 4-bedroom flats was an indication of government’s resolve at providing a conducive and enabling environment for officers and men of the Nigeria Police to relax comfortably so that they could perform their statutory duty of safeguarding the lives and property of Nigerians.
Furthermore, the president praise the Police Force for its various inroads in addressing one of the critical areas of the administration’s transformation agenda, which was the deficit in the housing sector and commended them for naming the Estate after a gallant officer.
Goodluck Jonathan however called on all stakeholders to join hands with the Police Leadership in its quest of providing an enabling environment for officers and men to attain optimal performance in their statutory tasks, and reiterated government’s necessary infrastructural support aimed at improving efficiency and welfare of the police force.
In his welcome address, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar stated the commissioning of the housing units was a testimony of the commitment of the leadership to improve on the general well-being and welfare of the Nigeria Police Force.
The IGP expressed the deep appreciation of the Nigeria Police Force on the overwhelming support of government in the improvement of the welfare of the Force. He however stated that Government could not be able to satisfy the needs of the Police Force alone “considering the various competing demands by other economic factors.”
Dahiru Abubakar added that the development of the estate was through a Public Private Partnership arrangement, an initiative of the Nigeria Police Force through which estates could be developed across the country on owner occupier basis for officers and men who are interested.
The IGP, however stated that these owner occupier facilities could not take the place of the police barracks and therefore appealed for the president’s assistance in mobilizing support for more houses to be constructed for the Nigerian Police Force considering the dilapidated state of most police barracks across the country and that “the acute accommodation problem of the police can be solved only by aggressive intervention of the federal government”
In his remarks, the Minister of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade thanked the president for the immense support his administration was given to the police both in professionalizing the force and in the provision of welfare which has made the police better-off.
The estate was named after Inspector Sunday Badang for his gallantry and commitment to duty. He died while trying to diffuse an improvised explosive device planted in Kaduna on February 14 2012. He had earlier been posthumously promoted to the rank of an Inspector.