Photo caption: 753-duplex estate Photo: EFCC
The internal committee set up by the Federal Ministry of Housing to review the 753-unit housing project linked to former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele says its report is nearing completion.
An official of the Ministry clarified that the committee’s work is strictly internal and unrelated to the ongoing case involving former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele.
“The internal committee is doing its work. They are going to release it to the public pretty soon. There’s no affirmative date, but they’re almost concluded with the work,” the official said.
The official further explained that while the report will be handed over to the Minister of Housing once completed, any decisions beyond that, especially those involving Emefiele, fall outside the ministry’s purview.
“The fight Emefiele has is with EFCC because the committee is an internal thing for the ministry. Once their report is ready, they’ll hand it over to the Minister, who will now pass it on to the president,” the official stated. “It’s at that level that they will decide whether to go ahead with it or if Emefiele is going to stop the process.
But as far as the ministry is concerned, it doesn’t exactly concern us.”
Emphasising the focus of the committee, the official noted, “The work that the committee is doing does not concern Emefiele. Remember the committee was set up to ascertain certain things about the property. To see the level of work done, the number of units specifically, what is required to complete, and so on. So, that’s a Ministry matter.”
The official concluded by reaffirming the Ministry’s limited role: “It’s as long as we have now submitted that report to the president. It is now they who know how to go about it with Emefiele. It doesn’t really concern the Ministry.”
Recall that the 753-unit housing estate in Abuja is linked to the arrest and corruption charges against former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele. The EFCC seized the estate as part of its investigation into the alleged diversion of public funds during Emefiele’s tenure.
In response, the Federal Ministry of Housing set up an internal committee to conduct an independent assessment of the estate. The committee was tasked with evaluating the number of units completed, the quality of construction, and what was needed to finish the project.
In response, Emefiele’s legal team wrote to the Minister of Housing, requesting that the government suspend all plans to sell the estate pending the outcome of the appeal.
“We are aware that the properties may soon be sold to the public. We have already served the EFCC with a notice of appeal and an injunction,” the letter partly read.
The Federal Government recently revealed plans to sell the estate to low- and middle-income Nigerians.
