The Minister of Lands , Housing and Urban Development, Ms. Amal Pepple has disclosed that financing housing for low income earners would be a solution to the problem of Nigerian living in the deplorable environment.

She made this remark in Abuja recently at the meeting with the team from Department for International Development (DFID) adding that they needed financial support to provide social housing that would serve both higher and lower income earners in housing delivery units.

Pepple said Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and Federal Mortgage Bank could come up with strategic plans issues that would help the Ministry to do spot analyses to enable activate the bank back on transaction.
She also said that with Mortgage financial scheme people on the technology would do more by strengthening the capacity building in the conventional way of building houses, pointing out that it is not the time of wasting the use of modern technology but would improve the building and quality of mass housing in future.

Minister called for the Team Leaders to support and achieve the strategic plan that should be done step by step to change the poor housing delivery.
The Permanent Secretary, Surveyor Emmanuel Ogbile stated that the identified areas in Ministry needed most change, stressing that capacity building is very necessary where it needed and not doing anything that come our way without feeling the impact in future .

Ogbile said if we can identify these area as that needed most change because the strategic planning is paramount and identifying the propriety area is the key factor.
Furthermore, he said the terms of technical Mortgage Bank has assured that fund would be made available for the housing delivery at the affordable rate whereby every individual would be accommodated not minding the level of the income.

Team Leader for DFID Julios Court, said that in order to make the Ministry a model of reforms in the area of providing affordable houses that they have come up with eight programs on land reforms which includes the technical market on the land reforms to enable investors to invest.

Also the Programm Director for DFID Mr. Daniel Donoghlum adviced the Ministry to provide a roadmap which would guide them to know the areas that needed more support in the issue of delivering affordable houses.

Vice President Namadi Sambo has commended the Bill and Belinda Gate Foundation for its efforts toward the eradication of polio in Nigeria.
He gave the commendation during an interactive session with governors and a delegation from the Bill Gates Foundation in Abuja recently.

The vice president expressed optimism that with the efforts so far, the disease would soon be kicked out from Nigeria.
“I will like to express our sincere appreciation for your continued support in the effort to ensuring that we eradicate polio in Nigeria.
“Particularly, I will like to add our appreciation in the confidence you have in us despite the recent bombing of the United Nations building (in Abuja).

“We assure you that with the presence of all the governors we will continue with the partnership you have started and we have just signed a Memorandum of Understanding to ensure that we will continue with the earlier agreement.”
Sambo further noted the support of the Foundation in other areas of Immunisation, economy and agriculture.
In his presentation, Bill Gates said that the disease burden had reduced by 95% between 2009 and 2010.

He noted the global concern on the country's ability to sustain the 2010 gains as 109 “very high risk cases” were recorded in some local government areas in the country as at August.
Bill Gates called for increased personal involvement of Governors in the polio campaigns and urged for sustained funding of State Emergency Polio Plans as well as strategies to resolve non-compliance by families.
In their responses, the Governors highlighted the efforts they had so far made in the fight against polio in their respective states.

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno attributed the high risk situation of the disease in his state to the fact that it shared a common border with Chad Republic through which the disease found its way to the state.
Shettima also cited the security challenges which had forced most of the UNICEF personnel and other health workers to leave the state as another impediment.

Governor Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State lamented that polio outbreak was reported in three local government areas of the state, but noted that a rapid response scheme to deal with the menace had been established.

In his report, Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State said there was no case of reported polio in the state due to the “tremendous efforts'' in the fight against the disease.
He said that the state government had recently flagged-off the fight against polio known as “men against polio” in Zaria with all local government chairmen, religious and traditional rulers in attendance.