As part of the efforts to promote and popularize the use of innovative technologies and provide affordable housing for all Nigerians, the Executives of the Association of Housing Corporations of Nigerian (AHCN), visited the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) on the 12th of February 2020 at the Institute’s Administrative Headquarters Abuja.
The President/Chairman of the Association, Dr. Victor Onukwugha accompanied by the other executives of AHCN gave a rundown of the mandate and vision of the association which includes advising governments of the federation on their housing policies, projects and programs and to ensure increased availability of dwelling houses and good neighborhoods in Nigeria. He explained that various policies have been put in place by previous successive governments but these efforts have not yielded the desired results that could adequately address the increasingly affordable housing shortages noted especially in major cities across the country.
He further explained that the purpose for the visit was to seek further collaboration with NBRRI to address housing shortage by using NBRRI locally produced building materials especially to low income earners and to discourage notable apathy for the use of local building materials especially red bricks. He also solicited for financial commitment and support in the training and education of professionals in the housing sector in the knowledge and modalities of supervision of housing projects.
In response, the Acting Director General/Chief Executive Officer of NBRRI, Professor Samson Duna, expressed gratitude for the visit and optimism towards the collaboration as it is part of the Institute’s mandate. He commended the delegation form AHCN for the job being done to ensure affordable housing to the Nigerian society. He also stated that one of the Institute’s visions for 2020 is the research on how plastic waste can be converted to building materials.
Duna encouraged them to also take advantage of the Institute’s State of the Art laboratories to conduct their various tests. The DG noted that as a Reseaech Institution, NBRRI can partner with AHCN in the aspect of training as capacity building is a major component of the Institute’s mandate. He therefore stated that members of staff of the Institute will definitely be encouraged to participate in the Association’s training of Professionals in the Housing sector. Duna further assured of the Institute’s continuous support to the objectives of the Association.