TheCable

Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano state, has described housing estates built by Rabiu Kwankwaso, his predecessor, as a liability.

Speaking with reporters during an inspection tour on Thursday, Ganduje said Kwankwaso’s invested N45bn in the project, which he described as “a total mess”.

“My administration inherited Kwankwaso’s liability of housing estate which have not been occupied by people because of the shady deals involved,” he said.

“Prospective buyers shunned the houses because of the high cost… the N3.6 billion which the former government owed contractors has put the state government in a serious mess.

“We took the risk of slashing the price of the houses, but still nobody is interested.”

Ganduje said his administration used the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) to construct affordable houses.

“My administration constructed 553 affordable houses through IGR. The estate is adjacent Amana City housing units,” he said.

He said his government fixed N2.7 million per house in the estate, adding that at that rate, many will be able to afford it.

He added that out of the 553 housing units, 230 have been paid for.

Kwankwaso’s administration built three estates, which he named Kwankwasiyya, Amana and Bandirawo.