By Reportcircle News
In a move that shifts soldiers’ welfare from promise to concrete reality, the Nigerian Army has commissioned a new affordable housing estate in Ibadan, underscoring a renewed push to anchor troop morale, operational strength and post-service security on tangible support.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, on Thursday unveiled a 60-unit Affordable Home Ownership Option for All Soldiers (AHOOAS) Housing Estate, alongside a Post Service Housing Development Limited (PHDL) Shopping Complex at Akopo, Ibadan.
The project marks another milestone in what the Army leadership describes as a deliberate pivot toward people-centred military reforms.
Addressing officers, soldiers and stakeholders at the ceremony, the COAS framed the development as a living expression of the Army’s “Soldier First” philosophy, stressing that decent housing is not a luxury but a strategic necessity.
According to him, secure and affordable home ownership directly affects troop morale, battlefield effectiveness and long-term stability after retirement.
The AHOOAS scheme, he said, was designed to ensure that Nigerian soldiers leave service with dignity not uncertainty.
Lieutenant General Shaibu traced the programme’s roots to its pilot phase in Idu, Abuja, where more than 400 housing units were delivered and are now fully occupied by serving and retired soldiers.
That success, he noted, emboldened the Army to scale the initiative nationwide.
Ibadan is only one stop.
Expansion is already underway in Benin, Jos, Akwa Ibom and other locations, while special arrangements are being developed to fast-track home ownership for Army Warrant Officers, a category often overlooked in traditional housing schemes.
Beyond bricks and mortar, the COAS used the occasion to spotlight strategic partnerships driving the initiative.
He praised the Oyo State Government for sustained support to military formations and acknowledged traditional institutions for fostering peace and civil-military cooperation.
He also commended the management of Post Service Housing Development Limited (PHDL) for delivering the project with what he described as professionalism and purpose.
Of particular note was the Army’s collaboration with Family Homes Funds Limited, which has facilitated the construction of 50 housing units for widows of fallen soldiers a gesture the COAS described as both moral duty and national obligation.
Looking ahead, Lieutenant General Shaibu issued a call to other state governments to support future phases of the scheme through land allocation, warning that affordable housing has become a critical pillar of the Army’s broader transformation agenda.
The programme, he said, aligns squarely with the vision of the Commander-in-Chief, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to build a more professional, motivated and resilient Armed Forces.
Providing details of the Ibadan project, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of PHDL, Major General Isiah Alison, disclosed that the estate consists of 30 two-bedroom houses for Non-Commissioned Officers and 30 three-bedroom houses for Senior Non-Commissioned Officers.
The welfare intent was unmistakable.
Five per cent of the housing units, he revealed, were allocated free of charge to soldiers who sustained disabilities in the line of duty, while 70 per cent of the houses were reserved for personnel at heavily subsidised rates.
Major General Alison explained that homes built at costs of up to ₦30 million were sold to soldiers for as low as ₦7.5 million, emphasising that the initiative was conceived as a welfare intervention, not a commercial enterprise.
He added that similar housing estates and service shopping complexes are under construction across the country, aimed at supporting small businesses run by soldiers’ families and stimulating local economic activity around military communities.
As the Ibadan keys changed hands, the message from Army headquarters was clear: welfare is no longer an afterthought.
For Nigeria’s soldiers, the battle for dignity beyond the uniform is increasingly being fought and won at home.
