The Federal Housing Authority’s Managing Director and Chief Executive, Hon. Oyetunde Ojo, unveiled the organization’s Drone on Thursday, September 26, 2024, during a specialized workshop titled ‘Location Matters’.
In his remark at the event, Hon Ojo stated that acquiring the DGI Matrix 350 RTK Drone marked another milestone in his administration’s efforts to revamp FHA operations.
According to the Chief Executive, his Executive Management Team found it incongruous for FHA to operate analogously, lacking fundamental resources expected of a premier agency with a 50-year history.
He cited the absence of essential tools as the primary reason for the Authority’s lack of accurate data. He emphasized that it is untenable for the agency to function without precise information on its land boundaries and the exact number of houses, a situation that perpetuates land encroachment and substantial revenue losses.
Ojo expressed confidence that the addition of this sophisticated Drone will allow the Authority to achieve greater accuracy in its operations, from planning and construction to marketing initiatives.
“With drone technology, FHA can accurately assess the housing inventory in its estates, thereby enhancing revenue projections and planning.”
Continuing, he said,…”apart from making our operations seamless and accurate, the use of this Drone will engender standard best practices in our work”
Hon Ojo noted that with the digitalisation of the Authority’s operation and the acquisition of the Drone, Federal Housing Authority is strongly moving on the journey of self rediscovery.
The Managing Director who stated that more hands would be trained on handling the equipment, was full of praises for staff whose collective efforts he said helped i. turning the agency around.
While pledging continued good leadership from the Executive Management Team, he admonished staff to remain focused and work harder for the growth of the Authority.
The CEO was emphatic on the need for the Management staff to mentor the younger staff by engaging them. “It is only through this that FHA would survive the looming brain drain and succession crisis, through retirements”, he added.
Earlier on, Surv. Winston Ayeni, a former Registar of the Surveyor Regulation Council of Nigeria (SURCON), during a lecture titled Location Matters, had applauded Management for acquiring the Drone.
Surv. Ayeni noted that FHA is the 3rd government agency to acquire such a calibre of Drone in the country.
Speaking on Optimising Process and Procedures for Performance Enhancement, Ayeni was unequivocal on the fact that Location, matters in every human endeavor including the built industry.
He noted that the introduction of the Drone in FHA’S operations would affect all its sphere of operations, ranging from planning, construction/Engineering, Marketing and Urban renewal.
DGI Matrix 350 RTK Drone has the capacity to cover a distance of 20 kilometers and can go beyond a height of 120 meters. It is also equipped with a high resolution camera for both picture and video capabilities, can fly for about 55 minutes during which it can cover about 120 hectares of land.
Equipped with Lidar sensor that can make it see through vegetation, the Drone has the ability to come back to base by itself when the battery gets very low and is fitted with Optical Avoidance mechanism that makes it not to collide with other objects.
