The Nation Newspaper

Category: Building & Properties

  • Board set to fight quackery

    •Inducts new members

    The days of quackery in the real estate business may be numbered, if the initiatives being put in place by an industry regulator is anything to go by. This is because the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON), under the current regime, is bent on tackling quacks operating as estate surveyors in the country.

    One of these measures, according to the body, is the planned introduction of the use of adhesive stamps to replace the conventional stamps currently being used by the practitioners in the country. This would be computer-based and experts have been engaged by the board to work on the computer platform to operate the stamps. For a long time, quackery has been a hydra-headed problem for both ESVARBON and the Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV).

    The Chairman of ESVARBON, Mr. Williams Odudu, who made this known while speaking at the 36th induction ceremony for newly registered estate surveyors and valuers held at the Senate Chambers of the Old National Assembly Complex, Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, assured that he would fight quackery   headlong. He explained that the focus of his board is to substantially reduce the nefarious activities of quacks by registering many more qualified estate surveyors and valuers in the country.

    To achieve this goal, the board, Odudu said, has put the requisite machinery in place, in collaboration with the relevant law enforcement agencies, to check the spread of fake practitioners and bring culprits to book.

    “It is worthy to stress that the board has instituted actions in courts against quacks, who would not heed its warning. Let me emphasise here that the focus of the current board is to battle quacks to a standstill. Also, the need for the use of the adhesive stamps to seal valuation reports is based on the desire of the board to effectively monitor the quality of valuation reports being prepared by practitioners for their numerous clientele,” he explained, adding that the practice of estate surveying in the country will longer be business as usual.

    At the induction, 202 new practitioners got their stamps and seals to practice in the country, increasing the number of registered estate surveyors to 604 in Nigeria. Odudu admitted that the inadequacy of estate surveyors in the country may have contributed to the multiplicity of non-professionals’ entry into its fold. He reckoned that an accelerated registration of new members to meet the rapidly increasing demand for their services is desirous to curb quackery.

    Also  at the induction, a former Executive Director, Estate Services, Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Mr. Eteng Ibiang Eteng, argued that while the profession was witnessing numerical growth as evidenced in the annual turnout of graduates,  the quality of practice has been on the decline. “The older surveyors have practice proficiency, which reflects their clear understanding of the principles behind what they do. These form the basis of the confidence and responsibility they exude in practice and life. But today, we cannot say this of the up-coming surveyors. Young surveyors in a practice spend more effort pursing private lettings, scales and bother less about understanding what the profession is about,” he lamented.

    Eteng blamed several malpractices on ignorance, incompetence, incorrect reporting and lack of integrity, among others. For instance, he said, when drawing up compensation assessment, some practitioners over-estimate crops and economic trees numerically and over-value improvements out of context with the provisions of the law in order to attract underserved direct personal financial benefits from claimants. This, he said, leads to bloated compensation claims resulting in escalated projects costs to the public sector and a drain on government resources.

  • Lamudi, Imperial Homes partner on mortgage

    Fresh hope is on the horizon for Nigerians desirous of owning their personal homes through the mortgage system. This followed a partnership pact  between Lamudi Nigeria, an online property platform, and a mortgage bank, Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited. The pact is expected to deepen access to affordable mortgage facilities.

    According to the modus operandi, through Lamudi’s online mortgage calculator, property buyers can now  search for properties on the firm’s website and also estimate their potential mortgage repayments and apply for a loan for their property of choice.

    The user-friendly mortgage calculator is integrated with every property available for sale on Lamudi. As a result, a buyer can choose his initial deposit and the tenor of the loan, input these details and receive his estimated mortgage repayment calculated based on the interest rate offered by Imperial Homes. A buyer can also automatically apply for a mortgage from Imperial Homes through the same application.

    The Managing Director of Lamudi Nigeria, Mr. Obi Ejimofo, described the partnership as a “big deal.” “This is a very big deal for us as a platform. From the start, our core objectives have been to make it easier for our people to secure their next home. We chose to partner with Imperial Homes specifically because they share the same ideals and have developed mortgage and savings products designed to assist the broader populace in getting a firm foot on the property ladder. As of today, when you visit Lamudi, you can not only find your dream home, you can now secure the finances to buy it too,” Ejimofo explained.

    He further described the collaboration as unprecedented in the real estate industry and expressed the hope that it would empower its customers to secure the property of their dreams.

    In a similar vein, the Managing Director of Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank, Mr. Ben Akaneme said “our mission is to make mortgages easy and affordable in order to facilitate home ownership among Nigerians. This collaboration is a major step in actualising the mission.”

  • VI: Tale of a deserted island

    VI: Tale of a deserted island

    Once the choice of the rich, and the powerful, but Victoria Island is being deserted, MUYIWA LUCAS reports.

    Victoria Island (VI) is a prestigious real estate destination in the Eti Osa Area of Lagos State. It enjoys proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and Lagos Lagoon. This makes it an attractive location for corporate bodies and multinationals.

    The same category of people also put up residential buildings for their staff, for its proximity to their work.

    This makes Victoria Island an exclusive preserve of the rich. For  example, an exquisitely-furnished four-bedroom Penthouse for rent in Victoria Island is available for N24 million per year, while in lower options, a self-contained apartment at Oniru Estate, an extention of Victoria Island, goes for N450,000 yearly.

    Owning a property or residing on VI used to be the exclusive preserve of the super rich. However, in recent times, the fortunes of VI seem to have nosedived. There are a lot of buildings unoccupied in the area. A walk around VI presents you with the stark reality of empty houses.

    Originally designated as an upscale residential area, failing infrastructure and overcrowding in the old business district on Lagos Island and tax zoning enforcement on Victoria Island led to a mass migration of businesses over the last 25 years. Today, Victoria Island is one of Nigeria’s busiest centres of banking and commerce, with most major Nigerian and international corporations headquartered on the Island.

    However, the influx of banks and other ventures have changed the formerly serene atmosphere of the Island. Long-time residents complain about the increase in traffic and influx of street traders, who cater to bank employees and businessmen.

    Now, a growing trend on VI is the unoccupied flats and buildings. The properties, though are exquisitely and tastefully finished with top-of-the range facilities and services, they have not been able to attract tenants. Usually, the properties come with well-cut lawns, fitted kitchens, fitted bedrooms, gym, table tennis, 24-hour electricity, and bar, among others.

    The Principal Partner, Bode Adediji and Co., Mr. Bode Adediji, blamed the rising number of unoccupied buildings or apartments on the absence of the middle class in Nigeria.

    According to him, the luxury apartments were not built for lower income group, but for the upper middle income group. “Therefore, once the economy does not support the growth of that income bracket, then, we are only building speculatively,”he said. But in terms of the  indices on the ground, Adediji said the volume of demand could not justify the massive influx of luxury apartments into premium locations, such as VI and Ikoyi.

    Experts say the infrastructural decadence on VI and in Ikoyi was an unfortunate development that affected property value and occupation in the area. They maintain that, despite the huge taxes generated from the area, in return, investment in infrastructure is negligible.

    “By the time you take away the main arterial roads – Awolowo Road, Bourdillon, Adetokunbo Ademola – there is nothing you can trace as active acknowledgement and contribution of government of upgrading this environment where the majority of her tax income spinners work and live. Eighty percent of the banks have their headquarters here, yet they benefit next to nothing as against the volume of what they contribute. Land use charge alone, the bulk of it actually emanate from this axis, yet the bulk of the roads are still what they were prior to the introduction of this land use charges,” Adediji said.

    Stakeholders maintained that the conversion of VI from a residential area to commercial has nothing to do with the unoccupied buildings that now adorn the area. However, they put the blame at the government doors for refusing to plan ahead.

    “As you witness changes, you have to re-examine your plans to conform. For instance, it is the inability of Nigerians to create highly-designated and controlled commercial preccints that make people to convert their residential places to commercial use. On Victoria Island, there is a CBD, but it is just about one square kilometre; they never envisaged the volume of growth in business around the area,” Richard Ibilola, an architect said.

    Many stakeholders are of the view that the development in Lekki is part of VI problem. As adjacent neighbourhoods grow, the primary source of meeting their demand would be from the existing neighbourhood.

    The situation has forced occupiers of VI. according to Oyedele, to relocate to Lekki, where we have, for the first time, the concept of gated communities, which is absent on VI.

    “So, why would you have to pay $70, 000 for an apartment on VI when, for one-third of the amount, one can get a better apartment in Lekki with better facility and ambience?” Adediji asked.

    A past National Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Institute  of  Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV), and newly elected Chairman of the Lagos State Branch, Mr Sam Ukpong, said the glut is an interplay of demand and supply.

    He said many houses have been supplied to the market without effective demand. He explained that when the Federal Government sold its properties in Ikoyi, some years ago, most of the buildings had large expanses of land with single occupants, which its new buyers converted to storey buildings for multiple prospective tenants.

    He said the demand for the properties is not as high as supply – thus, leading to a glut. Besides, he further said, the disposable income of people and even companies have shrunk to unimaginable levels.The developers of these houses, most times, lack construction knowledge or trends in housing development and build what will not easily be taken up by tenants.

    Ukpong also blamed the development on the concept of building a functional house. For instance, he said that some developers build wrongly, by either not having a kitchen or sitting room big enough for tenants’ need. So, people inspect such buildings but they are not usually satisfied with them.

    A former Chairman,  NIESV, Lagos branch, Mr. Shola Fatoki, said the  property glut is a mirror of the downturn in the economy.

    This, he said, could be seen in the movement of some residents from the upscale areas to places, such as Gbagada and Ilupeju, while the former residents of those middle class abode have since relocated to Ogba, Agege and Mowe/Ibafo in Ogun State.

    A developer, Mr Kayode Oyedele, confirmed the high vacancy rate in the VI area. He said it was more visible on VI and Lekki, where a great percentage of houses carry the “to–let”banners and boards. He said some properties are over-priced by their owners – making it impossible for them to be sold or let out quickly. He said it was more worrisome where houses which do not have competitive facilities or services are prized so high. He, therefore, urged developers to be realistic and also work in tandem with current economic realities to beat the property glut.

    Within the Victoria Island/Ikoyi axis, there are commercial spaces whose  rents go as high as $1,100 per square metre yearly and residential apartments whose yearly rents are above $130,000. Examples are the Maersk Building and the Ocean Parade apartments for commercial and residential tenants.

    But with a huge housing deficit, can the nation afford to have buildings unoccupied? What can be done to arrest the situation?

    A real estate lawyer, Rotimi Jaiyesimi, said as obtains in developed economies, property speculation and arbitrariness is discouraged through special levies on vacant properties. Known as “The fee structure”, it is a motivation for property owners to realistically pursue the sale of the building or find a productive use for it by possibly dropping the price at which it can be rented or sold.

    “In developed societies, there are laws that force owners of buildings vacant for over 90 days to register them, and fees are imposed after the first year, at $500 a year, and increased to $5,000 a year after 10 years,” Jaiyesimi said.

    This, he said, will discourage property owners from keeping their buildings in the city vacant and unproductive.

    Stakeholders canvass that a timely intervention to reverse this trend is needed, especially given that vacant buildings are potential public safety and fire hazards. Besides, people who may be involved in criminal activities also occupy such properties.

  • Nigeria needs 12.8m houses in six years, says CMD chief

    • Centre, Western Atlantic partner on training

    Nigeria needs 12.8milion houses in six years to fix its housing problem, Centre for Management Development (CMD), Director-General,Dr. Kabir Usman.

    He spoke at the unveiling of an institute  – the Mortgage and Real Estate Academy (MOREACA DEMY) – in Lagos.

    He said the Federal Government, through the CMD and  a firm, Western Atlantic Corporation Limited (WACL), established the industry.

    Under the initiative, a public-private partnership, training would be held in Lagos and Abuja.

    “We need to build 2.8 million houses annually over the next six years to enable us bridge the housing deficit gap in the country,” Usman said, adding that mortgage facilities were out of the reach of several Nigerians; hence, the need to build capacity.

    He said the training had become essential to fill the gap in a country with a growing population and huge housing needs. The academy is a pilot scheme and would be replicated in other sectors, he added.

    Coordinator, MOREACA DEMY, who is also the Managing Director of WACL, Prince Ade Akinfolurin,Prince Dapo Adelegan, said the institution would offer compulsory training and certification to mortgage and real estate practitioners.

    He reiterated that it  was imperative for operators to participate in the course to keep them abreast of many innovations that would keep them competitive and sharpen their skill in the provision of affordable houses and mortgages, adding that ultimately, only professionals could render mortgage and real estate services.

    “By implication,” he noted, “all mortgage service providers, including relevant staff of government housing corporations and those responsible for provision of affordable housing, including mortgage bankers are required to register with MOREACADEMY for the annual, certification course.  He said professionalism would eradicate fraud.

    “For instance,” he pointed out, “when a property is transferred from one hand to the other, there is a tax that sellers and buyers are supposed to pay to government; such revenue has eluded the government over the years; the courses we offer at MOREACADEMY shall correct all the irregularities nationwide. Eventually, anyone, who does not have the sort of certification we offer, will not be licensed to practise Real Estate or Mortgage in the country.

    “What we offer is value added. This is on-the-job training; what is needed to develop the act of professionalism in our people, not people taking up a job and at the end of the day what they think they have is not what is applicable. What we are offering is what is applicable on the job for both mortgage and real Estate professionals. That is why we are the only agency, for now, that is registered in the country to offer the professional courses. Those who wanted to take this course in the past had had to travel outside the country.”

    According to Akinfolurin, for  years, the nation has suffered material, human and economic losses, arising from the fact that the real estate sector has been left in the hands of quacks.

    He said professionals in the sector  were less than 50 per cent, noting that this had led to the fraudulent practices in the industry.

    “Every economy is measured by the number and sophistication of real properties that adorn the landscape of a nation as well as quality of properties churned to its citizenry, be it commercial or residential. Without a properly planned and professionally managed housing system, citizens would be struggling. That is why in Nigeria, you see people working in Abuja but have to commute daily all the way from Kaduna. And lots of people have to live in Mowe or Ibafo or even close to Abeokuta, from where they go to work in Lagos. If they all have opportunities of living in Lagos, they will not live elsewhere,” Akinfolurin said.

    The trend, he further noted, could only be reversed by a veritable institution that would guarantee necessary capacity building programmes capable of taking the real and mortgage industry to an international height.

    “This is what MOREACADEMY sets out to achieve by instilling  professionalism,” he added.

    MOREACADEMY will offer courses in the real estate and mortgage education for mortgage loan originators, mortgage loan processors, underwriters, mortgage brokers, mortgage lenders, real estate brokers/agents, property managers, appraisers/valuers, and real estate inspectors/developers.

  • Lagos, River Basin to partner on dam

    Lagos State is collaborating with the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority on the modalities for releasing water from the Oyan Dam,Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services,  Ministry of the Environment Mr. Ayodeji Adenekan has said.

    He said the partnership was aimed at preventing flooding in the state.

    “We have agreed on how water would be released from the dam. It is necessary for the authority to release part of the water so that the dam will not be destroyed, but we have related with them well and agreed that they will release it gradually so that it doesn’t flood Lagos.The collaboration is still ongoing but there is cooperation,” he said.

    Adenekan also identified the indiscriminate dumping of refuse into waterways, such as drains and canals, as the major reason for flooding in the state.

    He made this known at a forum with reporters.

    “The greatest challenge we have here is dumping of refuse in drains. If we don’t have refuse in the drains and it is only water, it will flow and only the silt will be left, because flood by its nature, carries sand,” Adenekan explained.

    He however regretted that   flooding had been compounded by dumping of pet bottles, satchet water bags, plastics and other refuse in drain channels.

    Though Adenekan agreed that covered drains would go a long way in stopping refuse dumping, he explained that there was a need for residents to cultivate positive attitudes toward the environment. Until this attitude was adopted, covered drains, he said, might not be an appropriate option, adding that there had been instances where people had been found opening up manholes and dumping refuse in them.

    “Open and covered drains have their advantages; we combine them. There are some roads that are properly covered but it is difficult to clean such drains because the slabs are usually very heavy. We try to look at what is most appropriate; in the places where we need to cover drains, we cover; but in places where we do not need to cover, we leave them open,” Adenekan explained, adding that when drains were opened, they  were easily accessed for cleaning.

    He added that the state only covered drains where there might be danger.

    He however assured that when residents’ attitudes changed, the government would cover all the drains.

    The Permanent Secretary said that the government was proactive in preventing flooding. He said, before the Nigerian Meteorological Agency’s report on the rains and flooding patterns for the year was released, the state had prepared ahead by clearing its primary water channels to prevent heavy flooding; identified black spots and ensured that such areas were dredged ahead of time. So far, over 25 primary channels and outfalls had been dredged, while over 13 would be dredged in the next phase.

    He said flooding in Lekki and Ajah  was caused by indiscriminate sand-filling. He however said the problem had been taken care of in the state’s new master plan.

    He said under the Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project  funded by the World Bank to increase sustainable access to basic urban services through investments in critical infrastructure, the ministry had taken over some of the projects that were not completed, especially the drains.

    “We have taken over the drainage projects that were not completed. What we are after is ensuring that the state is flood-free and the work is ongoing,” he explained.

  • Firm renovate primary school

    Plusworld Roofing has concluded arrangements to  restore or renovate the roof of one public primary school in the country.

    Its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. John Igbaifua made this known in Lagos.

    He said for the change that Nigerians were clamouring for to come to reality, all hands must be on deck, adding that one of the best and easiest ways to effect change in any society is via its education system.

    “As Mahatma Gandhi once said, ‘Be the change that you want to see in the world’. The change we so much desire starts from us. The easiest way to achieve this is by supporting sound education for the young ones, especially at the primary school level because only sound minds make sound decisions.  The environment where the students are thought goes a long way in determining the success or failure of any education policy. Good environment breeds sound education which in turn breeds sound mind and sound minds make sound decisions,” he said.

    Igbaifua added that though no specific school had been chosen, the lucky one would eventually emerge through voting by the public via the social media network, noting that this started last May and the school with the highest votes gets the nod.

    Early this year, the company,  with two of its foreign partners, organised a training for  youths in roof repairs and maintenance.

  • Expert advises govt on housing

    The Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) has called on the government to come up with viable legal framework for real estate sector to provide affordable houses for Nigerians.

    The Managing Director, UACN Property Development Company Plc (UPDC), Mr. Hakeem Ogunniran, spoke at the NBCC Breakfast Meeting in Lagos.

    Speaking on a topic, Real Estate: an agenda for the new government,  Ogunniran identified unavailability of titled land, multiplicity of regulatory authorities with oversight functions, unfriendly approval, lack of infrastructure, poor funding and labour shortage  as some of the challenges confronting  housing development.

    He said most of the problems were as a result of lack of clear legal framework for the industry. He however advised the government to enact quality laws that would pave way for affordable housing.

    Ogunniran explained that affordable housing is possible with a new approach in which the government would be responsible for the provision of land, infrastructure and enabling environment for investors.

    “At that platform, we would have financials, developers and other regulatory agencies who will make it easy and cheaper to deliver those houses at a price point that is affordable by the people in that category.Under the present dispensation it is difficult to deliver houses in that category because you have to buy your land in the open market, apply for permission and approval in the same way, pay all the fees, go through custom  without any concession,”  Ogunniran explained.

    He said Nigeria is ranked 86 out of 102 in the Global Real Estate Transparency Index, adding that this was not good enough. He cited success recorded by Kenya in the sector, urging Nigeria to emulate.

    President, NBCC Prince Dapo Adelegan, said with the population of over 170 million, Nigeria will need about 16 million housing units to shelter its citizens since over 50 per cent of people are either homeless or live in inadequate houses.

    He said it had become obvious that the government could not  meet this crucial need of the people, hence the need for public-private partnership.

    He said: “It is important to have some public-private partnership arrangements to come up with an ingenious ways to build cheaper homes and provide affordable mortgages to the citizens. NBCC will collaborate with UPDC to pursue passage of viable legal framework at the National Assembly to enhance provision of affordable houses for Nigerians.”

  • Town planners seek to ease site analysis reporting

    The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) has prepared a template for land use and planning. Known as the Land Use Planning and Analysis Reporting (LUPAR) template, it will become operational next year.

    To achieve this, the institute had chosen to test run the template across its 17th edition of the 2015 Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Programme (MCPDP), the latest being the one  held last week in Ibadan.

    Another held in June, in Port Harcourt, while the third is billed for next month. The theme of the seminars is “Development of a multi-user template for Land Use Planning and Analysis Reporting in Nigeria.”

    The MCPDP is aimed at building consensus on the new template among the practitioners and to allow for inputs before the report will be presented at the institute’s annual general meeting in October.

    According to the President of the institute, Dr Femi Olomola, LUPAR, is a new template conceived by the his administration as a novelty that seeks to expand the frontiers of Site Analysis Report (SAR) applications beyond the tradition of planning approvals.

    The proposed report will also build on the existing SAR processes and procedures, as well as adding details of geographic references and further information relating to building types and conditions, title deeds, the local land use and development setting, and the permits granted on property.

    The expanded areas of its application cut across various sectors of the economy many of which have direct relevance to the financial sector and regulatory agencies.

    Importantly, the new format LUPAR, in addition to other benefits, can become a very useful and authentic instrument that supports applications for opening of corporate bank accounts; Bank loan processing; requests for Insurance cover; and incorporation/registration of new companies with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

    Besides, it will also address the traditional requirements of applications for building plan approval/permits; issuance of certificates of occupancies (C of O); potential value to security and regulatory agencies with oversight functions on crime and enforcement of standards among others.

    Olomola, in his keynote address at the two-day of the MCPDP held at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, last week, said  about 13 different areas of the economy were identified where LUPAR would be useful.

    The NITP boss noted that the Urban and Regional Planning Decree 88 of 1992 clearly defines the legal and institutional framework for Land Use Planning in Nigeria, regretted that the nation is yet to get the environment of ‘our dream’ till date.

    Part of the reasons he adduced for this include, unavailability of tools needed for site visit, shortage of personnel, with less than 5,000 registered town planners in the country among other factors.

    He said if the institute is to wait for governments to provide all that is needed to achieve the dream environment, it will impossible, hence the idea of the new template that is aimed to address some of the identified gaps.

    Besides the advantages of the report he listed, he said the template will also provide close to five million jobs for town planners in the country.

    Said he: “Between us and the next generation there is a contract. It is out sacred duty to create the enabling environment to make the young/upcoming ones be convinced that the moment you genuinely struggle/work hard and get your certificate of registration with NITP and TOPREC, you can nod your head in fulfilment that it is not only a passport to good living but also to a fortune.

    “Against this background priority number one on their seven-point agenda is job creation. We had earlier on stated the objective of creation of at least five million units of jobs per annum for RTPs which is designed to provide the much needed bread and butter income for the profession.”

    Chairman, MCPDP, Prof.  Adamu Ahmed, said the 17th edition was aimed at building capacity for members with special attention on the evaluation of one of the planning issues now, the site analysis report.

    He said the MCPDP was also aimed at building consensus on the development of new template, LUPAR, as an advisory instrument for planning institution, financial agencies and other regulatory agencies.

    Asked on the response from the previous one held in Port Harcourt, “There is a lot of excitement from Port Harcourt, people saw reasons for the new template and they are happy that something will be provided for hitherto neglected areas,” he said.

    President, Town Planners Registration Council of Nigeria (TOPREC), Prof. Layi Egunjobi, said the theme of the event was okay, adding that it is making site analysis report and planning more robust not only in scope but also in methodology and economic value.

    Egunjobi said the role of continuing education in a professional’s life is so important that it cannot be over-stressed. “So important it is that it touches not only in developing skills for practical purposes, but also for intellectual upgrading for deeper insights and critical thinking,” he said.

    Chairman, Oyo State chapter of NITP, Mr. Kola Lawal, said the theme of this year’s MCPDP reflected recognition of the power and importance of Land Use Planning and Analysis Reporting in sustainable use and development of Land.

    He said the occasion is a veritable platform for stakeholders in the physical planning in Nigeria, to highlight, discuss and support the emerging concept of Land Use Planning and Analysis Reporting in developing countries.

    “Land use planning as one important component of urban planning, can contribute significantly in addressing the major urban challenges if led by well-informed policies based on sustainable development principles and supported by well thought out and managed follow-up actions,” he said.

  • Al-Amin insists on FHA’s transformation

    The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) will not be distracted in its determination to become a world-class organisation, its Managing Director, Prof Mohammed Al-Amin has said.

    Al-Amin, spoke at a ceremony in Abuja to mark his investiture as an ambassador of ethics and conscience. He said he and members of his team had over the past seven months blocked leakages in the Authority and streamlined the administration of land and property in the organisation.

    He said working with Management and staff, he was poised to put FHA on the road to greatness adding that though the road ahead may be rough, they were focused and were sure to attain the goal. He said he was accepting the award because of the strong anti-corruption posture of the Muhammadu Buhari administration and in appreciation of the recognition being given to his efforts to give the Authority a new lease of life.

    The FHA chief executive said the award truly belonged to the staff who toiled with him over the past seven months to achieve the modest rewards that had earned the Authority recognition. He used the occasion to pay glowing tribute to the Authority’s staff unions for the uncommon vibrancy which he said they have demonstrated in their relationship with Management.

    He urged the Centre for Ethics and Self-Value Orientation, which gave the award, to return at the end of his tenure to conduct another assessment of his performance.

    Earlier, the Executive Director of the centre, Mr. Salih Musa Yakubu, said his organisation had over the past seven months conducted discrete appraisals of the operations of the FHA. After the exercise, he said the Authority emerged as one of the 10 most ethically responsible federal institutions in the country.

    FHA’s Executive Director, Business Development, Mr. Aniedi Akpabio promised that the Authority would continue to maintain the highest ethical standards in the conduct of its business. He said the award would be both a challenge and a guide for the Management.

    The Authority’s Executive Director, Housing Finance, Accounts and Corporate Services, Mrs. Nkechi Nwazota was also honoured at the ceremony for her insistence on the highest professional standards in the discharge of her duties.

  • RMB Westport eyes December completion date

    RMB Westport, a real estate investment management and development firm, focusing on property developments in sub-Saharan Africa, has concluded plans to unveil a new mall along Lekki corridor, Lagos, by December.

    It describes the project as a new innovation in shopping mall, designed as a multi-purpose edifice, with Messrs Cappa-Dalberto as the main contractor, while Stauch Vorster Architect International is the architect and Bovell Ross, as the Project Manager.

    Located at the Jakande Roundabout on the Lekki-Epe Express way, the mall features a premium retail section comprising an open mall, convenience, with a retail space capacity of 10,800 square metres and 373 exclusive parking bays, among other facilities. In the business centre, adjacent to the retail section, has an office space of 3,700 square metres, with 72 dedicated parking bays, elegant design features and necessary facilities for convenient and streamlined office operations.

    Circle Business Centre (CBC), is leasing 3,700 square mertes of international-standard office space. Conveniently located next to Circle Mall on the Lekki-Epe Expressway, CBC provides modern and easily accessible campus-style office premises for businesses seeking an edge in Lagos’s fast-paced commercial environment. With its closeness to several residential estates within the axis, CBC will provide prime office space for businesses on the move.

    RMB Westport is affiliated to Rand Merchant Bank, a division of FirstRand Bank Ltd., who are doing excellent job in Nigeria.