The Nation Newspaper

Category: Building & Properties

  • AfDB okays $70m loan for Ebonyi road project

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $70 million  loan for a road project in Ebonyi.

    In a statement, the bank said it would provide $40 million. Its co-financier, the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF) would contribute $30 million.

    It also said the bank group’s funding would cover the rehabilitation and asphalting of a 51-kilometre stretch between Nwezenvi and N’Doko, and part of the corridor between N’Doko and Ezzamgbo spanning 38.91kilometre.

    Read also: Africa has potential to become net exporter of agricultural commodities – AfDB

    The bank noted that the project was expected to be completed in five years. AfDB said the project would aid the agricultural state of Ebonyi’s aspiration to develop special agro-industrial zones dedicated to processing of subsistence crops.

    “It will improve road safety and accessibility of farming communities and small-scale industrial areas. Some 1,400 jobs will be created during the construction phase.

    “Once completed, the road network is expected to serve also as an international link between Ebonyi State and Cameroun, in addition to connecting Ebonyi to Benue and Enugu,” it said. The bank added that the project was in line with its development agenda.

  • Fashola outlines housing devt impact on job creation

    Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola,  has  advised Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Board to invest massively in housing development nationwide to further address the unemployment  challenge in the country.

    Fashola, who spoke after receiving the FHA board’s annual report  in his office, urged the authority to replicate its ongoing 700 housing units in Abuja Mass Housing project in Zuba nationwide to engage 10,000 employees. He said if done in the 36 states of the federation and Abuja, it would create an ecosystem of opportunities for jobs and industrialisation.

    He said through the project, the FHA has identified appropriately the critical role housing development could play in responding to and solving some of the problems and challenges facing the country.

    Fashola  said: “If you go to a site where over 700 housing units are being built and 10,000 people are benefiting and getting employment there, you are really then beginning to attack the social issues of exclusion, unemployment, joblessness and restoring the dignity of the human being.

    “If we can have 10,000 people employed in each of the 36 states and the FCT, clearly we will be pushing the needle in a significant way. With SMEs making paints, wires, roofing sheets and all of the building materials, we will really be creating opportunities for labourers who use them, transporters, food vendors and others.  It is a huge ecosystem of activities,” he said.

    Pledging that his ministry would continue to compliment FHA’s efforts and what the Federal Mortgage Bank is doing to open up opportunities to allow for mortgage lending, the minister commended the  Board for coming up with a report of its activities within one year of its inauguration.

    “I cannot recall ever reading that a board of the FHA in the recent past ever submitted an annual report after one year. I am highly impressed that within a year of the inauguration of this board, FHA is able to look back while it projects forward to say let us go and report to those who appointed us.  This is a  strong validation of the current administration stance on accountability. What gets measured and reported gets done,” he said.

    In his remarks before submitting the report, which covers March 2018 to March 2019, the board chairman, Senator Lawal Shuaibu said the report was aimed at highlighting efforts the board has made in its first year in injecting new ideas and designing strategies for improving governance and service delivery in the agency.

  • Controversy as firm, families bicker over land

    Who owns the 138.70 acres of land situated opposite Nichemtex factory at Molatori and Owode villages in Ibeshe Ikorodu? Was the vast land acquired from its owners by the United Nigerian Textile Limited (UNTL) decades ago?

    The above questions are begging for answers, following a brewing crisis between Nichemtex management of and the Ominiha/Shosanya families. They both are claiming ownership of the property.

    The parties have since January engaged in petitions and counter petitions to the Inspector General of Police (IG) Mohammed Adamu and the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone Two, Onikan with allegations of land grabbing, encroachment, police intimidation and harassment as well as conducts likely to cause breach of public peace.

    While the families through their lawyer, Adefolaju Oloko, accused the company of forging documents for the said land, Nichemtex alleged that the family attempted to grab the property it bought over four decades ago, which was duly registered on June 12, 1990 with Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) 21/21/1990H, issued in favour of UNTL.

    A petition to the IG dated March 27 and signed by Mahmud Adeshina for the company’s lawyer, Nichemtex had been in physical possession of the properties bought from the families since acquisition with a warehouse and block of flats erected in one of the acres.

    Trouble, however, started in 2003 when the Efunba family of Ikorodu instituted suit ID/285/2003 against Nichemtex before a Lagos High Court while the Ajako, Shosanya and Fadeyi families of lkorodu also filed  suit IKD/78/2014 in 2014.

    Both suits, the lawyer explained, were consolidated in 2017 and is currently before an Ikeja High Court.

    Disregarding the pending suit, the textile firm alleged that the Ajako, Shosanya and Fadeyi families filed a petition of forgery against them at the Police zonal headquarters in Onikan.

    “We and our client responded to the said petition and furnished the police with our client’s documents of title to enable them conduct an investigation into the matter so as to determine the veracity of the said title documents.

    “Despite the fact that the said petition of forgery is pending before Zone Two, Onikan, the said families have employed some other members of the police force to facilitate their acts of criminal trespass and encroachment on our client’s property and engage in a conduct that is likely to cause a breach of the public peace,” read the petition.

    Policemen attached to the Special Protection Unit (SPU) and the IG Monitoring Units, have, on the directive of the IG, raided the property and harassed workers despite the pending lawsuit, it was learnt.

    “On Wednesday, January 16, a number of Mobile Police Officers (MOPOL) went with some members of the said families and their lawyer, purportedly under the order of the Inspector General of Police to our client’s property, erected another gate and locked same up with a chain and padlock.

    “Thereafter, we wrote a petition dated January 23, on behalf of our client to the Area Commander of the ljede Division of the Nigeria Police Force, lkorodu informing him of the atrocious act of the said families, which is being facilitated by policemen, but the Area Commander politely declined to intervene in the matter because it was already before Zone Two, Force Headquarters, Onikan, Lagos.

    “On March 20, the members of the afore-mentioned families, acting in consonance with Baales within the Ibeshe/Owode communities, trespassed into the property of our client in which its warehouse is located. They were about 30 of them who were accompanied by some armed mobile policemen, who all forcefully entered into the premises of our client.

    “On March 21, the same set of people were seen by our client’s security guard conveying a good number of building blocks and cement into the property of our client with the intention of altering the block of flats on the premises and erecting new structures,” the petition stated.

    Noting that the actions of the trespassers were capable of causing breach of peace, the company said the continuous shutting of its premises, encroachment on its properties with building materials could provoke some hostilities between parties.

    “It may even lead to the loss of lives as the said families are desperate and have resorted to using armed members of the Nigeria Police to facilitate their trespass. It is disheartening that the police is being used by the above families to perpetrate acts of criminal trespass, encroachment and conducts that are likely to cause breach of peace.

    “We wrote letters dated January 17 and 18, 2019 to the Assitant Inspector General of Police, Zone Two headquarters, informing him about the actions of the unknown armed mobile policemen, who have been facilitating the trespass of the members of the said families, but no investigation was conducted nor any step taken to curb the trespass.

    “On February 7, our client received a letter of invitation requesting for the presence of its Managing Director at Zone Two Headquarters, Onikan, Lagos. Other than that, no attempt has been made by the said police formation to stop the families’ use of the police in harassing and encroaching upon our client’s property.

    “We implore you to use your good offices to investigate and intervene in this matter so as to put an end to the acts of criminal trespass, encroachment upon the property of our client and to also ensure that they do not use members of the Nigeria Police Force to perpetrate further atrocities on our client’s property,” it stated.

    But the families denied changing or locking the gate to the premises, stating that they only erected fence on part of the vast land where the fence had collapsed.

    Baale Ayodele Ominiha, who spoke on behalf of the families, said at no time was the land sold to UNTL, adding that the company expressed interest which was communicated to the family lawyer then, but never paid for the land.

    He said if the firm was sure of purchasing the land, it should provide the original receipt of sale, just as it has the one issued when it bought the Nichemtex factory land.

  • Court orders village to vacate land

    The Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo has ordered Ifa Ikot Akpan village of Etoi clan in Uyo Local Government Area to vacate some plots of land being used as ‘keke’ park to Ibiaku Issiet community in Uruan Local Government Area, the rightful owners.

    The two neighbouring communities had been locked in a dispute over the land called “Idim Uduok”. According to Ibiaku Issiet people, their forefathers had planted a boundary tree called ‘Akono’, which is still at the boundary till date

    Delivering judgment on the suit filed by Eteidung Edem Aniedi Ebong and four others on behalf of Ifa Ikot Akpan village, Justice Charles Ikpe said the plaintiffs’ suit lacked merit as it failed to prove its case.

    The suit No. HU/71/2017 was dismissed and N40, 000 was awarded to the defendants, Ibiaku Issiet community, as cost.

    According to Justice Ikpe, the court considered “the submissions of the claimants’ counsel and that of defendants, the processes filed by the respective counsels, evidence of witnesses, exhibits tendered in the proceeding and the final written addresses filed by both counsels.

    He stressed that the plaintiffs’ suit lacked merit and was accordingly dismissed with N40,000 only as cost in favour of the defendants.

    The court also declared that all parcel of land, which currently make up the ‘keke’ motor park in the area, which the claimants earlier leased to Gitto Construction Limited, belonged to Ibiaku Issiet community.

    Reacting to the judgment, Ibiaku Issiet village head, Chief William Effiong Etim, said the judgment is nothing, but the truth which prevailed against falsehood, adding that right from the time of their forefathers, the boundary between Ibiaku Issiet community and Ifa Ikot Akpan had always been Idim Uduok where the boundary tree is planted.

  • FMBN okays N14m home renovation loan for Chellarams workers

    •  Credit facility hits N21.6b

    The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has given home renovation loans of N14 million to some Chellerams Plc workers in Lagos.

    Its Managing Director, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, said the fund would empower the beneficiaries to put their homes in better condition, adding that the bank’s target was to ensure many Nigerians had suitable houses.

    The beneficiaries were given N1million each, which Dangiwa said was part of efforts by the bank to complement President Muhammadu Buhari’s housing reforms.

    Represented by FMBN Zonal Coordinator, Lagos, Mr  Abiodun Fashina, the MD said the bank will continue to keep its promise on home ownership to Nigerians.

    He said: “FMBN has a mandate to provide affordable mortgages to Nigerian workers, particularly low and medium income earners though the National Housing Fund scheme. The Fund is sourced from 2.5 per cent of the basic income of workers earning the minimum wage and who are 18 years and above.’’

    He said the fund’s objective is to provide cheap source of loans to nurture and sustain the mortgage industry and facilitate affordable homeownership for the low and medium income group.

    He explained that Section 14(2) of the NHF Act Cap N.45 of 1992 stipulates that a contributor to the NHF could access a loan from the fund to build, purchase or renovate  an house.

    According to him, to achieve this, FMBN has developed concessionary loan windows to enable Nigerians access mortgages for home ownership.

    He stated further that about N21.6 billion had, so far, been disbursed by the bank to 26,275 beneficiaries across the country under the Home Renovation Loan window.

    He identified lack of access to land, inadequate funding, inaccessibility of mortgage loans due to improper property titles, as some of the challenges facing the Fund.

    Others, he said, are low income of prospective borrowers, which affects affordability, cumbersome procedures for obtaining governor’s consent to land, which is also costly.

    Earlier, Chellerams Chief Executive Officer Mr Aditya Chellaram said the gesture was a demonstration of the firm’s concern for its staff welfare.

    The FMBN’s Lagos State Coordinator, Apapa office, Mrs Okoli Uche, urged the beneficiaries to ensure that the loans were used for what they were meant for.

    Uche advised Nigerians, who were yet to get their homes to key into the fund’s ‘Rent to Own’ housing programme, adding that it would enable them to access a house and pay for maximum of 15  years before becoming the owner.

  • LCCI praises Buhari for declining assent to NHF Bill

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for not signing the National Housing Fund (NHF) Bill.

    The chamber said the bill would have caused more problems for citizens.

    LCCI Director-General Muda Yusuf gave the commendation in an interview with The Nation in Lagos.

    President Buhari, had on April 2, declined assent to the National Housing Fund Bill alongside seven others passed by the National Assembly.

    Yusuf said the bill would have increased cost of building materials thus widening the country’s infrastructural deficit, led to increase in cost of doing business and inflict hardship on workers.

    He said  what the government should do was to evolve a mechanism that would reduce the cost of building materials to enable more Nigerians become empowered to construct buildings.

    “The government should be more concerned on how to bring down the cost of steel, cement and make land easily accessible and affordable, and also promote the use of local materials for construction,” he said.

    He urged the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) to evolve more innovative alternative and sustainable building materials for housing development.

    The LCCI chief said the use of local building materials would reduce the cost of construction, boost productivity in the building industry, and reduce environmental impact.

    Yusuf urged the research institute to publicise and commercialise its prototypes for more acceptability by Nigerians and to bridge the nation’s housing deficits

  • Nations call for global treaty on ocean plastic pollution

    Nordic governments have become the first in the world to call for a global treaty to tackle the plastic crisis in our oceans.

    The landmark declaration was made at a gathering of the environment ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden at the Nordic Council in Reykjavik.

    The announcement comes after world leaders failed to agree to meaningful policy decisions on the issue at the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi last month.

    “This milestone declaration by Nordic governments should serve as inspiration for others. Plastic pollution in our oceans is a crisis that requires concerted action from world governments – a global treaty is the only viable way to address the eight million tonnes of plastic being dumped into the oceans every year,” said Director- General of World Wild Fund International (WWF), Marco Lambertini.

    WWF is an international non- governmental organisation founded in 1961 in Switzerland. Its mission is to stop the degradation of our planet’s natural environment, and build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature calling for a binding treaty that would establish national targets and transparent reporting mechanisms that extend to companies.

    In addition, any treaty should provide for financial and technical support for low income countries to scale up their waste management capacity.

    Having invested well over US$1 billion in more than 12,000 conservation initiatives since 1985 alone, WWF is working to bring a balance between our demands on our world, and the variety of life that lives alongside us.

  • Building collapse: SON to regulate building materials

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has begun moves to check incessant buildings collapse  across the country by regulating weights and measurements of building materials.

    Its Director-General, Osita Aboloma, stated this at a workshop in Abuja on the importance of metrology for quality assurance of products, services and industrial development.

    He said some buildings collapsed because the measurements and weights of building materials used for it were not up to standard.

    According to him, when you have the wrong measurement, things would go wrong. He explained that sometimes builders under-use  rods or blocks. ‘’But when these are accurate, you are sure of what you are doing,” he said.

    Aboloma, who was represented by SON’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Coordinator, Mr. Gambo Dimka, said architects, engineers and related professionals in the built environment, must ensure that the measurements given were  what they used.

    “If the architect says you should use four-by-five windows, don’t go to a quack who will construct less than what the architect specified,” he advised.

    “The SON Act No.14 of 2015 covers all aspects of metrology to ensure the protection of business, safety, wealth and every other aspect of Nigerians’ lives,” he said.

  • BUA mulls investment in Rwandan mining sector

    BUA Group is looking at the Rwandan and regional mining sector for viable opportunities, its Executive Chairman Abdul Samad Rabiu has said.

    According to Rwandan’s leading newspaper, The New Times, Rabiu stated that with the growth of the company in West Africa, there were considerations to expand into other parts of the continent, especially in the advent of increased integration and growth of business opportunities.

    He said this had spurred his interest to study Rwanda and other East African countries to exploit investment opportunities.

    He said his interest in the mining sector is to ensure sustainable and valuable practices that create more value in the continent as opposed to exporting raw materials.

    He noted that over 76 per cent of mining operations in Africa are by western firms which often do little to work with local communities or process them from the continent.

    This, he said, had seen more value retained abroad as opposed to Africa where the minerals are extracted.

    The BUA chief said he was spurred by the will to see Africa retain her resources and creating wealth for her people unlike what is happening now where the continent is exploited by foreigners who give nothing in return.

    He argued that it is only Africans that could develop Africa, insisting that no foreigner could love Africa more than herself.

    He reiterated that this is the only way the continent can best provide better quality jobs; play a role in industrialisation, as well as improve the quality of life on the continent.

    “We are definitely looking at expanding. Rwanda is a good ground for investment. They have worked hard to have a strong economic growth, good leadership, and strong infrastructure base. There is so much opportunity here, mining is a big opportunity. There are lots of resources and opportunities in the region. There ought to be sustainable mining practices on the continent,” Rabiu added.

  • FMBN okays N14m home renovation loan for Chellarams workers

    The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has given home renovation loans of N14 million to some Chellerams Plc workers in Lagos.

    Its Managing Director, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, said the fund would empower the beneficiaries to put their homes in better condition, adding that the bank’s target was to ensure many Nigerians had suitable houses.

    The beneficiaries were given N1million each, which Dangiwa said was part of efforts by the bank to complement President Muhammadu Buhari’s housing reforms.

    Represented by FMBN Zonal Coordinator, Lagos, Mr  Abiodun Fashina, the MD said the bank will continue to keep its promise on home ownership to Nigerians.

    He said: “FMBN has a mandate to provide affordable mortgages to Nigerian workers, particularly low and medium income earners though the National Housing Fund scheme. The Fund is sourced from 2.5 per cent of the basic income of workers earning the minimum wage and who are 18 years and above.’’

    He said the fund’s objective is to provide cheap source of loans to nurture and sustain the mortgage industry and facilitate affordable homeownership for the low and medium income group.

    He explained that Section 14(2) of the NHF Act Cap N.45 of 1992 stipulates that a contributor to the NHF could access a loan from the fund to build, purchase or renovate  an house.

    According to him, to achieve this, FMBN has developed concessionary loan windows to enable Nigerians access mortgages for home ownership.

    He stated further that about N21.6 billion had, so far, been disbursed by the bank to 26,275 beneficiaries across the country under the Home Renovation Loan window.

    He identified lack of access to land, inadequate funding, inaccessibility of mortgage loans due to improper property titles, as some of the challenges facing the Fund.

    Others, he said, are low income of prospective borrowers, which affects affordability, cumbersome procedures for obtaining governor’s consent to land, which is also costly.

    Earlier, Chellerams Chief Executive Officer Mr Aditya Chellaram said the gesture was a demonstration of the firm’s concern for its staff welfare.

    The FMBN’s Lagos State Coordinator, Apapa office, Mrs Okoli Uche, urged the beneficiaries to ensure that the loans were used for what they were meant for.

    Uche advised Nigerians, who were yet to get their homes to key into the fund’s ‘Rent to Own’ housing programme, adding that it would enable them to access a house and pay for maximum of 15  years before becoming the owner