The Nation Newspaper

Category: Building & Properties

  • LCCI holds dialogue on Land Use Charge

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is set to hold a dialogue on the new Land Use Charge Law in Lagos.

    It is aimed at examining the provisions of the recently passed law viz-a viz its implications for residents and businesses operating in Lagos and its environs, the organisers said.

    The dialogue, according to LCCI, would hold tomorrow in Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Muda Yusuf, the LCCI Director-General, said: “In continuance of its Public Policy Advocacy Initiative, it behoves the LCCI to provide a platform, such as this, to aggregate the views of stakeholders (both public and private) on the new Land Use Charge Law in Lagos, which has generated heated debate in the public space.”

    Yusuf said: “This platform will enable stakeholders in the real estate, construction and other related sectorsto engage the Lagos State government on the recently- passed law and renegotiate its grey areas.’’

    The LCCI President, Mr. Babatunde Paul Ruwase, he said  was expected to chair the session.

    Yusuf said experts, leaders of businesses and top civil servants officials would attend the event.

     

  • ‘Executive Order-5, major driver in national development’

    The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) President, Mr. Adekunle Mokuolu, has described the Executive Order-5 just signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari as a major driver in national development and technological advancement that the country has been yearning for.

    Mokuolu, an engineer, who spoke at the weekend during the 60th anniversary of NSE and the  installation of Mrs. Rose Madaki as the sixth chairman of Victoria Island Branch, noted that the Order would help accelerate development through the use of indigenous engineers.

    The Oder-5 ensures that the country is able to save cost in the delivery of her projects. It also ensures the delivery of intellectual knowledge, including accelerating technology and development through local content participation.

    Mokuolu emphasised that the Executive Orde-5 addressed the issue of engaging expatriates in public and private organisations to execute engineering and technology jobs to the detriment of qualified Nigerians because it deals majorly with local content.

    “This is the first time that the Presidential Order is giving priority to Nigerian engineers, and whatever that has to be achieved would be beneficial to the country. The maintenance culture that we have been talking about would be addressed with this Order-5. This is because as people get involved in the project, they will acquire maintenance skills. Before this Order, expatriates are fond of not putting Nigerians through projects they execute, thereby making it difficult for us to maintain such projects once completed; this also makes the country dependent on these foreign engineers, at huge cost to the country,” Mokuolu explained.

    He added that this recent development would help reduce the increasing level of unemployment in the country.

    Madaki, shortly after her decoration as the sixth chairman, noted that her mission is to introduce engineering and technological innovations into schools, beginning from the rural areas. She pointed out that she would want the engineering impact to be felt in the rural areas, adding that she was collaborating with some organisations to drive the vision.

    Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON)Director-General, Gen. Bamidele Ogunkale, who was the guest of honour at the event, said innovative research and development (R&D) is a vital to national development.

    He called for a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in innovative R&D, stressing that the government cannot do it alone as it is very expensive to sponsor researchers and research innovative-based institutions.

    Gen. Ogunkale said DICON, in collaboration with a Chinese firm, has started manufacturing ammunition for the Armed Forces, adding that this would not only reduce the country’s import bill on ammunition, but would also save the nation problems of delay in responding or curbing crimes that needed urgent and swift attention.

  • Group backs new Lagos Land Use Charge

    A GROUP Coalition of Real Estate Investors and Surveyors (CREIS), has thrown its weight behind the new Land Use Charge unveiled by the Lagos State government, saying it is friendly to owners and occupers of properties.

    The law repealed the Land Use Charge Law 2001 (the LUCL 2001).

    CREIS convener Mr. Ayokunle Gregory said the increase was a mere 0.076 per cent and that the group arrived at the figure after an analysis.

    “We feel obliged to address the falsehood from a professional perspective before the unsuspecting public is misguided to bewilderment and violation of the law,” Gregory said.

    According to the group, the reviewed LUCL 2018 has put in place a standardised system.

    Gregory said the law  covers ground rent, tenement rate and neighbourhood improvement levy.

    The tenement rates law,  the land-based rates law, the neighbourhood improvement charge and other similar property rates or charges, laws or amendments to any property laws have ceased to apply to any property in the state from last month.

    However, pending invoices, orders, rules and regulations, among others, under the 2001 repealed law shall continue to be in effect until such obligations are discharged, he said.

    Gregory continued: “For owner-occupied residential property, the LUC per annum is charged at 0.076 per cent. For instance, if the market value of an owner-occupied property is N15 million, then the amount payable is N6, 840 per annum only, which amounts to N570 per month. For a property occupied by tenants, used for commercial purposes, at the same market value of N15 million, the LUC rate of that property will be N68, 400 per annum.”

    CREIS also said the state government had made available some reliefs for property owners and some specific owners according to their status. These include a 40 per cent relief for property liable to LUC payment; 10 per cent relief for owners and occupiers for persons with disabilities; a 10 percent relief for owners and occupiers of 70 years and above; 10 percent relief for properties above 25 years; five per cent relief for properties occupied by the owner for over 12 years; 20 per cent relief for non-revenue generating federal and state government property, and 20 per cent partial relief for non-profit making organisations.

    Also, some properties are exempted from the LUC payment, such as those used for public and religious activities; educational institutes and charity; pensioners above 60 and above; public cemeteries and burial ground and all palaces of recognised obas and chiefs in the state.

    “To clear any misinformation, we implore all owners and occupiers of properties in Lagos to do a self-assessment using the formula provided, and also provide officials with valid documents to ensure a smooth run of the exercise for the benefits of all,” the group added.

    The charge is paid yearly by owners and occupiers holding a 10-year lease. Using the formula provided by the law, they can calculate their rate by multiplying the Market Value (MV) of a property by the Applicable Relief Rate (RR) and Annual Charge Rate (CR).

  • Estate surveyors urged on opportunities in land

    Estate surveyors have been urged to explore the  Geographic Information System (GIS) in land administration as it provides great business oportunities and strategies for  practitioners and the government.

    The Deputy Director Estate, Lagos State Ministry of Housing, Mrs. Olayinka Patunola-Ajayi, gave the advice at a Stakeholders’ meeting of the Faculty of Land Administration and Geographic Information System (GIS) of the Nigeria Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV).

    According to her, GIS involves centralising land and information about its ownership under one authority which regulates the structure and patterns of ownership, land use, and access of the public to land resources in a sustainable manner from environmental and economic perspectives. A good land administration system, she maintained, aims at equitable distribution of wealth to encourage  growth and development.

    She described the GIS as a powerful tool in the management and analysis of the large amount of basic data and information – statistical, spatial and temporal – to generate information in the form of maps, tabular and textual reports or land use decisions. It also provides the tool for modernising and improving the management system, efficiently, functionally and flexiby, which make it the most adopted system of land administration across the world.

    “The GIS involves two fields -mechanical/statistical and geographical representation of land and the various reasons for the adoption of the GIS are increased in the amount of land documentation growth, global challenges technology development, improved data quality among others.

    Urging real estate professionals to be determined to create wealth from land for the benefit of the citizenry, she noted that the GIS provides opportunities for stakeholders to increase their data and service provision within their traditional domain.

    Patunola-Ajayi said to take advantage of the opportunities, practitioners must take the bull by the horn and call for a synergy with the government and private entities to ensure that the benefits of GIS were reaped.

    She, however, noted that GIS has the potential to support society’s evolving humankind and land relationship by providing information to make favourable decisions for sustainable development in land management.

    Land, as a basic economic resource, she further explained, is incontrovertible. This is because apart from being a fundamental base for all economic activities and also a source of food and sustenance, land offers the greatest support for an efficient market economy, particularly because of its ability to be used as collateral for loans to other productive activities, among others.

    Another surveyor, Mr. Akinade Tijani, sees land as an asset which includes anything on the ground, such as building, crops, fences, trees, water above the ground and under the ground. Therefore, he argued, land administration is a process whereby land and the information about it is effectively managed.

    However, Tijani explained that as population increases and resources became scarce, the competition for land become more intense and man began to realise that he could get more from less if he applied his intellect. This would not have been possible, if he did not have control over the asset, thereby leading to the evolution of land administration.

    Other reasons for land administration, according to Tijani, include to provide and guarantee stability in the way land is accessed; to implement land-related laws and policies, to ensure economic development, to ensure security of tenure and to ensure stability and certainty in the land market, and to raise revenue.

    Tijani explained the GIS as a computer-based system for the handling of geographically referenced information. He described it as a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyse, manage and present spatial or geographic data. The system also has the capability to link attribute or relational data to spatial data.

    “GIS is conceived manly as set tools to assist in many human activities that can be geo-referenced. The application of GIS to land administration was pioneered in the Scandinavian region of Europe and they preferred the term land information system which means a geographic information system for cadastral and land use mapping, typically consisting of an accurate, current and reliable land record, cadasters and associated attributes,” he explained.

    Tijani also spoke about the components of land administration, corresponding agencies, organisations and bodies for administering the identified processes in Lagos State which are; Land Use and Allocation Office, Lagos State Lands Registry, Lagos state valuation office etc., including noting the requirement for participation in the process of Land administration and the opportunities available to practitioners.

    On the presentation, the Faculty of Land Administration and GIS of NIESV Chairman, Mr. Dapo Ogunlewe, said they were eye- opening for its members and had further enhanced their knowledge about opportunities of the GIS.

    “The papers were really eye- opening.They made us to see so many opportunities that exist businesswise in the area of land administration, the way and manner our members can benefit financially and do better things with it,” Ogunlewe added.

     

  • Akiolu seeks support for Lagos waste management policy’

    The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, has advised private  waste managers against sabotaging the government’s Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI).

    Speaking against the backdrop of some Private Sector Participants (PSP) arrested for allegedly dumping waste on major streets across the state, Oba Akiolu said the development was unfortunate and  cautioned them against discrediting the new waste management regime.

    He warned residents against dumping refuse in public places, saying the CLI was for the benefit of all. The Oba called for support for Visionscape to rid the state of refuse.

    Oba Akiolu spoke at a Town Hall meeting at the City Hall on Lagos Island to sensitise market women and others on the CLI project and to ensure a cleaner environment.

    According to him, Lagosians will ensure that the state is not littered with refuse, warning that he will not beg for anybody arrested by the government for dumping refuse at unauthorised places.

    The monarch said the government had put in place a mechanism to deal with waste, saying that this kind of enlightenment would be carried out in other parts of the state.

    He urged Lagosians not to patronise cart pushers as some of them hide arms in their carts to wreck havoc, as well as dump such refuse in inappropriate places.

    “I was in security service for 32 years, most of these miscreants are armed robbers who hide their guns, live ammunition under these carts  for carting away refuse but with the initiative of the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, things are going to be better. We are going to have a cleaner Lagos provided we have 100 percent cooperation from the citizens, which is very necessary,” he said, adding that the need for such cooperation of the people made him to hold the  meeting.

    Lagos, he explained, has started to grow better and bigger; hence, the need for market women and men to cooperate.

    Also, the Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Babatunde Durosimi-Etti warned against indiscriminate dumping of refuse in unauthorised places, saying that perpetrators would face sanctioned.

    The commissioner reassured that the new solid waste management system was well-thought out and positioned to offer a solution to the waste management challenge thrown up by population increase and facility deficit that the state has had to contend with overtime.

    He said the PSP operators could not cope with the huge refuse in Lagos because the population kept growing, saying that they did not have the equipment to cope, especially with the rise in foreign exchange.

    According to him, this was what informed the Ambode administration to get a new consortium, Visionscape, to handle domestic waste, while the PSP operators would handle commercial waste.

    Durosimi-Etti appealed to Lagosians to bag their waste properly so that refuse would not litter the streets, urging them to report people seen dumping refuse in unauthorised places to the government.

    The Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, Folasade Tinubu-Ojo, said Lagos had always been a role model to other states, urging the market women to contribute their quota to make Lagos cleaner and better than it was.

    He called on Visionscape and the government to provide market women with thicker waste carriers so that they could bag their waste properly, assuring that the market women would cooperate to make Lagos clean and embrace CLI.

    Chairman, Lagos Island Local Government, Prince Adetoyosi Olusi appealed to people on the Island to embrace the culture of bagging their waste and dumping them in designated places where the waste collectors would cart them away.

    He called for the ban of scavenger, saying they normally litter the environment.

    Temidire Folashade Tinubu-Ojo Market Secretary, Ikawoolaso, Oshodi, Odi-Olowo Local Council Development Area, Mr. Mukaila Bolaji, praised the government for the initiative and promised that his members would cooperate with the government.

    He said the gathering had made him and his members to be more informed about the operation.

     

  • ‘Executive Order-5, major driver in national development’

    The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) President, Mr. Adekunle Mokuolu, has described the Executive Order-5 just signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari as a major driver in national development and technological advancement that the country has been yearning for.

    Mokuolu, an engineer, who spoke at the weekend during the 60th anniversary of NSE and the  installation of Mrs. Rose Madaki as the sixth chairman of Victoria Island Branch, noted that the Order would help accelerate development through the use of indigenous engineers.

    The Oder-5 ensures that the country is able to save cost in the delivery of her projects. It also ensures the delivery of intellectual knowledge, including accelerating technology and development through local content participation.

    Mokuolu emphasised that the Executive Orde-5 addressed the issue of engaging expatriates in public and private organisations to execute engineering and technology jobs to the detriment of qualified Nigerians because it deals majorly with local content.

    “This is the first time that the Presidential Order is giving priority to Nigerian engineers, and whatever that has to be achieved would be beneficial to the country. The maintenance culture that we have been talking about would be addressed with this Order-5. This is because as people get involved in the project, they will acquire maintenance skills. Before this Order, expatriates are fond of not putting Nigerians through projects they execute, thereby making it difficult for us to maintain such projects once completed; this also makes the country dependent on these foreign engineers, at huge cost to the country,” Mokuolu explained.

    He added that this recent development would help reduce the increasing level of unemployment in the country.

    Madaki, shortly after her decoration as the sixth chairman, noted that her mission is to introduce engineering and technological innovations into schools, beginning from the rural areas. She pointed out that she would want the engineering impact to be felt in the rural areas, adding that she was collaborating with some organisations to drive the vision.

    Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON)Director-General, Gen. Bamidele Ogunkale, who was the guest of honour at the event, said innovative research and development (R&D) is a vital to national development.

    He called for a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in innovative R&D, stressing that the government cannot do it alone as it is very expensive to sponsor researchers and research innovative-based institutions.

    Gen. Ogunkale said DICON, in collaboration with a Chinese firm, has started manufacturing ammunition for the Armed Forces, adding that this would not only reduce the country’s import bill on ammunition, but would also save the nation problems of delay in responding or curbing crimes that needed urgent and swift attention.

  • LASBCA seals 20 illegal buildings

    LASBCA seals 20 illegal buildings

    For the third time in three weeks, officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) embarked on an enforcement across the state.

    Last weekend, the LASBCA enforcement train berthed on the Lagos Island Local Government Area, where it toked and sealed 20 buildings for contravening building laws. LASBCA officials were accompanied by members of the Lagos Task Force.

    The did not have the requisite approvals, such as building permit, building plan approval and no building submission before their owners started work on site.

    Apart from not having building permits and submissions, the owners of the buildings had broken LASBCA seals on their buildings after they were shut, an offence that attracts N500,000 penalty. Most of the sealed buildings were three- and four-storey structures, with many erected with substandard building materials. Besides, some of them were without proper ventilation.

    Determined to beat the LASBCA officials, property owners on Lagos Island deceive the prying eyes of the agency by painting the outside of their structure leaving the interior uncompleted.

    But the General Manager, LASBCA, Olalekan Shodeinde, an engineer, said the strategy being deployed by defaulters could not work as his men were more vigilant than ever. Besides, he explained that it was no longer business as usual as the government was determined to get rid of illegal development and stem the tide of building collapse.

    He said in the past three weeks, the agency had been sealing buildings erected illegally as their owners did not obtain necessary approvals.

    “Before now, we have been civil in our enforcement, but the developers have remained recalcitrant by continuing in their illegal development. Most of these developers don’t have submission not to talk  of having permits,” he said.

    Shodeinde added that whenever a building had been shutdown, the agency’s officials toke the building so that their owners would come forward to regularise their papers, as well as pay the fines.

    LASBCA, Shodeinde said, will  not run after illegal developers, if they did the right thing by obtaining their building permits and submitting documents for approval.

    “Most of these illegal developments were done at night with substandard materials being used. They don’t get the needed permit or follow due process before erecting them. The rains are coming and you can’t stop building from collapsing when you are not building right,” he said.

    Shodeinde called on Lagosians to report any illegal development in their domains to LASBCA to avert building collapse.

    The buildings shutdown are on Freeman Street, Odunfa Street, Andrew Street, Joseph Haden Street, Kakawa Street, Olushi Street, Thomas Street, Hawley Street, Foresythe Street, Bamgbose Street, Ganiyu Street and Dumare Street.

     

  • Hubmart opens Lekki outlet

    THE retail sub-sector of the property market got a boost recently with the inauguration of the Hubmart Store, Lekki, Lagos.

    The outlet, situated beside The Place on Admiralty Way, is the brand’s resolve to remain a key player in the retail space.

    Hubmart’s Managing Director, Mr Murat Bekhtaslar, said at the inauguration  that the objective of the brand is to be accessible to Nigerians.

    He said Hubmart is a Nigerian brand that its customer-centric.

    “We believe we are the ultimate service provider to our customers as they are utmost in our minds in whatever we do,” he said.

    Murat highlighted the importance of Hubmart’s activities and its contribution to growth. “With each outlet, we significantly increase the number of people gainfully employed, of vendors within our system and those who offer support services.

    ‘’The multiplier effect of this definitely impacts positively on the earnings of our people and, in turn, economic growth,” he said.

    He explained that in the new retail outlet, Hubmart emphasises  equipment, products, and its principal goal of delivering fresh products to its consumers.

    He said: “We are convinced that we are the leaders in fresh products as we leave no stone unturned technologically and otherwise to ensure our products get to our customers fresh.”

    Also, the firm’s Vice President, Marketing Cheng Fuller, said during the last Valentine’s Day, the store harped on its mantra of “Happy to Help … always” as guests thronged its “love corner.

    Muratsaid plans were afoot to open other outlets within the Lekki axis and three more malls before the year runs out.

  • NAMA chief lauds women engineers

    NAMA chief lauds women engineers

    The Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Captain Fola Akinkuotu, has extolled the impact of women engineers in socio-economic development.

    Akinkuotu spoke at the investiture of Felicia Agubata as the 15th president of the  Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) in Lagos.

    He noted that Nigeria’s history would be incomplete without mentioning the role of women engineers who have made indelible contributions to its technological advancement.

    He described the new president, a staff member of NAMA, as a woman of valour, persistence and hard work who has transformed  NAMA Engineering Department within her few years in the agency.

    “If given the opportunity and enabling environment, women like Agubata, would continue to excel in their endeavours,’’ Akinkuotu said.

    He praised the leadership and members of APWEN for the investiture of Agubata, noting that it was an honour.

    Agubata promised to uphold the dignity of women engineers and to serve the profession and humanity well.

    Acknowledging the challenges ahead, especially the expectations from the engineering community and stakeholders, Agubata promised to focus on capacity building to mobilise necessary human and material resources and create value for the good of the society in line with the mission of APWEN.

    “There is no research work that has shown that one gender is stronger or weaker than the other, both sexes when given the exposures, training and orientation, the outcome will be very interesting. To guarantee continuous progress, both sexes must complement and support each other. This will ensure that our potential as one humanity is maximised across all spheres,” he said.

    She said the association members should work together to meet the  needs of the society and to improve human experience and expand opportunities for the emerging woman.

  • Lagos Wastewater Management Office gets GM

    The Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, has  appointed  Maroof Adebola Matanmi, an engineer, the general manager of the Lagos Wastewater Management Office.

    Until his appointment, Matanmi was the acting coordinator of the office after the elevation of the immediate past coordinator, Abdul to permanent secretary.

    In a statement, Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Mrs Grace Alo, said Matanmi  is a “well-rounded professional who has worked as the Council Engineer and head of the Engineering department in various local government areas across the state”.

    He joined the civil service in 2006 and had a stint at the sewage department of the Ministry of Environment before he was deployed to the Ministry of Transportation as director,  Transport Operations.

    Last year, he was redeployed to the Wastewater Office until his appointment on February 7.