The Nation Newspaper

Tag: charter

  • BIS Interact Club gets charter

    British International School (BIS), Victoria Island, Lagos Interact Club has been chartered. It was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lagos Island. This is coming 113 years after the first Rotary Club was formed in the same month (February) in Chicago, United States.

    Rotary Club of Lagos Island President Sanjeev Tandon, reiterated the need for youths to inculcate the values of service above self, emphasising that Interact Club members should uphold Rotary standards.

    Rotary International District (9110) Governor Dr. Adewale Ogunbadejo, who chaired the event, spoke on the importance of pupils in helping with the community work while developing early leadership skills.

    Miss Sonia Bendre was sworn-in as the Charter Interact president, Ms Anna Akwukwuma general secretary and other Board members who pledged to execute their responsibilities without fear.

    Bendre unveiled their plan: sponsorship of Rotary Club’s blood donation, artificial limb’s project (IshK), tree plantation (Hariyali), school adoptions and free eye surgeries. She listed club’s achievements to include donation of N100,000 to the End Polio Drive and holiday gift packs to school’s Environmental Agents.

    The Interact President added: “There is more to do and I know we can do it.” BIS Principal, Ms. Linda Potticary, congratulated the officers on their installation, urging them to work harder.

    The event ended with the cutting of a cake. Among those at the ceremony were Lagos Island Rotary Club Secretary Mamta Debroy, Anaita Naushad, Meenu Bendre, Kishore Bendre, Supriya Sinha and Sanjay Shrivastava.

  • Anambra election and charter of equity

    The November 18 governorship election in Anambra is fast approaching and the major political parties have produced their candidates. The candidates of major political parties contesting the election are, Osita Chidoka (UPP), Godwin Ezemo (PPA), Oseloka Henry Obaze  (PDP),Tony Nwoye (APC), and Governor Willie Obiano (APGA). It is a good omen that the party primaries have been concluded and ndi-Anambra are now faced with the opportunity of choosing their next governor. If they make a good choice, it will be for the betterment of our beloved state and if they make a bad choice, it will end in regret.

    Already some selfish politicians have started telling anybody that cares to listen that there is nothing like zoning and that they don’t mind the consequence of working against zoning. They don’t give a damn about public interest; rather they are devilishly scheming to subvert public interest for their own selfish interest. But one thing that is certain is that public interest will always over-ride personal interest. Our people are now politically aware and cannot be misled by selfish politicians. I remember vividly that in 2013 when Mr Peter Obi was leading the campaign for power shift to Anambra North, it was being aired on radio stations across Anambra State that anybody that was not in support of power shift to Anambra North is indirectly supporting Igbo marginalisation in Nigeria. I concur with the referred opinion. We Igbo cannot be crying of marginalisation in Nigeria and back home in our various states, we are supporting marginalisation. Some people are attempting to shift the goal post in Anambra State and they must be stopped for the betterment of the state.

    Dr. Chris Ngige governed Anambra State for three years. Peter Obi governed Anambra State for eight years and Governor Obiano will complete his first term on March 17, 2018.

    Osita Chidoka hails from the same Anambra Central Senatorial zone with Ngige and Peter Obi. Tony Nwoye is from the same local government and senatorial district with Governor Obiano. Oseloka Obaze hails from Ogbaru and the same Anambra North senatorial zone with Obiano. Godwin Ezemo hails from Aguata in Anambra South senatorial zone. Among all these governorship candidates, Governor Obiano is the only person that is constitutionally bound to go for only one term in completion of his mandate for the people of Anambra north. The rest are constitutionally eligible to go for two terms.

    As at 2013, when ndi-Anambra voted for zoning, it was done with the understanding that power can only stay in Anambra North for eight years and return to Anambra South by 2022. It is said whatever that is worth doing is worth doing well hence the reason behind my advocacy for the entrenchment of sense of belonging in Anambra State political system. Anybody trying to wave Anambra charter of equity aside in the forthcoming November 18 governorship election is an enemy of progress because anybody that wants the progress and betterment of his state will support the implementation of good initiatives in his state.

    Ndi-Anambra will make a regrettable mistake, if they fail to return Governor Obiano for second term because the governor’s candidature represents equity, fairness and justice. Outside this, Obiano has performed beyond the expectations of ndi-Anambra and keen watchers of events in the state. He assumed office when Nigeria economy went into recession and he deployed his private sector wealth of experience in navigating ndi-Anambra out of recession. Other states in Nigeria felt the effects of the national economic recession but in Anambra, Governor Obiano cushioned its effect with the rolling out of tax stimulus package for our people. He did this as a leader that knows when his followers are in pain.

    Today Anambra is being referred to as the safest state in Nigeria, courtesy of Obiano administration’s zero tolerance for criminality in Anambra State. His administration received applause for doing well in the agricultural sector.

    Tony Nwoye and Oseloka Obaze are candidates of godfathers. Our people will not forget in a hurry the horrible experience our state passed through in the hands of godfathers in between 1999 to 2006. That era of brigandage and lawlessness is gone for good and must not be allowed to return to our state. It is very painful seeing Peter Obi, the man that led the struggle for power shift to Anambra North, plotting to shift the goal post at the middle of the game. His support for Obaze’s governorship ambition is fraught with a vendetta mission against Governor Obiano because of Obiano’s refusal to be at his beck and call. He wants to be the political alpha and omega in Anambra State with the sole power to make and unmake a governor in the state.

    The Bible made me to understand that only God crowns kings and not humans. So I am of the belief that God made Obiano governor and claiming otherwise is tantamount to the arrogation of God powers to Peter Obi thereby making him to play god. No reasonable Anambra southerner should support the ambition of Obaze, Nwoye and Chidoka because their candidature violates the Anambra equity charter. The best option for the people of Anambra South is to support Obiano’s re-election for the shift of power to their zone in 2022.

    Anambra as light of the nation must lead by example, if truly we want the actualisation of Igbo Presidency in Nigeria. We cannot be advocating for rotational Presidency in Nigeria whereas we are doing otherwise back home. Nigerians are watching us to know if we are going to do the right thing and our failure to do the right thing will have a dire and regrettable consequence on us politically. Peter Obi enjoyed the opportunity of second term because ndi Anambra thought it wise to vote him for a second term, so that the people of Anambra Central will not feel short-changed. An adage says that “when you treat children well and equally they will be happy “. In the case of Governor Obiano, the general public and ndi-Anambra acknowledges his performance in all sectors of governance and the people of Anambra North don’t want to feel short-changed hence the reason why voting him is a necessity for the betterment of our State.

    Nwoye is contesting to retire old politicians in Anambra State. When he emerged APC candidate for the November 18 governorship election, his supporters while jubilating in social media were saying that his victory at the APC primary is tantamount to the political retirement of Andy Ubah and that when they win the main election, they will retire other prominent politicians from Anambra State.

     

    • …Obigwe is National Co-ordinator APGA Media Warriors Forum.
  • Ajimobi launches N120,000 Home Owners Charter

    Ajimobi launches N120,000 Home Owners Charter

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi at the weekend launched the Homeowners Charter policy to enable home owners regularise their land documents.

    The governor said the policy is part of his administration’s measures to lessen the pains of the economic downturn.

    Ajimobi also announced that the state will change from  paper-based Certificate of Occupancy to electronic Certificate of Occupancy (e-C-of-O), with security features to make it more copy-proof.

    The governor spoke at the launch of the enumeration and assessment of property at the Housing Corporation in Ibadan, the state capital.

    He said the scheme was created to enable home owners without title documents, such as survey and building plans, to obtain them with ease at the rate of N120,000.

    Ajimobi assured residents the scheme will be transparent and devoid of bottlenecks.

    “This is one of the measures …by our government not only to lessen the pains of the economic downturn but to also empower them for greater economic possibilities.

    “The electronic C-of-O will contain the following elements: scanned photograph of the owner printed on a copy-proof security paper; encrypted and enhanced 2D bar code  unique to the owner; additional embedded security characteristic containing vital security information to be viewed with an enabled barcode reader unique to the owner and  a distinctive Certificate of Occupancy number legible for all to see.”

    Ajimobi urged residents, especially property owners, to cooperate with the state’s Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), which will handle the enumeration and assessment.

    The governor noted that the essence of the enumeration is to generate data for sustainable developmental objectives.

    He said: “Without a dependable data base, neither significant nor sustainable developmental objectives can be achieved. However, to generate, categorise and databank these critical information, the state government decided to engage the services and collaboration of the Oyo State chapter of NIESV.

    “Our decision to appoint and work with this institution as Consultants for this very important assignment is a further testimony of this administration’s recognition of the role of professional bodies as able stakeholders in the daunting task of returning our dear state to its traditional and enviable position of the pacesetter.”

  • Homeowners’ charter: Ogun to give 1000 CofO to beneficiaries

    Homeowners’ charter: Ogun to give 1000 CofO to beneficiaries

    The Ogun State Government will be presenting 1000 Certificates of Occupancy and other title documents to another batch of beneficiaries under the Homeowners’ Charter Programme conceived by the administration of  Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

    The Director-General, Bureau of Lands and Survey, Mr. Biyi Ismail, in a statement,  said beneficiaries would collect their documents on June 22  at the Arcade Ground, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

    He urged all contacted beneficiaries to come with valid means of identification. They are to be at the venue by 8am for accreditation.

  • ‘Why we introduced Homeowners’ Charter’

    ‘Why we introduced Homeowners’ Charter’

    The desire to save residents and home owners living in areas under government acquisition from hardship and loss of properties may have been the reason behind the introduction of the Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s HomeOwners’ Charter scheme.

    With this initiative, buildings in border town areas between the Ogun and Lagos states like Agbado, Akute, Mowe, Ibafo, have been saved from demolition.

    The Ogun state commissioner for Urban and Physical planning, Mr. Adebola Adeife, in a chat with The Nation, also revealed that most of the buildings in those areas had no title documents to their lands because of indiscriminate disregard for procedure on the part of builders as well as because the areas were under acquisition by the state government.

    “When you talk of the peripheral areas or slums, most people occupy them illegally. Agbado, Akute .Agbado, for instance, are completely under acquisition. The property owners there don’t have legal titles in the core areas, but for those houses that have titles, the Homeowners’ Charter has helped them as they will be accommodated in the envelopment system for development,” he explained.

    Adeife explained that while the Amosun administration embarked on urban renewal initiatives, it realised that the slum areas and acquisition areas already built up could not be overlooked, hence the resort of the administration to envelopment development. He explained ‘envelopment’ concept as a system in which a built up area is incorporated into an urban renewal scheme without demolishing existing structures, and yet provided with modern facilities to suit human habitation.

    He explained that the process of urban renewal is in two phases- the major roads, which have to be in their proper shape and proper urban regeneration. Adeife noted that the road aspect had almost been completed with all the major roads around the capital city widened and properly modernised to international standards.

    “It is partly to solve the issue of slums and it has to a large extent afforded people the opportunity to have legal rights on the land they occupy and to have building approvals. The Homeowners’ Charter has helped people to avoid the long, windy and probably corrupted previous process,” Adeife said, adding that the Homeowners charter had brought more benefits and succor to applicants than the normal process of getting Certificates of Occupancy.

    So far, he further revealed, the Homeowner Charter, introduced as a stop gap measure, will come to an end after all the applicants have receive their Cs-of-O. The volume of applications received under the scheme, Adeife said, surpassed the expectations of the government such that it was forced to extend the closing period.

    This, coupled with the desire to follow the proper procedure to the letter, has slowed down the issuance process. So far, between 20, 000 or 25, 000 Cs-of-O are ready for issuance, but they are being delayed to avoid probable litigation in the future. For instance, Adeife explained that names of those to be given the C-of-O must be published in national dailies for 21 days as required by the law and if there is no objection, it will be issued to the applicant.

  • HomeOwners’ Charter: Amosun distributes ninth batch of Cs of O

    HomeOwners’ Charter: Amosun distributes ninth batch of Cs of O

    The Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has distributed the ninth batch of Homeowner’s Charter Scheme Certificate of Occupancy to beneficiaries in Abeokuta, the state capital. He was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa.
    The Governor used the occasion to assure citizens that all programmes aimed at realising the re-building mission of his administration would be realised and all on-going projects would be completed and delivered as scheduled.
    He applauded all concerned agencies for ensuring the success of the programme, pointing out that critics, who had despised the initiative at inception, had seen its sincerity of purpose from the cooperation and number of C of O dispatched so far.
    He, therefore, appealed for support and understanding of the people in the face of dwindling economic challenges, promising that no stone would be left unturned at making the state self-sustaining.
    “We are working round the clock to increase our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) so that our state can be self-sustaining and reduce over-reliance on the federal allocation,” he said.
    In a similar vein, the Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Civil Service Commission, Mrs. Amope Chokor, said the Home-Owners’ Charter programme was designed by the state to enable property owners possess legal titles on their land. She said it would be a continuous process as it would help government to know the areas where there was serious infrastructural deficit.
    Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Motunrayo Ogundipe commended the state government for its sincerity, saying that many people, who doubted the government’s good intentions on the scheme at inception, have now seen that the Amosun government is sincere.
    It would be recalled that on December 16, 2013, the state government had initiated the Home Owners’ Charter Scheme aimed at making landlords obtain their Certificates of Occupancy at 78 per cent discount.

  • HomeOwners’ Charter: Amosun distributes ninth batch of C of O

    HomeOwners’ Charter: Amosun distributes ninth batch of C of O

    The Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has distributed the ninth batch of Homeowner’s Charter Scheme Certificate of Occupancy to beneficiaries in Abeokuta, the state capital. He was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa.

    The Governor used the occasion to assure citizens that all programmes aimed at realising the re-building mission of his administration would be realised and all on-going projects would be completed and delivered as scheduled.

    He applauded all concerned agencies for ensuring the success of the programme, pointing out that critics, who had despised the initiative at inception, had seen its sincerity of purpose from the cooperation and number of C of O dispatched so far.

    He, therefore, appealed for support and understanding of the people in the face of dwindling economic challenges, promising that no stone would be left unturned at making the state self-sustaining.

    “We are working round the clock to increase our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) so that our state can be self-sustaining and reduce over-reliance on the federal allocation,” he said.

    In a similar vein, the Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Civil Service Commission, Mrs. Amope Chokor, said the Home-Owners’ Charter programme was designed by the state to enable property owners possess legal titles on their land. She said it would be a continuous process as it would help government to know the areas where there was serious infrastructural deficit.

    Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Motunrayo Ogundipe commended the state government for its sincerity, saying that many people, who doubted the government’s good intentions on the scheme at inception, have now seen that the Amosun government is sincere.

    It would be recalled that on December 16, 2013, the state government had initiated the Home Owners’ Charter Scheme aimed at making landlords obtain their Certificates of Occupancy at 78 per cent discount.

  • Maple adds aircraft charter

    Maple adds aircraft charter

    Maple Aviation Logistics Limited is set to provide aircraft charter services. The company, which has been a player in the travel industry, said the addition of the air travel charter is in its drive to provide excellent service.

    In a release by the company, maple said it is providing private charter of airplanes and helicopter charter service.

    The release said:  “The Maple brand has been in the travel business for years and with continued drive provide excellent  service and ensure we meet our clients’ needs we have included in our offerings private charter of airplanes and helicopters.

    “Maple will provide private hire services, offering our clients of the comfort and convenience of exclusive use of an aircraft or helicopter without the hassles of ownership and maintenance.”