Day: May 28, 2024

The Ekiti State government is seeking partnership with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to deliver 2,000 housing units to the people of the state.

Governor of the state, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, said this during a courtesy call on the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of FMBN, Shehu Osidi, on Monday in Abuja.

Oyebanji, represented by his Special Adviser, Bureau of Housing and Mortgage Development, Gboyega Oloniyo, said the visit was to congratulate Osidi on his appointment as well as to make some requests.

According to him, there is need for the Ekiti government to synergise with FMBN on housing delivery to address the housing deficit in the state.

‘Our government holds housing sector in high esteem but there is a challenge for us in achieving housing delivery because houses are not cheap now.

‘You will agree with me that we don’t have low cost housing any longer and there cannot be medium cost housing because the cost of building materials has gone up.

‘Where do we run to for shelter?
It is only by coming to your organisation to see how we can truly join hands together,’ he said.

Oyebanji said his government had earlier signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a company to work with FMBN to deliver the 2,000 housing units.

He said Ekiti State had a huge diaspora population that could match any state in the country as well as a good number of civil servants, hence there would not be a problem with the off takers of the houses.

He said the housing idea was not only about availability of houses but affordability.

He said the housing project would address the challenges people in the diaspora faced by sending money home for building which were usually diverted by friends and family members.

He said the construction of the houses would be in all the local government areas of the state so that people would buy houses in places closest to them.

‘The government is ready for this because we are providing hectares of land in each of the local governments to take care of this,’ he said.

Osidi
assured the Ekiti State government of the bank’s readiness to partner with the state to deliver houses.

Osidi said, ‘We feel normally excited when state governments extend hands of fellowship to us to partner to provide affordable houses to Nigerians.

‘Like you know, our mandate is to provide homeownership, by way of mortgage financing to the lower and middle income earners in this country.

‘This is for Nigerian workers in the public and private sectors, but even self employed individuals are also at liberty to contribute to the National Housing Fund and take advantage of our various loan products.

‘One of the reasons FMBN decided to venture into financing housing construction is so that we can achieve controlled prices for the kind of houses that we are financing.

‘This is because generally, houses that are available in the market are not within the threshold of affordability for our target market.’

Osidi said the Bank would partner with Ekiti State government to provide mortgage financing to indigenes
of the state who were contributors to National Housing Fund at six per cent interest rate.

He said the bank also partnered with developers to deliver houses in the state, adding that it currently had three ongoing projects worth over N2 billion, already disbursed for the construction of 145 housing units.

He said the state would also benefit from the President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope housing agenda to delver 100,000 houses across the country.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Nigerian Institute of Civil Engineers (NICE),on Tuesday said Nigeria recorded 41 building collapses in 17 months.

The National Chairman of NICE ,Virgilus Ezugu, made this known at the NICE Building Collapse Prevention Workshop with the theme: ‘Stemming the Tide of Building Collapse Menace in Nigeria’ in Abuja.

‘This means that Nigeria recorded more than two building collapses monthly. This is a worrisome trend that needs to be reversed .

‘Building collapse has become a disgrace to the built sector and as core stakeholder with direct responsibility to ensure the protection of lives and properties NICE has stepped up to address it.

‘In 2023, the Institution set up a committee on Building Collapse prevention whose core mandate is to take all necessary steps and advice on ways to halt the tide of incessant collapses of buddings.

‘The Committee swung into action and has been collecting data on reported collapses from January 2023.

‘The data show that over 41 cases have been recorded in the past 17 months
with an average of two and above collapses per month.’

According to Ezugu, this is even more disturbing considering that over 50 per cent of the collapses are not always reported.

Nevertheless ,he said NICE as a responsible professional body has therefore taken the bull by the horn to stem the menace in fulfilment of one of the engineers’ professional codes of public safety through nationwide training.

He said NICE also organised workshops with professionals and other stakeholders with the aim to develop a handbook to guide stakeholders on step by step actions to take in eliminating these incidents.

The Keynote Speaker ,Prof. Samson Duna, Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI),attributed building collapse to use of substandard materials among others.

According to Duna, 80 per cent of building collapse happens during the rainy season due to some natural causes and because the materials were substandard, it gives in.

He, therefore, recommended training and retrainin
g of engineers and professionals in the construction sector should attend refresher courses to refresh their knowledge.

He said the government and professional bodies should sensitise the general public on the steps to follow when embarking on building projects.

‘All professional bodies should strengthen its arm of monitoring, to ensure they function effectively during project supervision.

‘ The professionals must be involved in monitoring and evaluation of building projects and funds for the supervision should be cooperated in the cost of the project.

The Guest of Honour ,Prof. Sadiq Abubakar, President ,Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN),said there was need for stakeholders to synergise to address the challenge of building collapse .

‘The built environment needs to be well organised and well structured to do this and COREN has set up 10 committees to look at 10 sectors in this regard.

‘Although the issue might be caused by quacks ,however, the most dangerous quackery is when
a civil engineer tries to do the work of a mechanical engineer.

‘So we need to look into these things.’

Mrs Margaret Oguntala, President of Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE),called on engineers to adhere strictly to the principles of safety, reliability and sustainability.

Oguntala, represented by the Executive Secretary of NSE, Joshua Egube, advised engineers to commit to upholding the highest standards of practice, from initial design through to construction and maintenance.

‘This means rigorously applying engineering principles, staying abreast of the latest developments in our field, and continuously updating our skills through professional development.

‘Effective regulation is essential to preventing building collapses.’

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

When President Bola Tinubu on Aug. 16, 2023 named Sen. John Owan Enoh as the country’s new sports minister to drive the renewed hope agenda for the Sports sector, not many stakeholders knew what to expect.

As the Tinubu administration marks one year in office, Enoh in a short period has continued to unveil and implement far reaching policies aimed at transforming the sporting landscape in Nigeria.

The minister in a deliberate and bold move to transform the sports industry unveiled a six-point agenda titled ‘W.A.I.F.A.R’ to drive Nigeria’s sports development.

The strategic initiative which is the pillar of foundation upon which a vibrant sports industry is being built is thus explained.

W- Welfare: activating and enabling a welfare system that caters to serving and retired athletes as well as an annual recognition platform.

A- Activation of grassroots sports development; early age (under 18) sports and revitalization of school sports.

I – Infrastructure, development. Investment in building and revamping
stadiums, as well as focus on grassroots sports facilities.

F- Funding for sports development. Exploring collaborative funding models between the government and the private sector

A- Activation of grassroots sports development; early age (under 18) sports and revitalization of school sports.

R- Reorganisation of sports federations for impact. Sports governance and effectiveness of sports federations.

‘This agenda is meticulously designed to bolster growth and excellence within the country’s sports sector.

‘We must key into President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda and strive to propel the sports industry to newer heights.

‘President Tinubu’s genuine enthusiasm for sports underscores his unwavering commitment to fostering an environment where the sports sector, not only flourishes but also reaches unparalleled success,’he said.

He said Tinubu has demonstrated uncommon passion for the growth of sports, stating that his commitment has seen his administration practically remove all obstacles that w
ill hamper the discovery of budding talents and progress in all sports.

‘His commitment to the development of sports which informed the creation of the full Ministry of Sports Development is unrivalled. Indeed, Mr President has demonstrated uncommon passion for the growth of sports in our country.

‘For instance, our President graciously cleared all the debts accumulated by the former administration in the funding of football in excess of N12 billion.

‘There is no doubt that this new lease contributed significantly to the stellar performance of our national team, the Super eagles who placed second to the hosts, the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in the 2023 African cup of Nations.

‘Nigeria’s heroics and achievement at the 13th African Games in Ghana would not have been possible without Mr President full support.

‘Our sports loving president spared no effort to ensure that our athletes were adequately funded in spite of the paucity of funds and competing national priorities,’ Enoh said.

With a keen focus on f
ostering grassroots participation, infrastructure development, athlete empowerment and making sports big business, the Tinubu administration is beginning to usher in a paradigm shift in sports development in Nigeria.

Aside the reforms, another critical area that is being pursued vigorously is attracting private-sector investment, and positioning sports as a significant sector for employment and revenue generation.

To this end the Federal Government in October, 2023 approved the adoption of the National Sports Industry Policy (NSIP) for full implementation.

‘It is important that going forward, the investments and funding for sports should come from the private sector, as obtainable in other parts of the world.

‘One of the plans of the Federal Ministry of Sports Development is to see how to sell sports to the private sector.

‘We want to build the trust and confidence of the private sector, so that competitions and the initiatives of the ministry can enjoy the supports and endorsement of the private sector,
‘ the sports minister explained.

The ministry subsequently signed three ground-breaking Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with corporate organisations to bolster sports development and funding.

The agreement with Yanga Games Technologies (YGT), a private sector company will help Nigerian sports raise N35 billion over the next four years to augment budgetary allocations.

While the MoU with Effa Management Ltd. will create facility clusters in the six geopolitical zones, not forgetting the GTI partnership that seeks to revamp the former Challenge Cup, now called the President Federation Cup, among other things.

As Nigeria intensifies preparation for the Paris Olympics in July, there is an increasing number of Nigerian athletes who have secured qualification for the Games.

The Nigeria women’s national football team, Super Falcons, leads the pack by breaking a 16-year jink to qualify for the summer Olympics.

Others are Nigeria’s strong contingent in the track and field, boxing, wrestling, Taekwondo, Canoein
g, Cycling, women Basketball among others.

Under Tinubu`s leadership, Nigerian athletes have achieved various successes across sporting events, including the African Cup of Nations, the African Games, and the World Relay Championships in the Bahamas.

They have also achieved positive strides on the international stage, showcasing the nation’s prowess and determination in the world of sports.

In spite of the notable achievements in the sector, stakeholders are quick to stress the need for better welfare for athletes, increased funding, transparency, infrastructure development and grassroots development.

The stakeholders maintain that the Tinubu administration must continue to prioritise sports development and create the enabling environment for the private sector to key into the vision of running sports as a big business and not just for mere recreation.

***If used please credit the writer and the News Agency of Nigeria

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Women Affairs Secretariat, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), says it has partnered with local and international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to strengthen the fight against period poverty.

The Mandate Secretary of the secretariat, Mrs Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, stated this at an event organised to commemorate the 2024 World Menstrual Hygiene Day, in Abuja on Tuesday.

The event was organised by the Women Affaires Secretariat, FCTA, in partnership with ACIOE Foundation, with the theme, ‘Together for a Period Friendly World’.

Benjamins-Laniyi, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Adetoye Kolawole, described period poverty as the lack of access to safe and hygienic menstrual products, including water during monthly periods.

She said that the partnership was designed to take menstrual information, sanitary pad, and other hygiene products to the doorstep of young girls, particularly in communities.

According to him the goal is to reach every girl in the grassroots w
ith all that she needs for a healthy menstrual period.

‘We are collaborating with so many NGOs, not only local ones but international NGOs as well.

‘These partners are working with us to provide the needed information about menstrual hygiene to our girls and increase their access to sanitary pads and other hygiene products at home and schools.

‘What we are doing today is part of the Women Secretariat’s efforts to enlighten young girls to know that menstrual period is normal for all women and what to do when menstruating.

‘The need to know what menstrual period is all about, and how to maintain good hygiene practices during menstrual period,’ she said.

Also, Ms Kanyidinofu Oyem, Gender Specialist, ACIOE Foundation, said that the enlightenment campaign was critical to clarify the misconceptions about menstrual period.

Oyem particularly said that some young girls stay out of school because they are menstruating among other taboos associated with the natural monthly circle.

‘We go to school where we have v
ulnerable children. We don’t only talk to them; we share a sanitary pad.

‘This is because, it is not enough to just educate them; you must be able to provide access to sanitary products, particularly to those who cannot afford this basic product.

‘We also give it to the boys so that they will give it to their sisters at home, particularly the out-of-school girls,’ she said.

She added that part of the community outreach was also to train young girls how to make reusable pads considering that not all girls could afford normal pads.

One of the girls at the event, Nina Opeme, a student at Community Secondary School, Asokoro, said that the sensitisation would address stigma associated with menstrual period,

Similarly, a student at Government Secondary School Garki, Umar Aderemi, said that the sensitisation has equipped him with the needed knowledge to support his sisters and friends during their menstrual period.

‘Beside I will still be a father in the near future. I will use the knowledge acquired today to
educate my daughters about good menstrual hygiene practices,’ Aderemi said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Before President Bola Tinubu assumed the reins of governance, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, was faced with the challenge of abandoned projects.

The Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda was, however, expected to, among other things, complete ongoing projects and transform the FCT into a more habitable and economically vibrant city.

When Mr Nyesom Wike was appointed Minister of FCT in August 2023, he vowed to deliver on Tinubu’s mandate and administer the territory in compliance with the Abuja Master Plan.

According to him, it will be achieved through the establishment of an effective service-oriented administration that will respond to the needs of all residents and other stakeholders.

He noted that Abuja had witnessed foundation laying ceremonies of several structures worth billions, only to be abandoned midway or at advanced stages of their construction.

The minister, nicknamed ‘Mr Project’, particularly pointed out that some of the contracts were awarded in 2007, some in 2011, while others were a
warded between 2015 and 2017, but all abandoned.

To turn the tide, the minister summoned all the contractors handling different projects in the FCT to a meeting to know what the problems were and how to get them back to site.

‘Our problem is funding,’ the contractors lamented assuring the Minister that they would get back to work if they were mobilised.

Eventually, Wike got most of the contractors back to site after agreeing on a payment plan with money from the FCT Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and budgetary allocations.

He equally introduced new innovations and enforced the payment of outstanding ground rents and other taxes in the FCT, a decision that increased the territory’s revenue generation significantly.

The minister also secured the approval of Tinubu to withdraw FCTA from Treasury Single Account, to enable the Administration to access funds from financial institutions to fund projects.

To ensure quality and timely delivery of the projects, Wike personally inspected the execution of the p
rojects and kept the contractors on their toes.

Nine months later, the Wike-led FCTA has announced the completion of numerous projects some of which were pencilled for inauguration to celebrate Tinubu’s one year in Office.

One of the completed projects is the construction of the official residence of the Vice President, which was awarded in 2010 but abandoned.

Another project was the rehabilitation of the Abuja Rail Mass Transit (ARMT) system, now ready for commercial operations, access roads to the train stations and parking lots.

Also completed was the extension of Inner Southern Expressway (ISEX) from the Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX) to the Southern Parkway, made up of 3.8km length of 10 lanes expressway.

The ISEX enables east-west movement on the southern flank of the city, linking the Abuja – Keffi highway.

The full scope development of the Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX) from Villa Roundabout to Ring Road 1 Junction, including four interchanges was also completed.

The OSEX is the primary roa
d bounding the Federal Capital City (FCC) on the southern flank, connecting the city with the Kaduna – Abuja-Lokoja Federal Highway.

The project, being developed in phases, involves full scope development of about 6.7km of 10 lanes of the expressway from Villa Roundabout to Apo Roundabout.

The construction of the Southern Parkway from the Christian Centre to Ring Road 1 was equally completed.

The project consisted of the construction of 5.4 km length of the road, made up of two main carriageways of four lanes each, and two service carriageways of two lanes each, making a total of 12 lanes.

It also includes the construction of four interchanges, with eight bridges in addition to other facilities.

The Southern Parkway traverses the city centre, linking the outer fringes and inner portions of the city Expressways.

Also completed was the B6 (Constitution Avenue)/B12 (Independence Avenue) roads in Central Area, spanning from the Circle Road in the Three Arms Zone to the National Stadium, and linking the Cent
ral Area with the Airport Expressway.

Wike also completed the interchange bridge, linking Wuye and Wuse I District under the provision of Wuye District Infrastructure project.

The full scope development of the Arterial Road, N-20, from Northern Parkway (Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Expressway) to Outer Northern Expressway (Murtala Mohammed Expressway) was also partly completed.

The project involves the development of about 5.6 km of road with interchanges at Kubwa and Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Expressways, made of two main carriageways of three lanes each, making a total of six lanes.

It also includes the construction of two interchanges with four bridges, in addition to other facilities.

The first phase of the road project, from ONEX/Murtala Muhammed Expressway to Arterial Road N11/Ahmadu Bello Way, covering 3.1km was completed and opened to traffic, while work was ongoing at the interchanges.

Another milestone of the Wike-led FCTA was the completion of the provision of engineering infrastructure to Guzape District L
ot II.

The project consisted of the development of 30.80km roads, 33km underground stormwater drainages, and 53km underground foul drainages.

It also provided a 33.5km potable water supply network, 22 box culverts, one electrical power substation and 80 compact unit transformers.

Also provided, was a 163 km electrical cable network, 50km telecommunication ducts and construction of one fully equipped mini-sewage treatment plant.

Wike also completed the rehabilitation and resurfacing of existing roads Arterial Road Corridor (Abdul Rasheed Na’Allah Way), in Institution and Research District.

The projects provided access roads to some institutions and government agencies such as the Institute of Human Virology, Federal Medical Centre, Economic and Financial Crime Commission, National Open University of Nigeria, Body of Benchers, and some private institutions like Baze University.

Other completed projects included the renovation of the FCT minister’s residence in Life Camp and the construction of 11km access
road from the Airport Expressway to Kuje Township.

The minister equally completed the resurfacing of 189 roads covering 57 km within the Abuja city centre.

He assured that other ongoing projects would be completed by December, before awarding another set of abandoned projects.

Some of the ongoing projects included the rehabilitation and resurfacing of 366 roads in Wuse, Garki, Asokoro and Maitama Districts, covering 117km.

Also ongoing are the rehabilitation of District Hospital Gwarimpa, Cottage Hospital Gwagwalada and District Hospital Utako, provision of access road to Kabusa Garden Estate, and Greater Abuja Water Supply Project.

The construction of one Service Carriageway of Inner Northern Expressway from Ring Road III to Ring Road IV, as well as120km rural roads across the six Area Councils were also ongoing.

Other ongoing projects include the rehabilitation of Federal Secretariat Phase I, and the rehabilitation of 19 public primary and secondary schools across the territory.

Wike said that the ro
ad projects, when completed, would position Abuja to compete with any city in the world in terms of road network.

He added that similar attention was being accorded to satellite towns and rural communities in terms of roads infrastructure.

He, however, noted the challenges of funding and corruption, affecting the delivery of development projects in the territory and assured that steps were being taken to address them.

Reacting to the development, road users and residents described the feat as unprecedented.

‘I have been living in Abuja for 16 years but never witnessed a speedy delivery of road projects until Wike happened.

‘Look at the road to Asokoro from Apo, which was under construction for several years, but Wike delivered it in just eight months,’ said a resident, Mr Andrew Moses.

Similarly, Mr Shuabu Yunusa, a taxi driver said, ‘It is now seamless going to Asokoro from Apo. The Tinubu-led administration is really working and deserved our commendation.’

In the same vein, Mr John Moses, a motorist,
said that the improved road networks have made driving around the city so smooth and fast.

‘This means less fuel consumption and more money in our pockets,’ Moses said.

Stakeholders, however, insisted that while due attention was being given to infrastructural development in the FCT, a similar gesture should be extended to human capital development and poverty reduction.

This, according to them, will ensure a dual development of the city and the human capital needed for sustainable and inclusive growth and development of the FCT.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The President, Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA), Mrs Maria Lagbaja, has encouraged barracks children to be obedient and focused so as to become responsible citizens in the future.

The Wife of the Chief of Army Staff gave the advice when she held Children’s Party to celebrate the 2024 Children’s Day for barracks schools children on Tuesday in Abuja.

Lagbaja said the event was geared towards making the children happy, saying that if the children are happy, parents will be happy too.

She urged the children to always obey their parents while making effort to be outstanding in their academic endeavour and making the society proud.

‘Children should always obey their parents so that they can be good leaders of tomorrow,” she said.

On her part, the President of the Defence and Police Officers Wives Association (DEPOWA), Mrs Oghogho Musa urged parents to be more intentional, focused and look inward in nurturing their wards.

Mrs Musa also advised parents to draw their children closer, always give
them attention and be observant.

According to her, parents should be more conscious of their children’s whereabouts, be conscious of their environment and talk about things like drugs as parents.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that wards and students from NAOWA Nursery, Primary and Secondary Schools in Abuja as well DEPOWA School participated in the activities.

The event featured cultural display, dancing competition and spelling bee among the schools.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria