TUC lauds Nigerian govt on 10 per cent housing equity waiver

“The Trade Union Congress, TUC, has commended the Federal Government on waiver of the initial payment of 10 per cent housing equity on mortgages below N5 million from housing off takers.

Bobboi Kaigama, TUC, President gave the commendation on Monday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

The Federal Government had recently approved that henceforth mortgages below N5million (five million naira) will not attract the initial payment of 10 per cent equity from off takers.

According to him, this is to demonstrate its commitment to the provision of affordable housing to Nigerians, especially the low income earners.

Bobboi noted that the waiver was a welcome development, especially in this period of economic recession being experienced in the country.

“The government is using the same fund contributed by workers to build houses for them, if it can as well give out houses at much lower rate it will be nice development because it is workers’ contribution.

“The Federal Government has no contribution in the fund and the worker’s representatives do not have a say on how the funds are being managed,” he said.

Commending the effort of the government, he said that it needed to do more in the course of delivering houses to Nigerians.

The TUC president said that the number of houses that have been delivered to workers since the constitution of the National Housing Fund (NHF) programme was not impressive compared to the percentage of workers contributing to the fund.

He, however, called for an urgent review of the NHF law, adding that the representatives of Nigerian workers should also be allowed to be on the board of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, FMBN.

According to him, being board members will make the representatives to be able to contribute and moderate the cost of housing units compared to the contributors’ salaries.

(NAN)”

Source: Premium Times

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FG pledges to bridge 17 million housing deficit

Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing,  Mustapha Shehuri, has assured that the present administration is determined to bridge the 17 million housing deficit confronting the nation.

Giving the assurance at the commissioning of the FMBN/Lape Estate, Karu, developed by Lape Construction Services Ltd. under a public private partnership (PPP) arrangement, with Platinum Mortgage Bank Nig. Ltd as financier at the weekend, Shehuri said the residential estate was part of efforts of the government to housing shortfall in Nigeria. The housing estate which was an initiation of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, FMBN, is sitting on a two hectare land, comprising two phases.

The phase 1 which was commissioned at the weekend consists of 295units of two-bedroom semi-detached bungalows. The phase 2 which is yet to be commissioned comprises 34 units two-bedroom and 94 units of three-bedroom detached bungalows. The minister said the construction of housing estate was in response to the promise of  the present  administration’s resolved to tackle the 17 million housing deficit in the country, pointing out that “Indeed, the ministry’s plan to build mass housing units in every state of the federation for public workers over the next three years, under a public private partnership arrangement has reached an advanced stage in terms of implementation.

“National housing models have been designed and approved for each geopolitical some, which takes care of our socio-cultural and climatic diversities in our choice of house type, promotion of standardisation, as well as the use of local building materials. “This will translate to affordability of housing for Nigerians and will also create employment opportunities for our teeming youths currently unemployed,” Shehuri said.

The Minister of State also reiterated the commitment of the present administration towards supporting the ideals of the national housing programme and FMBN for its effort in stepping up to the challenge of housing deficit by participating in the supply, as well as the demand side of housing finance.

The Acting Managing Director and Chief Executive of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, FMBN, Mr. Richard Esin, who commissioned the Estate, revealed that the government has approved that National Housing Fund (NHF) loans of N5 million and below will attract 10 per cent funding, noting that  loan applicants will not be required to make down payment of 10 per cent of the house price.

In addition, he said the cost of mortgage perfection which usually adds another 10 per cent to the upfront costs will be capitalized and repaid gradually over five years, meaning that the effect of these concessions reduces upfront home ownership costs by at least 20 per cent.

Source: Vanguard

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NMRC partners Kaduna on mortgage penetration, home ownership

“In the quest to deepen mortgage penetration and promote home ownership in Nigeria, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company Plc (NMRC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kaduna State government.”

The MoU covers various collaborations between NMRC and the state government in the latter’s determined and structured efforts to facilitate affordable home ownership for its citizens.

Among other terms of reference, the agreement encompasses the government’s planned Millennium City Project aimed at providing affordable housing for citizens, as well as a commitment to support the provision of single digit mortgages through the creation of a sinking fund for citizens and public servants in Kaduna State.

The agreement was signed at Government House by Kaduna State Deputy Governor, Bala Bantex, an architect and NMRC’s Managing Director/Chief Executive, Prof. Charles Inyangete. In his remarks Bantex noted that the partnership, apart from enabling affordable housing provision, also presents a tremendous opportunity for the state government to meet critical and strategic initiatives in job creation and poverty alleviation of its citizens: “Home ownership is one of the critical paths to migrating citizens out of poverty”, he said, while re-stating government’s commitment to lifting its citizens out of the poverty trap through intervention in three key sectors such as agriculture, mining and housing.

The deputy governor said the state government is delighted at the opportunity to partner with NMRC to speed up the adoption and passage of the draft Kaduna Mortgages Foreclosure Bill based on NMRC’s Model Mortgage and Foreclosure Law. He commended the efforts of the counsellor to the governor, Mr. Jimi Lawal and the NMRC team in bringing the consultations and engagement to fruition through the signing of the MoU.

In his response, Inyangete commended the state government and key stakeholders that made the partnership a reality. He restated NMRC’s commitment in supporting the people and government of the State in working together to break down the encumbrances to mortgage and home ownership in the state.

He invited the state government to key into its recently launched Mortgage Market System which integrates the financing operations of the key components of the entire housing value chain, from construction finance, to primary mortgage origination and administration to secondary market mortgage refinancing.

A Steering Committee comprising representatives of NMRC and Kaduna State government was inaugurated to administer the execution of the terms of agreement. Members of the committee include Senior Adviser to the Governor, Jimi Lawal; Commissioner of Finance, Suleiman Kwari; Commissioner for Housing, Works and Transport, Hassan Mahmud and; Legal Adviser to the Governor, Aisha Dikko, representing the Kaduna State government. NMRC’s representatives on the Committee are Dr. Chii Akporji, Executive Director for Policy Strategy and Partnerships; Kehinde Ogundimu, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer and; Abel Owotemu, Manager, Corporate Strategy.

Key amongst the Committee’s immediate mandates will be the realisation of affordable mortgage provision and housing construction in Kaduna State, inclusive of a proposed collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, NMRC member banks for the setup of a mortgage interest rate intervention fund, amongst other initiatives.

Source: Vanguard

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Presidency: Don’t Expect Buhari to Resume in a Dramatic Way

In a bid to downplay expectations, the presidency has said Nigerians should not expect President Muhammadu Buhari to resume work in a “dramatic way”, after spending 50 days in London, the British capital, for undisclosed health-related reasons.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media, Mr. Garba Shehu, stated this during an interview on Sunday in Abuja on THISDAY’s sister broadcast company, Arise News Network.

He explained that what the president needs is a careful and slow resumption of duty.
Buhari’s return on Friday and his subsequent directive that the acting president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, should continue in an acting capacity while he rested over the weekend led to further speculations and uncertainty among Nigerians over Buhari’s health.
Garba, however, dispelled the speculations, stating that the responsibility lies with the president once he notifies the National Assembly of his return.
“Let me first of all caution that he (Buhari) is not going to start in a dramatic way. He has been away from the country for nearly two months, so he needs to get into the temperature of the place.

On when Buhari would return to London for further medical treatment, Garba said though the actual date remained uncertain, the decision would solely “be determined by him (Buhari) and his own doctors”.“For instance, yesterday (Saturday), he went through the newspapers page by page, and he read everything that interested him.
“So he needs to get back to that place. The thing is that he’s basically human like all of us. He is coming out of an ailment and like he himself had said, he needs to start gradually.
“Don’t expect the president to be given neck-breaking schedules or punishing schedules like from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., or sometimes to 1a.m. to 2 a.m.,” Garba submitted.
Asked whether Buhari would be fully in charge once he resumes, the presidential aide said: “The responsibility is his; that is the position of the constitution.
“The moment the letter goes to the National Assembly and he says I am back, he is back.
“This is not a president, by his style of leadership, whose hands dictate every detail. People make the observation that perhaps ministers under this government are the most powerful ministers we have had in this Republic.
“He doesn’t call each month to say that a contract should go to Mr. A, B or C, or that road should be channeled through this or that.”
Garba further elaborated on the role of the vice-president, adding that “even before the president’s departure, the vice-president had a full plate”.
“He has again, on record, been one of the busiest vice-presidents in our country; the president has delegated so much to him,” Shehu explained.

“But he has given notice that he will need to go back and that is normal,” he added.
On the atmosphere in the Presidential Villa since Buhari’s return, Shehu told Arise News that everyone felt a sense of relief after his return, saying he was “looking good”.
“For us here, it’s a vindication of the position that he had not died like some people had said. Our colleagues who were with him there – the pressure on them – everybody wanted to see the president, rulers, traditional rulers, chiefs, ministers, governors, everyone wanted to go to London and see the president and the denial of that access, which was on the advice of doctors, placed them under considerable pressure.”
Speaking on the propaganda and half-truths on the president’s illness, Garba said: “You don’t say what you don’t know, that is one.

“Two, matters of medical disclosure are extremely private. In the course of the process, Femi Adesina got a long note from the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, describing what disclosure would mean in medical science.”
He added that it was up to the patient to disclose what his ailment is, as even the doctor cannot disclose it to anyone.
“Let me confirm to you that the president had no knowledge of the ailment even before he left. He just went for a medical check up,” Shehu stated.

Source:THISDAY

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Why FG must focus attention on real estate, by valuers

National publicity secretary, Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Charles Ebia (left); President, Bolarinde Patunola-Ajayi, Deputy President, Emma Wike; and one of the newly inductees, Utchay Okoroji , during NIESV fellows induction in Lagos

Optimistic of the potentials of the Nigerian real estate to engender greater economic growth, the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) has appealed to the government to shift attention to the development of the sector as well as increase infrastructural development in the country.

The NIESV President, Dr. Bolarinde Patunola-Ajayi observed that the nation has not succeeded in unlocking the wealth in the sector, which is the only robust solution to grow the economy.

Speaking in Lagos on how the economy can be diversified and the imperative of the real estate sector to the country’s growth, he said: “Real estate business is about management of all land resources which give the support for all activities of man. Every business is done on land, human life and basic needs are dependent on land; hence Nigeria must pay attention to real estate, except we are not prepared to come out of our economic woes.

According to him, in most developed and developing countries like Singapore, Dubai among others, real estate investment is the pedestal for their economic development and growth

“There is effective demand in the real estate sector; developers only need to seek the consultancy services of estate surveyors and valuers to know which type of real estate should be developed in a particular place. I wonder why the government thinks the economy can only be diversified through agriculture and film and fashion industry rather than the real estate sector.”

He explained that even the focus on agriculture is not well handled to ensure a stable development because government has refused to do sufficient work on the survey of every parcel of land in Nigeria pointing out that surveying every parcel of land will ensure that every owner including every farmer has registered title to their land.

Accordingly, he stated that such effort would make it possible and easier for the public to have access to loan facilities for all types of developments such as residential, agricultural, commercial or industrial.

“Government must make law on land administration and enforce it. It is also important to mention that infrastructural development goes along with real estate development; roads, rails, water-ways, and even airways, are avenues through which products, services and people move easily to make the economy vibrant.”

Patunola-Ajayi lamented that many have gone into real estate investment without professional advice and have burnt their fingers warning that people must seek professionals’ advice before venturing into the sector.

He said real estate investment resonates as an edge against inflation with its value increasing with time and appealed to government to put more attention into the sector especially housing projects noting that one important fact that must be accepted is that government housing programmes must have a touch of socialism to touch the lives of people.

For him, real estate is an all embracing sector as a single contract in construction involves and touch many lives such as; consultants, contractors, suppliers of building materials, vendors, laborers and artisans coupled with a resultant effect that houses are available for living, offices are available for business including transportation to move goods and services from one place to another.

The NIESV boss advanced the need for government to provide land, infrastructure, building plans and approval at subsidized price to encourage developers, and investors.

“Government has the capacity to generate revenue from subsequent transaction if the entire land of the country is assembled into a central information system known as Land Census. Federal Government can earn a lot of revenue from the effective management of land information while states as presently obtained will continue to generate revenue from the subsequent transaction, with local government’s generating revenue from rating assessment and administration.”

He argued that when development is balanced, there would be reduction in the rural-urban migration while our cities will be rid of congestion, over population, crime and slums. Subsequently, cost of living can be reduced, because demand will not be in excess of supply all the time, and more people will stay in the rural areas to produce goods for sale in the urban centers.

source:guardian.ng/property

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FG Commissions 100-Unit Housing Estate In Imo

The Federal Government has successfully completed a 100-unit housing estate in Imo State under the Ministerial Pilot Housing Project of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhLnVQ9EUOw

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DELTA STATE GOVERNMENT in partnership with REHOMES PROPERTY DEV.CO is constructing STATE OF THE ART MECHANIC WORKSHOPS, AUTO SPARE PARTS MARKET first of it's kind in Delta state 

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