Housing project

By Perpetua Onuegbu

The Federal Housing Authority and Family Homes Funds have come together in a partnership to deliver 1,000 affordable housing units to low income Nigerians.

This was disclosed on Monday during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the two organisations in Abuja.

Sen. Gbenga Ashafa, the Managing Director, FHA, while signing on behalf of his organisation, said the memorandum is towards the construction and delivery of 1,000 housing units at Bwari, Abuja, which will commence in Nov. 2020.

Ashafa said FHA remains committed to deploying robust partnership and collaboration with other focused public and private institutions to drive change and growth in the sector.

For us at FHA, the overall objective of the partnership is to commence the first phase of delivery of 300,000 housing units, which President Muhammadu Buhari promised Nigerians.

The FHA is proud to be the first public agency to key into this social housing vision of Mr President to deliver the first 1,000 housing units of the mass housing project, he said.

Ashafa added that the partnership will also generate thousands of jobs for professionals, labourers, artisans, suppliers, food vendors, transporters and several others in the value chain.

On his part, Mr Femi Adewole, Managing Director, Family Homes Funds said the partnership came about because FHA has more land than any other institution for housing in the country.

Adewole said Family Homes Funds has a target of 300,000 homes for Nigerians with low income, for which the Central Bank of Nigeria, through the Ministry of Finance, has made available an initial capital of N200 billion towards the execution.

I want to say that those homes are such that people can buy for N2 million for the 1 bedroom, about N2.5 to 2.75 million for the 2 bedroom and N3.5 to N3.25 million for the 3- bedroom, he said.

Speaking on what the fund is doing to ensure that the process is not hijacked by unscrupulous people, Adewole said his organisation decided to deal with the issue by executing the programme on the back of partnerships with an outfit like FHA.

We also deal with cooperatives. So, rather than individuals, people are being encouraged to form or join housing cooperatives where they know themselves.

Since they are through cooperatives, it makes it very difficult for somebody who is not a member of the cooperative to come and basically usurp the system.

Hence, we have built control measures in place, to ensure that we have cooperatives of commercial tricycle operators, cooperatives of mechanics, cooperatives of butchers and of market women, who know themselves, organise themselves.

It is through these cooperatives that the houses will be distributed, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Nigerian journalists

By Rabiu Sani

The Vision Centre for Communication and Development Advocacy (VCCDA), has embarked on awareness creation to mobilise support for the revival of improved welfare package and insurance scheme for journalists in the country.

The Acting Chairman of the centre, Mr Gbenga Onayiga, said this at a one-day workshop in Kano on Monday.

Onayiga said the revival of the insurance scheme and improved welfare were part of viable programmes outlined by the centre to address challenges and build a vibrant media for an informed society.

He said that the centre accorded priority to capacity building to enable journalists meet the technological advancement to effectively discharge their constitutional mandate.

The centre also focused on encouraging communication research and adherence to ethical standards to promote professionalism in the media industry.

We will not ignore the suffering of our colleagues and the family members of deceased journalists, hence the need for improved welfare and insurance scheme.

The workshop is to develop a two-year working plan to fast track implementation of our programmes, he said.

According to him, the centre will conduct sensitisation activities in other parts of the country to fast track adoption of sound policies and programmes aimed at transforming media operations in the country.

Onayiga said that the centre would utilise Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to achieve its objectives.

Malam Muhammad Garba, the Kano State Commissioner for Information, said the state government had provided an enabling environment for journalists and media organisations to operate without hindrance.

Garba, who inaugurated the workshop, said the state government had maintained harmonious working relationship with the media to fast track good governance.

The commissioner, who was also a former President,Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), decried the lack of salaries and poor working conditions of journalists.

He said that the trend must change to achieve sustainable development in the sector.

He advocated the reconstitution of the NUJs Ethics Committee to check quackery and promote professionalism.

While lauding the initiative, Garba urged the centre to engage veteran journalists holding political posts and other privileged positions to enable it achieve its objectives.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was attended by the NUJ National Secretary, Shuaibu Leman; General Manager, Vision FM Kano, Adamu Ladan; General Manager, Bronze Federal FM, Benin, Bimbo Oyetunde; and the Legal Officer of the centre, Sadiya Aliyu, among others. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Real Estate

By Rukayat Moisemhe

A real estate outfit, G-Text Homes, has unveiled plans to build 25,000 green and smart homes over the next 15 years to bridge Nigerias housing deficit.

Dr Steven Akintayo, the companys Managing Director, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos that the 25,000 eco-friendly homes would be built in 200 estates across the country.

When we decided to go into building houses, we said we cannot go the way others have gone.

We have a vision of having 200 estates between now and 2035 and building 25,000 green and smart homes.

The world is going green while everybody is talking about climate change and we want to make a statement in Nigeria.

We are not just talking about building green homes, we have started smart homes, Akintayo said.

He added that the green and smart homes would be highly energy efficient, eco-friendly, and a futuristic ideal home.

It is an energy efficient home, eco-friendly, a home for the future and I do not see any better opportunity in terms of investment than this.

We are currently the first 100 per cent virtual property purchase company in Nigeria as you can buy property from us online, without third party and your documents will be sent to you wherever you are in the world,he said.

Akintayo urged real estate practitioners to imbibe the ethics of transparency, adequate information and relationship building to earn consumers trust to demystify all mysteries in real estate.

One of the challenges of our industry is trust, like an average person you tell about property youre selling today can not trust you.

If you are going to go far, you need your foundation to be strong; so we spent the last five years educating people on what property is, what document is, and what the things you need to do are.

We have spent the last five years in creating transparency, relationship and we also do something every month with the media involved and we are engaging people.

More than 90 per cent of our customers have never seen any of our estates before; thats the level of trust.

A lot of our customers trust us because we are open and transparent, he said.

Akintayo said that the company was committed to addressing the effect of climate change on environment.

According to him, the company had in 2019 kicked off a N10billion low cost housing project to assist low income earners owning their dream homes.

He added that GText homes was partnering with a New York based company on waste recycling for electricity generation to be used in the estates. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

COVID-19

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the African continent has reached 1,636,748 as of Sunday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, a specialised healthcare agency of African Union Commission, said in a statement that the number of deaths due to illnesses related to the pandemic reached 39,559 as of Sunday afternoon.

According to the Africa CDC, the number of people that have recovered from the infectious virus across the continent has reached 1,347,199.

The most COVID-19 affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases include South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Nigeria.

The Southern Africa region is the most affected region both in terms of the number of confirmed positive cases as well as the number of deaths.

According to the Africa CDC, the Northern Africa region is the second most affected African region.

Source: NAN News

National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)

By Emmanuel Afonne

The management of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has again urged Nigerians to discard information in some quarters that the institution is recruiting people as members of its staff.

A statement issued by Mr Ibrahim Sheme, Director, Media and Publicity, NOUN, describing reports that NOUN was recruiting as fake news

The story, mischievously captioned National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) Recruitment 2020 and How to Apply, is being pushed out to the public principally by two notorious online platforms, Opera News (operanewsapp.com) and Financial Watch (financialwatchngr.com).

The University hereby informs the general public that this story is fake and therefore should be dismissed for what it is.

The public should beware of the kind of stuff those purveyors of falsehood dish out to gullible readers with the apparent reason of attracting hits to their websites.

The public should also understand that after fully complying with the Federal Governments directive to join the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, NOUN cannot employ anyone without government approval, Sheme stated.

This is the second time within four months that NOUN management would be dismissing reports on staff recruitment.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that NOUN had in on June 20 distanced itself from a similar publication on recruitment sponsored by an obscure website .com with a phone number of 0805 860 6531.

The NOUN management had then threatened legal action against the owner of the website to protect the name and integrity of the university.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

Personnel of disbanded FSARS

By Cecilia Ijuo

The Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA) has urged the federal government to prosecute the bad eggs in the disbanded Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS).

Mr Lawrence Wilbert, President General of USOSA, an umbrella body of alumni associations of all 104 federal unity schools across the country, made the commendation in a statement in Abuja.

He urged government to take immediate and concrete steps to demonstrate its long-term commitment to addressing the issue of police brutality in Nigeria.

According to him, disbanding SARS is only a step in restoring public trust in the nations security architecture.

We encourage the government to be transparent, accountable and sincere with these reforms and fast track delivery of the request of the protesters.

We urge government to commence prosecution of all police officers indicted for violence against Nigerian citizens and protesters.

Government should also take steps to re-engineer the working and living conditions of the Nigerian Police Force to ensure greater motivation and professionalism, towards building a more secure Nigeria.

Also, immediate steps should be taken to ensure a review of the Nigerian Constitution in order to address the issues of true federalism, resource control and electoral reforms.

Immediate action should also be taken to ensure constitutional changes that will engender a unicameral legislature and a cut down the number and remuneration of government officials and agencies.

Government should also strengthen National Orientation Agency (NOA) to deploy programmes for better citizenship participation and nation building.

Wilbert noted that USOSA was in solidarity with all Nigerians across the country who had made their voices heard since the protest started.

He condemned the use of force to silence peaceful protest, saying, the bedrock of any modern and progressive democracy are institutions that protect the rights of individuals to life and liberty.

One of the most important of these institutions is the Police, and it is obvious that a huge section of the public has lost trust in the police to protect these rights.

On school resumption, the president general called for sustained measures across board to ensure the safety of students, saying the COVID-19 pandemic was still prevalent.

He urged government and relevant stakeholders to continue to work to ensure reorientation of the citizens psyche through sincere, consistent investment in the educational sector.

He commended President Muhammadu Buhari on the recently passed National Teachers Policy, stressing that it was long overdue.

He urged the federal Ministry to Education to immediately absorb all part-time teachers currently on the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) payroll.

We believe that the safety of children in schools is top priority for governments at all levels. This is a solemn duty of care, which we cannot afford to get wrong.

As the largest coalition of Alumni Associations in Africa, we are happy to work with the Federal Government to leverage our network across the country.

This is to ensure that the country delivers on this duty of care and safety for children currently in our schools.

USOSA will continue to support the federal government and the Nigerian people as we all collaborate towards attainment of the Nigeria of our dream. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Police in France

Following the brutal murder at the end of last week of a teacher in France, numerous police operations against Islamists was ongoing on Monday.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that they were targeting dozens of people with links to radical Islam.

The police operations would continue for the coming days, he added.

In the French Defence Council, chaired by President Emmanuel Macron, it was decided on Sunday evening to take stronger action against radicalisation and also to focus more on hate speech on the internet.

The minister said that around 80 complaints against the spread of hatred on the internet had been filed since the teachers murder relating to news that glorified the beheading of the teacher.

The main suspect, who is 18 years old, had boasted about the killing on the internet and wrote that the educator had disparaged the prophet Mohammed.

Darmanin also announced that the operations would be focusing on a number of associations this week.

Darmanin said that a father of a pupil at the school who had mobilised a campaign against the teacher on the internet had, together with others, issued a fatwa against the teacher. There is no other word, Darmanin said.

In Islam, a fatwa is ruling by a recognised authority to clarify a point of religious law, but the term took on negative connotations when Irans Ayatollah Khomeini issued a death warrant on the British writer Salman Rushdie for blasphemy in 1989.

The teacher was murdered on Friday morning in a suburb of Paris. The perpetrator, who had Russian-Chechen roots, was shot dead by police.

History teacher Samuel Paty, 47, had shown controversial caricatures of Mohammed in a class on the subject of freedom of expression. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

Scene of Vietnam landslide

Authorities on Monday announced that rescuers in Vietnam found the bodies of 22 soldiers buried by landslides.

The landslides began in the central Vietnamese province of Quang Tri at around 1.00 a.m. on Sunday (1800GMT Saturday).

Vietnams Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said the trapped 22 soldiers are stationed in the area under mud and stone.

The soldiers had been evaluating landslide risks in the area.

Central parts of the country have been overwhelmed by heavy rains for two weeks as three storms battered the central coast.

According to a report from the steering committee, at least 90 people have lost their lives due to the storms while 34 more are still missing across the countrys central provinces.

The report said Torrential downpours have also flooded nearly 200,000 houses, 300 schools and 176kilometres of roads in the region.

Earlier, 13 rescue workers were buried in a landslide while trying to access 30 people stuck after another landslide at a hydropower plant. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

PRP

By Hassana Yakubu

The Peoples Redemption party (PRP) Board of Trustees (BOT) has endorsed the programmes of action approved and rolled out by both the National Executive Committee (NEC) and National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

The PRP programme of action covers the period August 2020 untill August 2021, which will culminate with the holding of the Partys National Convention.

The endorsement is contained in a communique issued by the board on Sunday and signed by six of its members including Prof. Ango Abdullahi, Mr Chris Anyedizeolu and Dr Segun Falope.

It said the meeting resolved to convey the PRP BOTs absolute confidence in, and satisfaction with, the leadership of the Partys NEC under the Chairmanship of Alhaji Falalu Bello.

It hailed NECs strenuous and focused efforts at repositioning the PRP for greater relevance and impact in the Nigerian political space.

The communique condemned attempts by a few misguided and errant elements within the Party to create dissent, misunderstandings and factions within the PRP.

It noted in particular that this is contrary to the letters and spirit of the Party extant constitutional provisions.

According to the statement the Code of Conduct for members explicitly frowns at all anti-Party activities and conducts likely to embarrass the Party or bring the Party into hatred, contempt, ridicule or disrepute.

It approved the request of Alhaji Balarabe Musa, the current BOT Chairman, to be replaced by the party.

Musa had formally requested the Partys NWC to initiate processes for his substitution with someone else as a replacement in an acting capacity pending the appointment of another substantive BOT Chair.

The communique paid tribute to his unparalleled contributions to the survival and growth of the PRP, and noted the heavy burden which the office of BOT Chair carried and the toll it was having on its leader.

It recalled that Alhaji Musa had during the partys National Delegates Conference on Sept. 1, 2018 delivered his valedictory speech in which he asserted that he was leaving the stage.

Musa had refered to the scheduled forthcoming National Convention of the Party and his failing health as reasons for him to be replaced. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

#ENDSARS protesters

By Ismaila Chafe

President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday met behind closed door with the leadership of the National Assembly at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Senate President Ahmad Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila represented the leadership of NASS at the meeting which was presided over the president.

Speaking to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, the Senate President said the meeting specifically deliberated on how best to address the ongoing ENDSARS demonstrations being witnessed in some parts of the country.

According to him, the national assembly has a crucial role to play in ensuring that the demands of the protesters are properly addressed and implemented to restore sanity in the society.

Lawan lauded the president for the way and manner he had been handling the issues raised by the aggrieved youths in the country.

This is certainly a very trial moment and as a national assembly we believe that we have a very critical and crucial role to play in ensuring that the current situation of protest across the country is bought to an end.

I want to thank Mr President for exhibiting a very deep democratic credentials the protests have gone on for over ten days, across many States of the country and I think the protesters have expressed their legitimate right, the government has listened.

The essence of coming to meet Mr President is to review the situation and see the roles the two arms of government should play in ensuring that the five-point demands of the protesters are properly addressed.

Where legislative intervention will be required, we are ready to move in and deal with such expeditiously, to ensure that we dont waste any time, so that we address the concerns of our youths.

Where the executive role is expected we are sure that the executive will expedient action and we will be watching to ensure that such demands are properly met, he said.

Lawan, therefore, appealed to the aggrieved youths to suspend their protests as government had commenced implementation of their five-point demands, saying government needed sufficient and conducive environment to implement the demands.

He said the appeal had become imperative to avert possible break down of law and order in the country.

He said: It is also very critical at this point to mention this, since the protest had taken place and the demands had been accepted.

Time has come for the protest to stop because government needs to have sufficient time and conducive environment to implement the demands of the protesters, we also need to have our economy to continue to grow.

When we try to stop everybody from engaging in their local businesses, closing roads to markets and other economic place we disrupt the economy of the country and that is not the best way to go.

If the issues had not been accepted then there would have been genuine reasons to continue with the demonstrations and protests. But since the issues had been accepted we should give government time to implement the issue.

Therefore, Im taking this opportunity to appeal to our youths who are protesting that the protests have already yielded the desire results.

According to him, other Nigerians have the legitimate right to go on their lawful businesses without hindrance.

Also commenting on the outcome of the meeting, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Gbajabiamila, reiterated the readiness of the NASS to partner with other arms of government particularly the executive, in meeting the genuine demands Nigerians.

He, however, condemned the attack on Gov. Gboyega Oyetola during the ENDSARS protest in Osogbo on Saturday.(NAN)

Source: NAN News