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High Cost Of Land Titling Hinders Housing Delivery – Minister

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The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs Akon Eyakenyi, says inaccessibility to land and high cost of land titling have hindered  the ministry’s efforts to deliver houses to Nigerians.
Eyakenyi made the statement at the 2014 Ministerial Platform, which held in Abuja yesterday.
She said that the ministry was working in partnership with the Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reform and other stakeholders to address the plethora of issues in land administration and management.
According to her, the aim is to ensure that land owners have secured titles and bankable assets.
Eyakenyi said the committee had developed and produced a draft  on Land Use Act Regulations.
“Discussions are ongoing with state governors to reduce the cost of land title applications and turnaround time to approve land applications in order to bring down the prices of houses for the citizenry.
“A Ministerial Committee was also established to undertake the inventory and auditing of all federal lands and landed property.
“The objective is to update our database on the status of all federal lands in the country in order to free under-utilised lands for housing development and optimise the use of all landed property.
“In addition, efforts were intensified to update and upgrade the land data-base management /processing system in the country through the federal land information system,’’ she said.
The minister said this would help to identify lands that were not in use while making land allocation process easy.
She said that a total of 3,798 certificates of occupancy were granted nationwide from 2010 to 2014, while  1,756 number of consents were granted for the transfer of land titles.
She added that a total number of 3,787 of serviced plots were created through the ministry.
She said that the ministry had commenced the process of issuing certificates of occupancy in respect of the 635 core assets of the successor companies of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.
She said the core assets belonged to 11 electric power distribution companies in Abuja, Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ibadan ,Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna, Kano ,Port-Harcout and Yola.
Eyakenyi said that the ministry had developed a framework for conducting a National Housing Survey to establish whether Nigerians were adequately housed or not.
She said the survey would  help to establish the actual number of housing deficit in the country instead of relying on forecast while  addressing the concerns of the housing and urban development sector.
She said the government was working out ways to provide affordable housing for Nigerians and that a significant development was the adoption of alternative building technologies and construction methods in some projects.
Eyakenyi said the aim was to improve the speed of construction and  reduce the overall cost of construction.
She said that mortgage access for the informal sector under the ministry was flourishing as 935 registered cooperative societies with 18,397 members, whose contributions stood at N133, 70 million, had been registered.
She said that the 300 housing units financed under the scheme had been developed.
She said efforts were being made to harness other sources of funds in support of a sustainable mortgage finance system, using unclaimed dividends, pension funds; dormant accounts, among others. (NAN)

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NCDMB Recommits To  Youths’ Capacity Building

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The Executive Secretary,  Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola-Ogbe, has reeled out initiatives evolved by the Board in its contribution towards capacity building for youths across the country.
The NCDMB Scribe revealed this recently at the 2024 Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) Youth Forum held in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
Tagged “empowering the future: unlocking the opportunities in the Niger Delta oil and gas sector”, the event featured three thematic lecture series delivered by the founder and leader of the Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC), Mr. Zik Gbemre, the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Youths Development, Mr. Alfred Kemepado Nimizigha, and the Chief Executive Officer, PE Energy ltd., Mr Daere Akabo.
Ogbe, who was represented by the Manager, Capacity Building of the Board, Mr. Olugbenga Sheba, noted that the NCDMB has recently partnered the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) to commence the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (NC-HCD) in the oil and gas sector for the training of 331 young graduates.
“As you already know, the NCDMB was established by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010.
“Our mandate is to develop human capabilities and material capacities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, and to monitor and enforce compliance with the provisions of the act”, the NCDMB Scribe said.
“The theme for this year’s youth event is ‘Empowering the future: Unlocking the opportunities in the Niger Delta Oil and Gas Sector’. This theme speaks to our determination and ongoing efforts to introduce youths from the Niger Delta to opportunities that abound in the oil and gas industry.
“Few weeks ago, we partnered the NLNG to kick start the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (NC-HCD) basic training programme for a total of 331 young graduates. The training covers ICT, Engineering, Welding and Fabrication, Non-destructive Testing (NDT), Lifting and working at Height, Quality Management Systems, Marine and offshore services and  Facility Management and Maintenance.
“We also organised training for youths with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), WalterSmith Petroleum, and other organizations. And as part of the NCDMB’s initiatives in the Niger Delta, we’ve developed two oil and gas parks at Emeyal one in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, and Odukpani in Cross River State”, he added.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa

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FGC, Warri Wins NCDMB, ICPC Maiden Anti-Corruption Schools Debate

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The Federal Government College, Warri, Delta State, has won the maiden ‘’Anti-Corruption” debate organised for select Secondary Schools across the six geopolitical zones of the nation by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), in partnership with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) at the Content Tower, headquarters of the Board, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The Tide reports that at the debate umpires said following the evaluation from the presentations by the two finalists, Federal Government College, Kazaure, Jigawa State, scored a total of 74.4 points as first runner-up while the Federal Government College, Delta State garnered 76.4 points to emerge winners.
Other schools that participated in the various stages of the debate leading to the finals were Federal Government College, Odi, Bayelsa State; Federal Government College, Okigwe, Imo State;  Federal Government College, Ijanikin, Lagos State; Federal Government College, Maiduguri, Borno State; and Federal Government College, Rubochi, Abuja.
The Tide further reports that the theme for the 2024 International Day of Anti-Corruption was, “Effective Whistleblower Protection Mechanism: A Critical Tool in the Fight Against Corruption”, while topic for the debate was, “Impact of integrity on the expansion of public trust and confidence in governance.
Earlier in his keynote address, the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, restated the Board’s stance against corruption, noting that fighting corruption is a must for the Board.
He reaffirmed his commitment to ideas and programmes geared towards putting an end to corruption within the system, and lauded the Federal Ministry of Education for approving the participation of students in the event.
While commending the ICPC for their support and continuous oversight over the activities of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACTU) of NCDMB, Ogbe also thanked the anti-graft unit of the Board for putting the event together, noting that they were doing well in their efforts at combating corruption.
“To be clear on what today is about, we’re marking and celebrating International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD), with focus on raising the consciousness of our youths on the ills of corruption and how it stunts the socio-economic development of any Nation.
“This is to send a strong message for extra vigilance by all of us in combating the menace of Corruption from all fronts”, the NCDMB boss said.

By: Ariwera  Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa

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Free Meter Distribution: FG Deducts N700bn From Federation Account 

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The Federal Government has earmarked  N700billion from the federation account to implement the distribution of free electricity meters under the Presidential Metering Initiative.
This was disclosdd by the Special Adviser to the Minister of Power on Strategic Communications and Media, Bolaji Tunji.
Tunji, who, in a chat with The Tide’s source noted that the PMI was on course with a target to deliver two million meters yearly, also revealed that the amount reserved for the project had reached N700 billion and procurement had started.
“The Presidential Metering Initiative is still on course. Two million meters every year, delivery of the first batch will start by the first quarter of next year. About N700billion provision has been made, and the money is ready”, he said.
He further revealed that the government would fulfil its promise to deliver 1.3million electricity meters out of the 3.2 million meters under the World Bank Distribution Sector Reform Programme initiative this month, saying that “The DISREP programme will commence this month”.
An analysis of the Federal Account Allocation Committee meeting minutes obtained by our correspondent between April and August showed that the government had saved N420billion from a monthly deduction of N100billion.
The amount deducted from the monthly federation revenue before allocation to the three tiers of government was aimed at bridging the metering gap in the country, which currently stands at 50 per cent.
Recall that N120 billion was deducted from April revenue as the first tranche for the PMI, bringing the amount deducted from the federation account for the initiative as of August to N420billion.
In May, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said the government would provide an initial N75billion as seed capital while the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority pledged to inject N250 billion annually for the initiative.
The Minister also disclosed that the initiative would leverage debt financing from diverse financial institutions to bolster the PMI’s resources.
The Managing Director of Abuja Distribution Electricity Distribution Company, Mr. Victor Ojelabi, recently said the PMI would unlock about N1trillion in revenue currently tied up in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry due to a large number of unmetered customers.
Under the initiative, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission announced the approval of N21billion for the 11 electricity Distribution Companies to provide meters for end-use customers at zero cost.
The Distribution Sector Recovery Programme is a comprehensive initiative aimed at addressing the challenges and inefficiencies within Nigeria’s electricity distribution sector.
Recently, the NERC acknowledged that the country’s metering gap remains substantial despite installing 3.03million meters since privatising the power sector in 2013.
It said 6.15 million out of 13.33 million registered customers had been metered, bringing the metering rate to 46.14 per cent in 2024.

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