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Housing Ministry Signs 2,000 C of Os In One Year

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The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development says it has signed more than 2,000 Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) between March 2014 and March 2015.
The Minister, Mrs Akon Eyakenyi, while inspecting some ongoing estates in Kagini, Kubwa in Abuja, said the gesture was to encourage Nigerians who own properties to lay claim to their property and use them properly.
“I want to use this opportunity to let Nigerians know that the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, since I came on board about a year now, we have signed a lot of  C of Os.
“This is to enable Nigerians who own houses have title to their property and with that, they can access facilities for other development.
“I came into office to inherit C of Os  prepared since 2004 to 2014 that I came on board, and so far in this short period, I have signed over 2,000 C of Os for Nigerians — both individuals and cooperate organisations.’’
Eyakenyi urged owners of property to visit the ministry and start the due process, which she said, was not as tedious and time consuming as before.
She said that for the new estates, the developer and the FCTA were packaging the title documents for every off-taker who would purchase any of the units.
She further said that the ministry was also working to ensure that all Nigerians had roofs over their heads, adding that the ministry had built many housing estates within a year.
According to her, 102 houses were inaugurated on Tuesday while more than 600 housing units were being developed by the Abuja Properties Development Company in Kubwa.
She said that the FCTA was also providing land free of charge while the Federal Mortgage Bank handles the finance aspect of it.
The minster expressed satisfaction with the quality of work being done at the site, adding that the developers were doing great work to meet up with the standard and timeframe for the project.
She said that the projects would be ready for inauguration in Sptember 2015.
She said that the one bedroom apartment would go for six million, the two-bedroom apartment at N14 million, the three-bedroom apartment N14.5 million while the duplex goes for N27 million.
Eyakenyi said that the prices were in tandem with the quality of materials and technology used in the construction.
In his remark, Mr Gimba Yau Kumo, the Managing Director, Federal Mortgage Bank, commended the ministry for the housing initiave .
Yau Kumo said that this brought about the construction of more than  63,000 houses across the nation.
He said that the Kagini Kubwa Housing Estate was achieved through government agencies working in partnership under the Public Public Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
He urged the three tiers of government to engage in more of such collaborations, adding:“If we can do the same with state and local governments, it will go a long way to reduce the 17 million housing deficit.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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