Nigerian Government Launches 10,000 Mortgages For Affordable Housing Units

 

The Nigerian Government today launched the first 10,000 mortgages for the commencement of the Presidential Initiative on the delivery of affordable housing units to Nigerians.
The Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said in Abuja that the launch was part of the Federal Government’s efforts to fulfill its promise of providing affordable houses to Nigerians.
“During the launch of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinancing Company (NMRC) in January, Mr President made the pledge to provide affordable housing by the end of the second quarter of the year.
“This is so that Nigerians will be able to apply for mortgages in large numbers; we are here to implement his vision and dream.
“The launch today is the actualisation of this promise to move on the road to affordable housing finance for Nigerians,’’ she said.
According to her, the launch is the kick-off of the first initial 10,000 mortgages to be provided by lenders.
She said the NMRC would provide mortgage lending with access to more liquidity and long term funds.
The minister said the NMRC mission was to provide more liquidity for longer term funding for the housing sector.
She said the initiative would address the limitation faced by banks to deliver mortgage services.
According to her, the ability of banks to deliver mortgage services is limited by the fact that 80 per cent of all banks deposit are for 30 days only.
“This does not make for great strength or sustainability in providing resources for the housing sector.
“The NMRC provides greater access for financing of tenures from 15 to 20 years, instead of people buying houses and paying up in either, 12, 24 or 36 months, it is changed,’’ she said.
She said that prequalifying people for the mortgage was a critical step to home ownership.
The minister said that once a person was cleared by a lender, he or she would be emboldened to buy a house within the limit of the mortgage provided.
Okonjo-Iweala said that the scheme would target first time home buyer to buy houses between two and N20 million.
“We try to keep it low to address our first time buyers and above all our young people; essentially what we have done is to develop an online portal especially for this scheme.
She gave the address of the portal as www.housingfinance.gov.ng, and urged interested applicants to access the portal from Monday Aug 4.
Okonjo-Iweala said that upon completion of the form, the processing time for prequalification which used to be six to nine months had been reduced to three to six weeks.
“This will be subject to the level of risk analysis that will be undertaken by the mortgage lender,’’ she added
The minister said that developers would be prequalified for building standards.
“We will be willing to work with any developer with reliable housing stalk and we can also work with developer who are just about to start construction of estates,’’ she said
She said the scheme would equally accommodate beneficiaries with existing loans who might need micro loan to renovate their homes.
The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs Akon Eyakenyi, described the scheme as a mile stone in the housing sector.
Eyakenyi said the programme was part of Jonathan’s transformation agenda to evolve a plan for the timely delivery of affordable housing units to Nigerians.
She pledged the ministry’s commitment for the commencement of the project in August.
According to her, the ministry has received support from some states governments through the provision of land documents for the provision of the housing units.
The minister, however, appealed to states that were yet to make commitments to do so in the interest of their indigenes.
She appealed to private sector to seize the opportunity and invest in the initiative aimed at reducing the housing deficit in the country.
Also, the Managing Director, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Mr Gimba Ya’u Kumo, praised the efforts aimed at providing affordable housing units to Nigerians.
Kumo described the initiative as the beginning of a revolution in the housing sector in the country.
He said the FMBN had concluded arrangement to introduce a housing scheme for Nigerians in the Diaspora before the end of 2014.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Kogi, Niger, Anambra and Bauchi had keyed into the scheme. (NAN)

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Shocking: Robbery Suspects Say They Pray Before Every Operation

     The arrested robbery gang members.

Four members of a robbery gang who were arrested by the Lagos State Police Command have said they usually prayed to God before any operation.

One of the suspected robbers, Mutalubi Abdullahi, explained that the prayer was to ensure that only ‘sinners’ would be dealt with by the gang, while the ‘innocent’ would be spared.

Abdullahi, who was arrested along with Ismaila Moruf, Opeyemi Akinyemi and Sarah Emmanuel, were arrested by the operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the command, for robbing early morning pedestrians and motorists in the Mile 2 area of the state.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the gang, which operated on commercial motorcycles otherwise called okada, made use of three locally-made guns in their operations.

According to the police, the female member of the gang, Emmanuel, allegedly supplied two of the three guns. It was gathered that two of the guns had, however, been recovered by the police.

The police said the suspected robbers, who were arrested from their respective hideouts in Iyana Iyesi, Sango Ota, Ogun State, also operated in the Agege, Isolo and Oshodi areas.

It was gathered that the mode of operation of the gang was to attack unsuspecting motorists and pedestrians on the expressway early in the morning and during traffic hitches.

But 29-year-old Abdullahi from Igbeti, Oyo State, said he and other members of the gang were driven into robbery by poverty. He said they were careful to rob only those who deserved to be robbed.

He said, “That is why we usually prayed to God before embarking on any operation. The prayer was for God to protect us and to bring only sinners our way so that those who were innocent would be spared.

“I was formerly working as a panel beater in Oyingbo, Lagos State. I started robbing just last year. I have gone on robbery operations about 10 times.

“The gang has three guns. We only use the guns to frighten people. Mile 2 Expressway, Alapere and Oshodi are areas where we operated. The money I made from panel beating and okada riding was not sufficient. That was why I took to robbery.”

Thirty-year-old Akinyemi, who was also an okada rider before joining the gang, said he made about N25,000 from each robbery operation.

He said, “I was an okada rider, but when I had an accident with the okada, I stopped the business. I made about N25,000 each from about four operations I went with the gang. Our style was to attack people in traffic jams. My wife did not know I was a member of a robbery gang. It is true that we prayed before our operations, asking for protection as we went out.”

Moruf, 30, from Epe, Lagos, said he was lured into the gang after his job as a roadside mechanic did not bring sufficient income.

The only female in the gang, 31-year-old Emmanuel, who allegedly supplied them with guns, said her friend, Modinat, convinced her to buy the guns for the gang.

She added that apart from getting guns for the gang, she had not gone for any operation.

She said, “I was working as a hairdresser. It was one of my friends, Modinat, who called me and said the gang needed a gun. Modinat was a girlfriend to one of them. She then asked me to come with her and I did. We got the two guns for N25,000 at Idi Iroko from some mechanics. That was in February. I know I am guilty.”

Our correspondent learnt that the gang was arrested, after several complaints had reached the former commissioner of police, AIG Umar Manko, about robberies in the area.

It was gathered that Manko had then directed SARS Commander, SP Abba Kyari, to go after the robbers.

A police source at the command said investigations into the matter were ongoing.

(PUNCH)

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Sister of Late Doctor Tests Positive for Ebola

  Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu

The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has put the total number of confirmed cases of Ebola Virus Disease in Nigeria at 18. The 18th patient, according to the Federal Government, is the sister of the late Port Harcourt doctor who died of the EVD recently.

A statement issued on Wednesday night by his Special Assistant (Media and Communication), Mr. Dan Nwomeh, said the number of cases successfully managed and discharged was eight while the number of deaths from EVD was seven.

Chukwu also debunked rumours of EVD cases outside Lagos and Port Harcourt, adding that, “regarding the rumoured case in Zaria, the blood sample has been sent for Ebola testing.”

He said, “The total number of confirmed cases of Ebola Virus Disease in Nigeria is now 18. The 18th confirmed case is the sister of the late Port Harcourt doctor. The total number of cases successfully managed and discharged is now eight.

“The last case to be discharged, the first secondary contact to be diagnosed and a spouse of a primary contact of the index case, went home from the isolation ward in Lagos yesterday (Tuesday). The 9th survivor is the ECOWAS Commission official, who jumped surveillance in Lagos and travelled to Port Harcourt, where he infected the doctor who attended to him.

“The total number of deaths from Ebola Virus Disease in Nigeria is now seven. One, the index case occurred in a private hospital in Lagos four in the Lagos isolation ward; one in the Port Harcourt isolation ward (the female patient who was on admission in the same hospital where the late Port Harcourt doctor was also admitted), while another one was the doctor who was infected by the ECOWAS Commission official in Port Harcourt and who did not come under the care and management of the Incident Management Committee.

“The total number of EVD patients currently under treatment is two, one in the Lagos isolation ward and another one in the Port Harcourt isolation ward.

“The total number of contacts currently under surveillance in Lagos is 41, while Port Harcourt is 255. The total number of contacts discharged in Lagos after they were observed for 21 days is 320.”

The minister also debunked rumours of EVD cases outside Lagos and Port Harcourt.

These include the three reported cases in the Federal Capital Territory and one case in Calabar.

He also debunked the story that the body of the late Port Harcourt doctor was transported to Edo or Delta, saying the body had been decontaminated and would be interred in Port Harcourt.

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Federal High Court Freezes Dangote’s Accounts In 20 Banks

                                 Sani Dangote
 A Federal High Court in Lagos today ordered 20 Commercial banks in Nigeria to dishonour all cheques from Sani Dangote and his companies, Dansa Foods Limited and Bulk Pack Services Limited until September 11th. 

Sani Dangote is a younger brother  to Nigerian multimillionaire, Aliko Dangote.

According to reports, the high court judge, Justice Okon Abang, gave the order while presiding over a case brought against Dangote by Union Bank. Union Bank had dragged him and his companies to court over alleged refusal to pay up the N5.2bn loan granted his company since September, 2008. 

The bank, through its lawyer, Mr. Chukwudi Enebeli had instituted suits seeking an order of mareva injunction to restrain all the defendants’ banks in Nigeria-  Access, CITI, Diamond, Ecobank, Enterprise, Fidelity, Keystone, Mainstreet, Skye, Wema, Heritage, Sterling, Unity, Zenith Banks,  First Bank, First City Monument Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered Bank and United Bank for Africa - from allowing Mr Dangote and his companies to withdraw funds from their accounts pending the determination of the suits.

In the affidavits in support of its suits, Union Bank Plc urged the court to urgently grant the mareva order  because in a bid to evade payment of the loan, Dangote has been making frantic efforts to deplete the funds in the accounts of his companies, and that the bank’s investigations revealed that the defendants had started diverting the funds to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Canada and Switzerland.

An official of the bank, Olufunmilola Ayoola, while speaking about the suit said the failure of Mr Dangote's companies to pay up the loan had negatively affected the Nigerian economy, a development which the bank claimed necessitated the suits. She said this has made the bank handicapped in supporting small scale businesses because of the lack of Funds.

When the case was called up for hearing, the counsel to Dangote and his companies told the court that that they had filed objections challenging jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit. Officials of Diamond and Zenith banks who were present revealed that Mr Dangote was owing them as well.  Zenith Bank specifically said Dangote was indebted to the bank to the tune of seven million euros.

In view of the defendants’ objections contesting jurisdiction, the judge said the matter would be adjourned  till September 11, 2014 to be able to take all the applications.

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No Going Back On Divorcing Pastor Chris– Wife

 

Church members and other well-wishers hoping the matrimonial squabble between popular televangelist, Chris Oyakhilome and his wife, Anita, would be resolved in no time should forget it as Mrs. Oyakhilome has ruled out the possibility of ever reconciling with her estranged husband. 

Chris and Anita Oyakhilome

Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, through her lawyers, Mrs Oyakhilome said her relationship with Pastor Chris had terribly degenerated that there is no room for any reconciliation or out-of-court settlement.
This newspaper had contacted Mrs. Oyakhilome through her lawyers, Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors, after news broke that she had filed for divorce, to enquire whether any out-of-court settlement option was being explored.
In their response Tuesday, her attorneys said there was no chance the estranged couple would ever live as husband and wife again.
“It is with great sadness that our client, Pastor Anita Oyakhilome, has come to the conclusion that her marriage to Pastor Christian Oyakhilome has irretrievably broken down and regrettably there is no hope of any reconciliation,” said Stephen Goddard, Business Development Manager of Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors.
From early this year, there had been speculation that the marriage between Mr Oyakhilome, the founder of Believers Love World (aka Christ Embassy), and his wife, who is also Vice-president of the ministry, was collapsing.
Some church members even set up a Facebook page, “Where is Rev Anita Oyakhilome”, in May dedicated to addressing the issue.
The church initially denied reports that the couple were estranged and possibly divorcing.
But TheCable news website reported on August 29 that Mrs. Oyakhilome had filed for divorce since April 9, accusing Pastor Chris, as he is fondly called by his followers, of “adultery” and “unreasonable behavior”.
Pastor Chris has denied the allegations. He however warned church members against analyzing his problem with his wife adding that the church is not a political party.
He said his wife is a bitter and angry woman who is being influenced by bad friends who are out to seek his downfall.
The pastor added that most pastors’ wives usually think they are equal to their husbands after they get married.
He said his wife wanted to overpower the authorities of the elders she met when she joined the Christian ministry.
As the divorce battle rages, Mrs. Oyakhilome’s profile has been pulled down from the church’s website.

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Police officer dies while fighting wife

A police inspector, attached to a division in Apapa, Lagos, Inspector Danjuma Daniel, on Thursday afternoon died during a fight with his wife.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the scuffle between Daniel and his wife got so physical that the couple fell from the balcony of their apartment ─ a two-storey building. The couple, it was learnt, was staying at the Ijeh Police Barracks, Obalende, Lagos.

Our correspondent gathered that the police inspector and his wife, identified simply as Ada, who had lived in the barracks for about 10 years, sustained grave injuries from the fall.

It was further gathered that when they were rushed to a nearby hospital, Daniel was said to have been confirmed dead by the medical personnel, while the wife was admitted for treatment.

Our correspondent learnt that Ada, a trader in a nearby market, was discharged from the hospital on Saturday morning.

Speaking with PUNCH Metro, Daniel’s first son, Emmanuel, said he was informed about his father’s death on the telephone.

Daniel explained that he was staying with an uncle in the Mile 2 area of the state.

He said, “I don’t know what could have caused the fight. I was not at home. Dad and mum have lived in this barracks for about 10 years now.

“We were formerly staying in Nasarawa State where dad initially served. In Lagos, I don’t stay with them, but my two sisters do. Mum has returned from the hospital, and she is back home now, but she cannot talk to anyone for now.”

While the conversation was going on, some neighbours of the couple asked our correspondent to leave the premises, scolding the 17-year-old boy for talking to PUNCH Metro.

However, it was learnt from a resident that Daniel, an Eggon man from Nasarawa State, had had clashes with his wife before the incident. The source added that the fight on Thursday turned ugly and led to their falling off from the two-storey building.

The Lagos State Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Lelma Kolle, said he would get back to our correspondent on the matter, but he had yet to do so as of press time.

(PUNCH)

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Wife of Enugu Governor Apologizes To Husband, Enugu Women Over Her Actions

Beautiful: Mrs Clara Chime

Wife of Enugu State governor, Mrs. Clara Chime, who, last year, quit the Governor’s Lodge, where she lived with Governor Sul­livan Chime after she alleged she was forcefully confined in the government house, has apologized for her actions.
Chime, at the heat of his rift with his wife, had disclosed that she had health challenges and needed his protection. Meanwhile, Clara had replied by saying she was healthy but needed to move out of the Government House.
Mrs. Chime, who had left the state since then, suddenly wrote to Enugu women, apologising and begging them to forgive her for all she did during that period.
In the letter, she personally released to Daily Sun, Mrs. Chime also told Enugu women that Chime is still her husband and the same good man she told them about when she was around.

She, therefore, urged the women to support her husband in any political move he may have in mind.

She told Daily Sun that she was will­ingly making the apology to her husband and the entire Enugu women, having reviewed the actions that led to her leaving the state late last year. Her letter reads:

“At the deepest of my thought emanated this truth, which I believe is worth to share with the nation because of the ongoing po­litical movement in Enugu State in which my name is attached.
“At the point I wrote to Human Rights Commission and got linked to Falana & Falana Chambers to facilitate in grant­ing me right of freedom from the Enugu Governor’s Lodge, it was my personal decision because then, His Excellency Governor Sullivan Chime and a brother of mine were brain-washed by a psychiatrist who advised that I should be locked in and confided in an enclosure on the grounds that I was sick, which I’m yet to find out; and must see the end of it.
“The psychiatrist presented to the world that I was suffering from mental illness and till date, has refused to furnish H.E. Governor Sullivan with detailed report of his assumed illness assessment.
“My appearance on Channel TV was to debunk some awkward perceptions, and to be seen and heard by the public, which was triggered on the grounds that H.E. Governor Sullivan Chime permitted dehumanising plans that were targeted at me by his enemies.
“I hereby sincerely apologise and take back my words, leaving other things in the hands of God.
“My dearest Enugu women, like you all know, my teachings, right from the onset have been ‘making heaven a priority; and let the truth be told and accepted at all costs.’ Indeed, I plead with you all to for­give me if by chance I was misunderstood, especially going by the manner the media played out my exit. I still remain that your lovely daughter, teacher, wife and mother.
“I must confess that I miss you all, and please you all should acknowledge that my option of taking an exit then was divine, if you carefully listened to my last speech during my last outing in the state (Enugu) or I advise you renew your memory by getting a copy of my speech, then you will ascertain that it was my personal decision, which was divine from God to take an exit; only that enemies played up my exit like there were other motives they had.
“My dear Enugu women, as we all know, the Bible made us to understand that we must always pray for our leaders at all times!
Like I rightly said to you all three years ago, (during Governor Sullivan Chime second term election) that your votes are for H.E. Governor Sullivan Chime, a man who’s zeal and passion are to create good governance and instill virtues of good gov­ernance in his staff. I remember stressing that your votes weren’t meant for any of his staff rather to him, whom you all know his call for service was divine.
“I hereby state that you all shouldn’t mind the detractors who are using my name to gain cheap loyalty, popularity and distrust towards H.E. Governor Sullivan Chime. He still remains who I have always made you all to believe he was (a lovely God fearing good man!). Please, do not hesitate to ride on with him towards any direction he chooses to go.
“H.E. Governor Sullivan Chime still remains President Goodluck Jonathan’s loyal son and all thanks to Mr. President for believing in him till date. My sincere gratitude and loyalty go to the First Lady of Federal Republic of Nigeria, Her Excel­lency, Dame Patience Jonathan, for the new opportunity God used her to bestow upon me.
“The letter that was published by Sahara Reporters on November 5, 2013 didn’t emanate from me and can never emanate from me.
“Finally, please my family squabbles should be left between Gov Sullivan Ihe­anacho Chime and I, which we too have left in God’s hands. It must seize to be for public consumption. Thank you and God bless.”

(SUN)

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