Ezekiel Awojide, Abuja
Federal Capital Territory Administration says only two out of the 445 mass housing allocations met its terms and conditions.
Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Mr Lere Olayinka, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Friday.
Olayinka said that the Mass Housing Programme was initiated in 2000 as a public-private partnership approach to providing affordable housing for FCT residents.
He, however, said that from the inception of the programme till date, out of the 445 mass housing allocations granted, only two developers had successfully met the terms and conditions.
Olayinka stated that a new operational framework for titling of mass housing and sectional interests had been developed to make the exercise efficient, effective, and diligent.
This, according to him, is in line with the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike’s vision to restore confidence in the administration of lands in the FCT.
He said, “Currently, the holders and occupiers of properties within the various mass housing estates in the FCT do not pay bills, rents, fees, and charges to the government.
“This is despite having held and occupied properties for decades. To address the problem, the FCT minister had recognised the urgent need to issue titles to the beneficiaries of mass housing and sectional interests.
“All applications for titling are to be made by the subscribers and developers to the Department of Land Administration for processing.”
He said that the processing of titles for mass housing and sectional interests would commence on April 21, in line with the new operational framework.
He explained that the measure was part of the broad and comprehensive reforms on land administration in the FCT, as approved by the minister.
Olayinka said that the reforms, which would become operational from April 21, would cover specific areas like conditions of grant of statutory Right of Occupancy and contents of the statutory RofO bill.
Others, he said, would include contents of a Letter of Acceptance/Refusal of offer of the grant of RofO, titling of mass housing and sectional interests, as well as regularisation of area council land documents.
The crux of the sweeping reforms in the FCT land administration, according to him, is to ensure regularisation of land allocation in area councils and the title of mass housing properties in favour of buyers.
He added that land allottees were also expected to develop their allocated land within two years.
On his part, the Director of Land Administration, FCTA Chijioke Nwankwoeze, said that the development would be very beneficial to house owners in estates.
Nwankwoeze pointed out that people with mass housing documents cannot use the documents for any business transaction aside from just owning the houses.
“In the coming months, you will see housing owners in the various estates in FCT holding Certificates of Occupancy issued by FCTA,” he said.
160 Anambra communities face gully erosion threat – official
The Managing Director of Anambra State Erosion, Prof. Philip Phil-Eze, Watershed, and Climate Change Agency, says no fewer than 160 communities in the state were at risk of gully erosion menace.
Phil-Eze said this at a one-day sensitisation workshop on the use of “Local Knowledge to Combat Erosion” in Awka on Friday.
The workshop was organised by Environment Development Initiative for Africa, a non-governmental organization on environmental sustainability in collaboration with ANSEWCCA
Phil-Eze, who presented a paper titled “Expanding Interventions in the Control of Soil Erosion in Anambra State Through Local Action,” said the state was one of the most degraded and erosion-ravaged landscapes in Africa.
He said soil erosion was a result of several factors, including natural and man-made, and called for pragmatic local remedial measures and approaches towards preventing the menace by nipping it in the bud.
According to him, 160 communities out of the 179 communities in the state are facing erosion hazards.
“Natural causes of erosion menace include the intensity of rainfall, flood/runoff, lithology (loose soil type), topography, and scarce vegetation cover.
“Man-made causes include the culture of negligence, cutting down trees, indiscriminate waste disposal, lack of harvesting rainwater, sand mining, modern roofing styles, and interlock tiles, inadequate knowledge of the environment, lack of involvement of the local communities in erosion control.
“Others are poor termination of drainage channels, wrongly terminated or diverted channels by contractors during construction, land use patterns in buildings and developments without plans to accommodate erosion and unhealthy farming practice,” he said.
Phil-Eze warned residents to desist from unhealthy environmental practices which had the potential to exacerbate the menace.
Prof. Emma Ezenwaji, the Director of Research and Publication for EDIA, said the objective of the exercise was to encourage a positive behavioral attitude towards environmental sustainability.
He said the capacity building workshop was timely and critical because Anambra was a serious concern in terms of erosion, flooding, and other environmental hazards.
According to him, this event is engaging, interactive, and participatory to ensure the effective transfer of needed knowledge and skills.
The Commissioner for Environment, Dr Felix Odimegwu commended the organisers of the programme which he described as ‘a timely intervention’.
Odimegwu, who was represented by Mr Tochukwu Obodogha, the Permanent Secretary, said prevention was the best approach to erosion control.
According to him, the administration of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo prioritises environmental sustainability, and the ministry would continue to encourage environmental best practices in the state.
