Nigeria: Fashola Orders Sealed Kalu's House Re-Opened

FORMER Governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, and Lagos State government, Tuesday, disagreed over the reason for the sealing of Kalu's property in Park View Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Meantime, Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola has ordered that the house be reopened.
While Kalu's aide linked the sealing of the house to the criticism of Fashola by Kalu over the deportation of 72 residents of Lagos, who are of South East origin, the Special Adviser to Governor Babatunde Fashola on Media, Hakeem Bello, said he believed the action has nothing to do with the alleged deportation of Igbos from Lagos.

According to him; "Fashola's administration has no time for trivial matters."
Emeka Obasi reacts
Reacting to the sealing of the Park View house of Kalu, his Special Adviser, Media, Emeka Obasi, said it was done as a revenge for the criticism of Kalu, who is the Coordinator of Njiko Igbo, a group fighting the cause of the South East.

Obasi said the property had been there for several years and that sealing it after just two weeks of his boss criticsing Fashola over the deportation issue was an indication that there was more to it.
Obasi said Kalu was not the only Igbo to have suffered such fate in Lagos State "after the wicked and ungodly act of deporting legitimate residents of Lagos State."

He added, "Why is it that it is now that the property is being sealed, barely two weeks after my boss disagreed with the action of Fashola? We maintain our stand and this will not distract us from fighting for the people.

"The action of the Lagos State Government remains unconstitutional because every citizen of Nigeria has a right to live in any part of the country. Fashola should remember that the Igbo community constitutes about 35 per cent of registered voters in Lagos State and they should be treated like they matter in the scheme of things."

Hakeem Bello comments
The Special Adviser to Governor Babatunde Fashola on Media, Hakeem Bello, when contacted, said he could not give any details on the development as he had not been briefed on the matter.
He, however, said that if the owner of the building had committed an infraction against any of the state laws, he or she should be ready to be sanctioned when the long arms of the law finally caught up with the him or her.

" I don't think it has anything to do with the alleged deportation of Igbos from Lagos. Fashola's administration has no time for trivial matters," he said.

Carlson Rezidor to open Park Inn by Radisson Abuja Kaura, Nigeria in 2015

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group will unveil the 150-room Park Inn by Radisson Abuja Kaura in Nigeria in the first quarter of 2015. The full service mid-market property will be located in the Kaura district of Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. The property will feature a restaurant and bar, a club lounge, a rooftop bar, a business lounge, 6,561 sq ft of meeting and conference facilities, a gym and wellness spa, and an outdoor swimming pool, a release stated.

Wolfgang M Neumann, President and CEO, Rezidor, said, “Nigeria is a focus country for our business development. The country’s economy is one of the fastest growing worldwide, and we see considerable growth potential for our core brands Park Inn by Radisson and Radisson Blu. With this signing we bring our portfolio to eight hotels in operation and under development in Nigeria."

Fitch Downgrades 13 Distressed Classes of JPMCC 2008-C2 on Dos Lagos Sale

Fitch Ratings has downgraded 13 and affirmed nine classes of J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust, series 2008-C2. A detailed list of rating actions follows at the end of this release.
KEY RATING DRIVERS
The downgrades reflect the expected losses after the sale of the largest asset in the pool, The Shops at Dos Lagos (12.4% of the pool).

The Shops at Dos Lagos, a $124 million real estate owned (REO) retail property, was sold July 23, 2013 for $30 million. Including advances, appraisal subordinate entitlement reductions (ASERs), fees and other unpaid amounts of approximately $41 million, the loan loss severity will be approximately 109% on the current loan balance.

Realized losses to the trust will reflect the full principal balance of $124 million. Losses are expected to be incurred as of the Aug. 12, 2013 distribution date. Classes C through Q, currently rated 'Csf' or 'Dsf' by Fitch, will be affected. These classes rated 'Csf' are downgraded to 'Dsf'.

The additional amount of $11.4 million will cause permanent shortfalls to the transaction. These amounts were part of the total $27 million ASER (advances not made due to an appraisal reduction). Therefore, the sales proceeds of $30 million will be used to pay fees, expenses, advances and $16 million of the total $27 million in ASER amounts. The remaining $11.4 million in ASER amounts will not be repaid, while the most senior bondholders with an interest shortfall will recover $16 million in interest. No additional interest is expected to be taken from the trust due to the disposition of the Dos Lagos asset.

The property is a 345,847 square foot (sf) lifestyle/entertainment retail center built in 2006/2007; therefore, the property was not fully stabilized, with no operating history. The loan transferred to special servicing in October 2008 for monetary default after the borrower indicated the property was significantly affected by the downturn in the economy. The special servicer foreclosed on the property and, along with a third party management team, worked to stabilize occupancy. The last reported occupancy was 72.5%.

The property represented phase one of a two-phase, 534 acre development that was significantly pressured by economic conditions in 2009. The development included a residential subsection, a golf course, hotel, office building, a senior housing development and a 135 acre wildlife preserve. The retail center was 95% occupied at issuance; however, occupancy steadily declined to a low of 68% in early 2012. The borrower cited slower-than-anticipated growth in the residential neighborhood for the decline in performance, as tenant sales, rental rates and ultimately occupancy declined.

RATING SENSITIVITIES
The super senior classes' Rating Outlooks are revised to Negative due to the erosion in credit enhancement and continued risk of both principal and interest losses as the pool becomes more concentrated. After the sale of The Shops at Dos Lagos, eight loans (18.4%), including three REOs (1.8%) remain in the pool. Downgrades are possible if expected losses increase or if these classes are affected by repeated interest shortfalls.

Fitch downgrades the following classes and revises Recovery Estimates as indicated:
--$116.5 million class AM to 'CCsf' from 'CCCsf'; RE 50% from 100%;
--$14.6 million class C to 'Dsf' from 'Csf'; RE 0%;
--$10.2 million class D to 'Dsf' from 'Csf'; RE 0%;
--$10.2 million class E to 'Dsf' from 'Csf'; RE 0%;
--$13.1 million class F to 'Dsf' from 'Csf'; RE 0%;
--$11.7 million class G to 'Dsf' from 'Csf'; RE 0%;
--$16 million class H to 'Dsf' from 'Csf'; RE 0%;
--$14.6 million class J to 'Dsf' from 'Csf'; RE 0%;
--$14.6 million class K to 'Dsf' from 'Csf'; RE 0%.
--$8.7 million class L to 'Dsf' from 'Csf'; RE 0%;
--$4.4 million class M to 'Dsf' from 'Csf'; RE 0%;
--$5.8 million class N to 'Dsf' from 'Csf'; RE 0%;
--$4.4 million class P to 'Dsf' from 'Csf'; RE 0%;

The following classes are affirmed and Rating Outlooks and Recovery Estimates revised as indicated:
--$71.2 million class A-3 at 'Asf'; Outlook Negative from Stable;
--$45.6 million class A-SB at 'Asf'; Outlook Negative from Stable;
--$354.6 million class A-4 at 'Asf'; Outlook Negative from Stable;
--$145 million class A-4FL at 'Asf'; Outlook Negative from Stable;
--$60.4 million class A-1A at 'Asf'; Outlook Negative from Stable;
--$61.2 million class AJ at 'Csf'; RE 0% from 40%;
--$14.6 million class B at 'Csf'; RE 0%;
--$2.9 million class Q at 'Dsf'; RE 0%;
--$1.7 million class T at 'Dsf'; RE 0%.

Classes A-1 and A-2 have paid in full. Class X was previously withdrawn.
Additional information on Fitch's criteria for analyzing U.S. CMBS transactions is available in the Dec. 18, 2012 report, 'U.S. Fixed-Rate Multiborrower CMBS Surveillance and Re-REMIC Criteria', which is available at 'www.fitchratings.com' under the following headers:

Structured Finance >> CMBS >> Criteria Reports
Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.
Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

--'Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria' (May 24, 2013);
--'U.S. Fixed-Rate Multiborrower CMBS Surveillance and Re-REMIC Criteria' (Dec. 18, 2012).
Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria
http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=708661
U.S. Fixed-Rate Multiborrower CMBS Surveillance and Re-REMIC Criteria
http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=696969

http://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=799070
ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.

Meltdown: Nigeria in context of global response to impact on real estate

As the global economic crisis persists, different countries of the world have devised measures for responding to its impact on real estate. CHUKA UROKO writes that top of these measures are cuts in interest rates on mortgage lending and housing loans.

Developed economies like United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirate and even South Africa– countries where property market had experienced a boom before the crisis-are at the forefront of nations have adopted friendly measures in the bid to stave off the effect of the global financial crisis on mortgages and housing loans.

Nigeria has not shown any serious commitment in this direction, though that is understandable given that the country is yet to develop a functional mortgage system.
UK banks now provide cheap funds for loan seekers. In October last year, the country had its lending rate at 4 percent. Right now, it is as low as 0.5 percent. When it was 4 percent, most banks were lending at 4.75 percent. What this means is that the cost of funds is cheap, making it attractive for people to borrow to buy or build homes.
An international real estate investor and consultant, Gbenga Olaniyan, who disclosed this in an interview with Business Day in Lagos, stated that UK banks were trying to normalize things to enable them give out these mortgages, adding, “it is expected that by the end of this year, the effect of this move must be felt; with the cheap loan, what it means is that more people will be able to afford to buy”.

This move has not only affected the new entrants in the real estate market. People who have mortgages, especially those who didn’t negotiate fixed interest rates while taking mortgages, will see their monthly payments drop, say from 800,000 pounds to 500,000 pounds.

This means that a man whose house would have been repossessed and had that same house put in the market at a reduced price can now afford to hold unto his property. The property will no longer go into the market and cause mayhem, thereby reducing foreclosures because people can now afford their mortgages and keep their homes.
Olaniyan says that for new buyers, the cost of buying will be done through mortgage, adding that people who would ordinarily have rented, would rather buy now.

According to him, “it is expected that the UK market is getting to the bottom and so, by the end of this year, that market will bounce back and the effect will be felt”.
South Africa has also cut its lending rate but unlike UK, interest rate in the country was not cut heavily. It was cut by just one percent from 12 percent to 11 percent. Whatever the case, at the end of the day, you find that it has made mortgages cheaper and more affordable.
In the US, where the housing situation had been worrisome with the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the number of empty houses is so staggeringly high that no one has an accurate count. The managing director of UACN Property, Abdul Bellow notes that the city estimates that 10,000 houses, or 1 in 13 are vacant, all owned by lenders who foreclosed on the properties and also by the wholesalers who are now sweeping in to pick up houses in bulk as if they were trading in baseball cards.
This situation might soon give way to something cheering as the Barrack Obama administration has taken some steps aimed to address the problem of the housing sector. Recently, Obama sent a $500 billion mortgage bill to the parliament and it is expected that when the bill is passed, it will turn the mortgage sector around and the economy as a whole will be the better for it.
The United Arab Emirate (UAE) government has also cut down interest rate on lending. Though the figures were not disclosed to this reporter, it was said to have been reduced to a level where people are encouraged to borrow to do business.
Abdul Rahman Kadiri of Ark-Gold Properties who disclosed this to Business Day noted however, that banks in the country have made modalities for lending very stringent.
According to him, “before now, what the banks required from you as a borrower was just a proof that you are working with your six months pay slip; a bank statement for six months and a declaration that all is well. If it is a business loan from a company, all they required from you was two, three years audited account; your business plan and any other thing they might consider necessary”.
He said that before you get the loan now, banks have to do a lot of scrutiny to be doubly sure that you are credit-worthy. “Before this time, one of the businesses that was booming in Dubai was the property market where you could just walk in and see a property of your choice and approach a bank and within two-three working days, you get your loan”, he said, adding that most banks have stopped giving loans for property transactions and even where you get an approval, you have to bring high equity contribution.
He recalled that banks once required a maximum of 10 percent contribution from you and they would provide the remaining 90-95 percent. “Now, banks demand as high as 30-40 percent equity contribution from you which has drastically reduced the turn around in property development and transactions”.
Nigeria is a peculiar case because less than one percent of those who want properties have any form of mortgage or loans. Unfortunately, those are the people who need houses. The likely thing is that the man who does not have a loan is able to hold onto his property.
When, therefore, you compare other countries that enjoyed the pre-meltdown boom with our own, you find that our own situation is very peculiar because we have never really had a mortgage system.
Olaniyan says that it is even now that we should endeavour to develop our mortgage system because it remains the only way we can really arrest the slump. Unfortunately, if any bank is lending, it is lending at an interest rate of close to 30 percent. Any property investor who is in his right senses should not touch this kind of interest rate.
He however, enthused that in spite of the seemingly adverse impact of the meltdown on the real estate sector, there are still opportunities for those who have cash to move into the market.
“This is the best time to buy real estate. For example, in the US, a house that was put up for $300,000 around September last year was sold only a couple of weeks ago for $100,000. The tenant who is occupying the house now is paying $20,000 per annum. You can see that in five years, he will recoup his investment”, he disclosed.
Coming back home, he said, a plot of land that was selling for N80 million as at September last year, recently, someone was offering another plot of land at the same place for N54 million, adding that some areas had gone that bad, “but mind you, the high end market has gone flat. Some parts of Lagos have not gone down that bad such as Ilupeju and other areas where supply is limited. If you want a plot of land in a place like Ilupeju, there might be just one for sale. If you want it in Lekki, you will get 20 plots, VGC-30; Oniru-15 and Ikoyi-10″.
Olaniyan said that at the end of the day, a lot of opportunities are out there because the market will bounce back, stressing that this is also the time to buy and not to sell because people who sell now are those who cannot afford to hold onto their properties.
Kadiri agrees that the meltdown presents a fine opportunity for those who have cash to move same to Dubai property market because as he put it, “this is one market that presents almost limitless investment opportunities courtesy of the impact of the meltdown”.

Before the economic crisis, Dubai property market was one of the most flourishing in the world, giving fabulous returns on investment within shortest time possible. All that has changed now and the market is currently witnessing a downturn in demand, prices and returns on investment.

Kadiri disclosed that house prices in the UAE city have dropped considerably to about 30-40 percent, adding that the market is currently witnessing considerable price correction which has also brought about a slowdown as experienced in other markets. According to him, there are some 3-bedroom apartments which about nine months ago went for $500,000-$600,000 each, but now sell for about $400,000 each while a one-room apartment which at the same period was sold for $400,000 now sells for $250,000.

“In each case, you can readily find a tenant who will be paying a rent of $30,000 per annum. You see that from the rental income, you make about 10-20 percent annual return on your investment”, he explained.
Because of difficulty in getting easy loans to invest in properties, speculators have been eased out of the market, he said adding that the market is maturing and genuine investors are the ones left in there.

Again, he said that rental income can give an investor reasonable return on his investment.
“There is what looks like a fad among Nigerians to send their children to school in UAE and this is an added reason why such parents should buy homes there. What stops such people from buying homes in Dubai so that their children can move from their homes to school even as it is cheaper that way”.

He noted that “a lot of people now retire to Dubai into their own homes and for some people, it is an economic pride and status symbol to have a house outside like in London, America, etc. People should also aspire to own their homes in Dubai which is today a new world”.

He advised that Nigerians should go there because as at today, Nigerians are not yet on the top list of property owners in the country. “For those who have the means, this is the right time to buy because prices are very low compared to what they were before. This is the right opportunity to buy”, he stressed.
Globally, the real estate sector, like other sectors of the economy, is passing through difficult times. What is intriguing however, is that while other countries are putting measures in place to save the sector from collapse, Nigeria appears to be an onlooker.

Source

Lagos slum dwellers protest planned cancellation of N3.2b World Bank loan

WORRIED by the risk of missing out of development, slum dwellers in Lagos Wednesday petitioned the Lagos State House of Assembly on the proposed cancellation of Lagos Metropolitan Development and Government Project funded by the World Bank.
   The project, worth N3.2 billion is designed to upgrade the low level of human, social and infrastructural base of communities like Amukoko, Ajegunle, Agege, Badia, Ijeshatedo, Iwaya, Ilaje-Bariga and Makoko among others.

    The slum dwellers, numbering about 100 stormed the Lagos Assembly to protest the plight of over 500,000 Lagosians living in slums and alleged plan by the World Bank office in Nigeria and state officials to suspend the project.

   Led by the Centre for Public Opinion Monitoring (CENPOM), a coalition of 20 civil society organisations, the protesters drew the attention of lawmakers to “impending cancellation by the World Bank and possible transfer of the funds to other elite initiated projects being promoted by a cash and carry commissioner of the state.”

    The petitioners, in a letter addressed to the House, added “at the centre of the plan to truncate the redevelopment of Lagos slums is the Nigerian Country Director of the World Bank who has not hidden her dislike for the continuation of the programme beyond September 2013.”

   They noted that while the Lagos State Government, the beneficiary of the loan and the Federal Ministry of Finance that executed the loan agreement of the project, had supported the continuation of the project through extension for another 18 months, “a move said to be supported by the Internal Task Team of the Bank, the Country Director has blocked the extension, preferring to transfer the remaining funds in the project to another one,” the statement reads in part.

  Zonal Coordinator for CENPOM South West, Segun Adebanji, on behalf of the petitioners, urged the Lagos Assembly to prevail on the Country Director of the World Bank to stop her intention to cancel the project funding for a minimum of 12 months and allow for the completion of all outstanding projects currently abandoned at different levels.

   They also appealed to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to intervene in the matter, adding that if the matter is not nipped in the bud, the suspension of the project will affect youths and women.
   According to Adebanji, about 17,000 pupils who are to benefit from the 450 new classrooms under the project would have their education in jeopardy; 60 per cent of the uncompleted road and infrastructure projects in these areas will be abandoned.

  Besides, over 50 per cent of the water projects which will provide drinkable water for the over two million people are at risk and over two million people who are involved (60 per cent women and children) would continue to live in poverty and squalor, since all the social upgrading projects will be abandoned.
    Receiving the petition letter, the Speaker, Lagos House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji pledged to intervene to ensure that the project, designed to upgrade the low level of human, social and infrastructural base of the communities, is not abandoned.

   Ikuforiji told the demonstrators that the House was concerned about the plight of slum dwellers and promised to engage the state governor and the World Bank to sustain the project

Stakeholders see future in real estate market, decry high cost of housing

Beyond the current 17 million housing deficit in the country, operators in the real estate sector of the nation’s economy have said there is hope for affordable housing in the nearest future.
They, however, expressed sadness over rising cost of housing, especially the government-built houses.
The view was expressed in Lagos on Thursday at ‘Real Estate Market Review and Projections 2013’ by Roland Igbinoba, president/CEO, Pison Housing Company; David Kpue, Ag. general manager, Federal Housing Authority (FHA); Femi Johnson, president, Mortgage Bankers Association of Nigeria (MBAN); Kayode Omotoso, executive secretary/CEO, MBAN; Tony

Monye, chief economist, Access Bank Plc; and Kojo Addo-Kufuor, COO, Ghana Home Loans, Ghana.
Giving an overview of the real estate market, Igbinoba said the sector faced a lot of challenges last year which ranged from infrastructure, funding, capacity building to high interest rate.

According to him, “Although funding is critical, there are a whole lot of other factors. If you bring in multi-million naira into the real estate market, it does not mean the problem of the sector will be over. But I think capacity building is a major challenge.”

He commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for ensuring the stability of the exchange rate, adding that political stability in the country has, to a large extent, impacted positively on the
real estate market.
Igbinoba noted that there are good opportunities in the sector despite the seeming tough times.

“The market is tough, no doubt, but developers must be able to take the risk to invest in any category of the real estate they wish to involve in. The outlook for the market is good for 2013. The Nigerian environment does not know how to support your business, but it knows how to handsomely reward you,” he said.

In his presentation, Tony Monye, who spoke on ‘Global Economy and Real Estate Market/Macroeconomic Analysis of Real Estate Investment in Nigeria’, compared the local market with what goes on in the United States, China and Europe.
According to Monye, those nations were yet to fully re

Source

Nigeria: Towards an End to Property Demolition

The demolition of a housing estate in Abuja last year has remained a sore point for estate developers in the territory. While the affected developers are still trying to recover from the loss, stakeholders in the sector are of the opinion that more investment could be lost if conscious efforts are not put in place to checkmate these activities. Even though some stakeholder consider the destruction of such building as unnecessary since the country is faced with an alarming housing deficit, others are of the view that the government needs to put in place the right policies so that housing will be available for everyone. Evelyn Okoruwa writes Billions of money invested in property has been lost of recent to the demolition of such properties, often termed illegal by the authorities.

According to stakeholders in the housing sector, the ripple negative effect demolition of property has on the economy cannot be over emphasised as it cripples economic activities.
One of such negative effects is the resultant unemployment as workers employed in these demolished sites have been out of work.

The build industry employs labourers such plumbers, carpenters, iron benders, brick layers, masons, painters and professionals like architects, surveyors, engineers and other relevant professions.
Apart from that the transport sector has been greatly affected since people hardly move building materials from one point to another, this has invariable affected both the building materials sellers and the transporters. While in the mining sector only few aggregates are being bought, in addition to that, the developers themselves have lost the money invested in developing such sites.

An independent developer who craved anonymity told LEADERSHIP that he lost over N20 million during the demolition exercise and is yet to receive any compensation from the government.
He disclosed that he took ill when his site was demolished and is still yet to recover from the shock due to the money he lost, emphasizing that the money was borrowed and he is still trying to service the loan he took to develop the site.
Speaking on the issue, the President Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Chief Olabode Afolayan, noted it is really difficult to quantify the loss as millions of money have been lost in the whole demolition exercise.He disclosed that the exercise ha not only affected the housing sector but all other sectors that depend on it to strive.

"For a couple of months, Dangote Cement had to close its factory in Benue State because of drought. You can begin to itemise it that way. So the loss is really much. It is unquantifiable. I can authoritatively say that it has affected the GDP of the country by the time things are being put together at the end of the year."

However, the government has promised to forestall any future demolition. REDAN's Executive Secretary, Mr. Goke Odunlami, disclosed that members affected in the Lugbe demolition has agreed to take the advice of the chairman, Senate committee on the FCT, Senator Smart Adeyemi, to go into negotiation with the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, instead of pursuing the court case.

He further disclosed that most of the affected members have agreed to opt out of court and negotiate with the minister, while reaffirming that the Lugbe crisis will soon be over. Rrecall that over 1,004 houses were demolished in Lugbe, Abuja, between August and October last year and it was estimated that property owners may have lost over N37 billion to the demolition of illegal structures.

While stakeholders continue to groan over their loss, they lament the unseriousness of the government to provide housing for Nigerians considering the huge housing deficit which is widely acclaimed to be between 16 to 18 million. While noting that the housing deficit is much more than the estimated number, they lamented that rather than encourage developers, the government is making it difficult for them to help ease the deficit.
As part of the Federal Government's transformation agenda, it had on many occasions promised to deliver affordable housing to Nigerians.

However developers have argued that the federal government is not ready to provide housing and have implored Nigerians to know that their future is in their own hands in terms of housing delivery.
They urged Nigerians not to rely solely on the government but contribute their own quota, stressing that the implication of the government's laid back attitude to the housing sector is that for there to be adequate housing in Nigeria, the sector must be 99.9 per cent private sector driven but however urged the government to bring the right policies into play in order to move the sector forward. Stressing the importance of the right policies, the National Secretary General, Nigeria Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Mr. Akinpelu Adewumi, noted that any government policy that is not implementable, measurable or sustainable will not give any result.

He disclosed that if government is serious about mass housing, it must be seen to be driving the policy. He opined that one way the government can drive it is to provide infrastructure, noting that if developers are allowed to provide infrastructure for buildings, such houses will not be affordable.
Adewumi urged the government to provide infrastructure first and then see how to incorporate local materials into the production and as such the cost would be brought down drastically.
By encouraging our local goods, he said more jobs would be created in the process while building cost would also be reduced.

Intellectual Property Marketplace Analysis

As the areas of trademarks and patent continue to expand, there is increasing demand from stakeholders for firmer intellectual property protection. Counterfeiting remains a problematic issue, and lawyers are relentlessly arguing for improved regulation of IP protection and enforcement. Such reforms would reassure international corporations of the opportunities for growth that exist in the region. Our research recognises 19 practitioners who are leaders in their field.

Jackson Etti & Edu provides a wide range of services in the area, and sees three of its lawyers listed in this chapter. Uwa Ohiku leads the intellectual property department and is a “renowned specialist” in the field. Her expertise covers trademarks in particular, and clients include prominent blue chip international organisations based in the US and the UK. Lookman Durosinmi-Etti, a senior partner at the firm, comes widely recommended for his “wealth of experience” in the sector and continues to act as a valued consultant to UN development projects on IP in the region. The “superb” Koye Edu has a multifaceted practice and provides “expert advice” on intellectual property protection.

Three practitioners from Abdulai Taiwo & Co are selected for inclusion. Ladi Taiwo is an “outstanding innovator” in the field and clients benefit from his “in-depth knowledge” of the discipline. Ayo Kusamotu is recognised by peers for his “unique expertise” in intellectual property and the internet, whilst Abdul-Rasheed Sadiq has a practice which offers “real value” to clients.

Allan & Ogunkeye is represented by two lawyers in this section. Obatosin Ogunkeye receives widespread acclaim from peers in the field, and his abilities as a litigator in trademarks, industrial designs and patent matters are “hugely respected”. Marlies Allan is recommended as a “first-rate” IP practitioner and is currently the president of the Nigerian group of the International Association for the Protection of Industrial Property.

Mark Mordi of Aluko & Oyebode is an “excellent negotiator”, having developed a successful practice brokering out of court settlements in IP enforcement matters. In the same area, he is a “formidable litigator”, and has successfully represented an array of clients including multinational pharmaceutical companies. Joining him is Uche Nwokocha, a “vital member” of the firm’s IP team who is recognised by clients as a “foremost authority on various intellectual property issues”, ranging from patents and designs to technology transfer agreements.

Chief GO Sodipo & Co’s managing partner Bankole Sodipo is highly rated in our research, which reflects his status as a “true authority on Nigerian intellectual property law”. Sodipo is president of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Nigeria, which collaborates with the government and private sector in lobbying for reform of IP rights.

Olugboyega Kayode at David Garrick Kayode & Co is “vastly experienced” in Nigerian intellectual property law, having advised both local and international corporations on the protection, licensing and enforcement of their IP rights.

Lara Kayode is the founding partner of O Kayode & Co, and is well known for her “forensic attention to detail” in relation to IP disputes. She has a practice that covers all aspects of intellectual property law, with particular emphasis on industrial property, IP protection and mediation.

At AELEX, Theophilus I Emuwa is praised for “delivering commercially-focused solutions” to clients in the realm of IP law matters, and has a “dynamic” practice that includes advising multinational entities on IP enforcement in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

Mena Ajakpovi handles the intellectual property portfolio at Abraham & Co and is an “esteemed practitioner” in the field. Ajakpovi has a “stellar skillset” which covers IP registration and enforcement and he sits on a sub-committee on trademarks and trade names at the International Trademark Association.

Managing partner at Stillwaters Law Firm, Afam Nwokedi stands out for his “high-profile work” in the patent and design, trade marks and copyright sectors.

At Chuma Anosike & Co, principal partner Chuma Anosike possesses “industry-leading” expertise in the area of pharmaceutical intellectual property, and displays “admirable adaptability” in representing globally placed clients from multiple industries.

Adepetun Caxton-Martins Agbor & Segun’s Afolabi Caxton-Martins is recommended “without question” and is a “go-to name” for legal consultation on trademarks disputes.

Sam Okagbue of George Ikoli & Okagbue merits inclusion for his “steadfast commitment” to meeting clients’ needs in the areas of patents and trademarks.

Source

LCCI requires Lagos Government to review plan on usage of 200cc motorbikes

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called on the Lagos State Government to review its policy stipulating that courier companies and dispatch riders in Lagos State must use motorcycles of at the least 200cc convenience of their operations.

LCCI said the policy “is posing a major threat to the businesses of courier companies and other stakeholders in Lagos state. “Many companies that engage in-house dispatch riders for prompt delivery of sensitive documents and servicing of customer outlets

are now in a dilemma. Many courier firms and other corporate bodies in their state are now actually delivering mails on foot,” said a statement signed by Muda Yusuf, the Chamber's director-general.

“200 cc capacity motorcycles are generally unavailable in the country since they are in the number of power bikes, not commonly useful for mail delivery and other commercial purposes. This scarcity has established room for several types of malpractices, including falsification and relabelling of lower capacity motorbikes as 200cc and above.”

In accordance with LCCI, the cost of a motorcycle of 200cc capacity and above, where available, is in the region of N500, 000 to N1 million, depending on the brand, which suggests that for a firm that requires to displace 10 of the motorcycles, at the least N5 million to N10million will soon be required.

“Many courier companies have up to 50 motorcycles. For all of the small players in that sector, this may be the finish of the trail because of their enterprises. Commitment of such resources to the purchase of 200cc motorcycles is just a big drain on the resources of courier companies which will be itself a low margin business,” Yusuf said.

The Chamber argued further that: “Electronic payment companies count on the usage of motorcycles for prompt servicing and maintenance of the various electronic payment platforms including the POS terminals situated in various locations in the metropolis. The response time of the providers is currently at the cheapest ebb.

“We submit that the usage of 200cc (and above) motor bikes wouldn't add any value to the realisation of the goal of the traffic law, especially in the light of the intense traffic congestion on Lagos roads. If anything, smaller capacity motorbikes tend to be more flexible and better suited for a higher traffic environment.

The business of courier is just a pick–up and delivery service, often over short distances. Using a 200 cc motorcycle for such service is obviously inappropriate.”

It further added that the grueling bureaucracy of certification and registration of the 200cc motorbikes have created avenues for several types of malpractices, including touting and that service delivery quality of courier companies has dropped drastically considering that the enactment of the policy which will be going for a toll on other sectors in the state.

“We appreciate, and indeed share the concern of government on the security implications of a liberal motorcycle policy, but there should be a definite distinction involving the commercial motorcyclists and corporate organisations providing services for the smooth running of the economy of the state.

Nigeria: EFCC Detains Party Chairman Over Alleged N66 Million Property Scam

Abuja — Two-time presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party, HDP, Chief Ambrose Owuru, has been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for alleged property scam worth N66 million.
Owuru, who is also the National Chairman of the party, was arrested and taken into custody on Wednesday over alleged involvement in the scam.
Acting Media Head of the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the arrest of Owuru in a statement made available to Vanguard in Abuja, yesterday.
The commission explained that Owuru, a lawyer, was arrested for obtaining the said amount from one Ikechukwu Eze under false pretence.
The complainant alleged that he paid the sum of N60 million through Skye Bank, Olu Obansanjo Road branch, Port Harcourt, to Barrister Owuru for a property located on Nzimiro Street, Amadi flat, Port Harcourt.
The complainant in a petition to the commission alleged that in the process of taking possession of the property, he discovered that a portion of the said property had been sold to another person.
Owuru is reported to have demanded additional N6 million from Eze to settle the other buyer, one Chief Austin Omire, which Eze promptly paid, bringing the total amount to N66 million.
The commission said however, that its investigations revealed that since the payment of the amount to Owuru, Eze had not been allowed to gain access to the property and his money not refunded to him.
The commission said: "Upon receipt of the petition and commencement of investigation, the EFCC invited the suspect severally but he refused to honour the invitations, prompting us to arrest him" .
He is to appear in court soon, Vanguard learnt.
Owuru has contested as the Presidential candidate of the HDP twice without winning even a local government in the country but that has not deterred him from contesting.
It is not clear if the arrest would stop him from contesting in 2015.

Amcon of Nigeria Reaches Debt Accord With Ecobank Chairman

The Asset Management Corp. of Nigeria, created by the government to get lenders'bad loans, said it reached an agreement with Ecobank Transnational Inc. (ETI) Chairman Kolapo Lawson over outstanding debts.

Lawson is in “good standing” with the Asset Management Corp., known as Amcon, spokesman Kayode Lambo said by telephone from Lagos, Nigeria, today. Amcon “will require other measures” should Lawson not honor the deal's terms, he said, declining to give further details.

Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission will meet with the board of Ecobank, based in the united kingdom of Togo, on Aug. 5 to go over governance, Obi Adindu, a spokesman for the SEC, said by telephone from Abuja, Nigeria's capital. Lawson owes Amcon 1.2 billion naira ($7.5 million), the Financial Times said last month, citing unidentified people acquainted with the matter. Agbara Estate, a Nigerian property company chaired by Lawson, has “long outstanding” debts of 1.6 billion naira to Ecobank's Nigerian unit, the newspaper said.

Amcon was create in 2010 after a debt crisis threatened the country's banking industry. It owns 10.7 percent of Ecobank's unit in Nigeria, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Founded in 1985, Ecobank has expanded into France and 34 African countries. It's representative offices in Beijing, Dubai, Johannesburg, London and Luanda, Angola. The bank's assets were $21 billion at the conclusion of June.

Ecobank's shares rose around 1 percent in Lagos before closing unchanged at 14.6 naira. They increased 29 percent this season, in contrast to a 22 percent gain for the 10-member Nigerian Stock Exchange Banking 10 Index.

After a long wait, land reform gets N45.5bn attention

While we wait for the finance minister’s 2009 budget breakdown, it is important we bring to the fore the provision of N91.8 billion for Land Reform and Food Security as, announced by the president. If our calculations are right, about N45 billion of the figure would be allocated to the former. This is important lest the minister forgets to interpret the provision of such bogus amount for land reform.
However, experts postulate that government may organise conferences to examine the Land Use Act as it affects development purposes in various parts of the country. But this is just conjectural.

Again, the explanation of the huge allocation for the land reform becomes crucial in the face of the president’s declaration that the government will seek to be more efficient in the use of public resources by eliminating or rationalising areas of waste and focusing on the critical sectors that would propel the growth of our economy and help us realise the objectives of the Seven-Point Agenda.
In 1978, precisely on the 29th of March of that year, the then federal military government of Nigeria promulgated the Land Use Decree. The law was maintained by the succeeding civilian administrations and the Decree was changed to act.

The act, as reported by Biodun Aluko and Abdul Aminu, purports to take over the ownership and control of land in the country thereby providing a uniform legal basis for a comprehensive national land tenure system. It was enacted to deal with problem of uncontrolled speculations in urban lands, make land easily access to every Nigerian irrespective of gender, unify tenure system in the country ensure equity and justice in land allocation and distribution and, amongst others, prevent fragmentation of rural lands arising from the application of the traditional principle of inheritance.

According to the experts who quoted other reports, the Land Use Act approaches the control of land through three strategies: the investment of proprietary rights in land in the state; the granting of user rights in land to individuals; and the use of an administrative system rather than the market system in the allocation of right, in land.
Primarily, therefore, the act vested the ownership of land rights in the state.
Under the act as outlined at FAO.org, control and management of land in urban areas becomes the responsibility of the state governor, while all other land (rural, public, etc.) is the responsibility of the local government of the area. It is noted that state governors are empowered to designate certain areas as urban land and to grant statutory rights of occupancy of fixed periods and rights of access to any person, subject to rental arrangements fixed by and payable to the state. The local government can grant a customary right of occupancy to land in the local government area (LGA) to any person or organization for agriculture, grazing, residential or other purposes. Land so granted should not exceed 200 hectares for agricultural purposes, or 2000 hectares for grazing purposes, for any single customary grant.

Certificates of occupancy are to be issued in respect of both types of grant.
The decree which turned into act in the democratic setting, has received criticism since its promulgation with experts stating that the Act is an urban legislation which only superficially touches the tenure problems in the rural areas in the country.

Without doubt, then, the granting of rights of occupancy under the Land Use Act has radically modified previously existing notions of ownership, control and other interests in land. This is particularly manifest in the granting of land rights to wealthy individuals, corporate bodies and cooperatives in the name of public purposes for development. Lasun Mykail Olayiwola and Olufemi Adeleye in their piece Land Reform: Experience from Nigeria, noted that the objectives of the land use act have remained largely unfulfilled 30 years after its enactment and title to land appears to be more insecure now than it ever was. According to them, the deficiencies of the land use act were aptly summarized by Justice Augustine Nnamani who, as Attorney General was responsible for drafting of the act and its incorporation into constitution. He said in the course of these years, it has become clear that due to its implementation, not its structure or intent, the objectives for which the land use act was promulgated have largely remained unfulfilled; indeed, they have been distorted, abused and seriously undermined.

They argued that the position today is that land is less available to the ordinary Nigerian than it was before the Land Use Act, thus holding most of the citizens to inevitable state of perpetual tenancy.
It is also noted by the authors that the allocations policy of various governments particularly during the civilian era has been scandalous. The land use and allocation committees, which are no more than appendages of the governors merely, endorsed lists approved by them. Sometimes, as observed by the duo writers, the civilian governor, who has vowed to repeal the act before entering into office, grabs it with both hands on getting into power. The result to be expected were allocations of land mostly to friends, relatives and party faithful; land become indeed an item of patronage. Worse still the patronage was withdrawn as one government succeeded the other.
Land is usually taken to include not only the physical soil, but also everything beneath it (minerals and water) and everything extending up to the sky above it. The 1979 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria recognizes and stipulates that all interests in mineral resources belong to the owner of the land and water resources containing them.
The allocation of land was hardly made to the low-income earners as Lasun Mykail Olayiwola and Olufemi Adeleye further noted. No government has yet earmarked a percentage of land available for allocation to this category of Nigerians as a deliberate policy. Nor has there been allocation of a percentage of land available forallocation to the community or family that previously owned the land now acquired by government.
On compensation to those whose lands were taken for development activities, Olayiwola and Adeleye said it seems that no amount of compensation can assuage the feelings of an average Nigerian to whom land has profound cultural and social-political values and spiritual aspects. To the subsistence farmer, land is the basis of his survival; it is to him life given. Thus to take land away from him for a public purpose, with which he cannot identify, without prompt payment of adequate compensation or resettlement, is to ask for trouble.
They say besides, the title is a misnomer; it should have appropriately been titled Land Allocation Act.
The act, according to them, has not eliminated speculation in land; it has only driven it underground or fueled it and it concentrates both economic and political powers in the hands of governors, military elites and rubber barons’ who use it to dispossess their political opponents and/or peasant farmers through large-scale acquisition of land for commercial agriculture, paying only for unexhausted improvement, stipulated by the act.
It is further said that it has not succeeded in removing the uncertainties in title to land. Instead, it seems to accentuate it. For example, a certificate of occupancy can be revoked for public purpose or a contravention of the act.
With all these contradictions against the Land Use Act, what does government intend to do with the budgeted amount. We wait for explanations from the budget breakdown.
On reform, what would happen then? Uwakonye, and Gbolahan S. Osho, say land reform is concerned with changing the institutional structure governing men’s relationship with the land, involving intervention in the prevailing pattern of land ownership, control and usage in order to change the structure of holdings, improve land productivity and broaden the distribution of benefits.

According to them, land reform is an aggregate of ideas and courses of action designed to resolve tenure problems. Nigeria is an agrarian nation with over 56.8 percent of her working force engaged in farming.
Doner and Kanel emphasize the significant contribution of the agricultural sector towards the overall economic development of underdeveloped countries, such as Nigeria where more than 50percent of the working population is engaged in farming. Agricultural reform has the advantage of provision of more employment, more equitable income distribution, a wider relevant structure for the growing manufacturing sector, a better base for farm financed welfare, and more rational investment policies in both the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors of the economy.

In order to consolidate this gain and to make the operation and implementation of the Act achieve the objectives for which it was promulgated, Olayiwola and Adeleye suggestion that the act be removed from the constitution is subject to the cumbersome provision of amending so that amendments to it can be effected.

Since the Act Constitution under section 5 of the constitution, no meaningful amendment can be carried out to it in a civilian democracy. Because the Act has become in incident of political power, the threat of abrogation which necessitated its entrenchment in 1979 is no longer present.

Nigeria: Where Are the Seized Assets?

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission should account for, and dispose of seized assets
The House of Representatives last week directed its Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes to initiate a probe of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with a view to accounting for all the assets the commission has seized from suspects it investigated since its inception in 2004.

The decision of the House followed a motion sponsored by Hon. Toby Okechukwu and 15 others who expressed the need for proper management of the seized assets. Okechukwu told the House that the EFCC had between 2004 and 2010 confiscated over 200 mansions through 46 forfeiture by court orders. The seized items include landed property, business concerns, billions of Naira in bank accounts, shares in blue chip companies, exotic vehicles, fuel stations, hotels, warehouses, shopping malls, schools, bakeries, estates, telecommunication companies, and radio stations, in and outside Nigeria.

The House move is indeed a welcome development in view of the unusual secrecy that has enveloped seized assets of accused and convicted persons in custody of the EFCC from its inception to date. In the United States of America where "confiscation" or "forfeiture" of assets was first adopted as part of the government's war against drug barons, property and bank accounts of suspected narcotics lords can be frozen or seized without a court judgment. All that was required is a "reasonable ground" to prove that the assets in question are indeed traceable to the drug baron. In fact this method of fighting crime has become popular in many countries including Britain, Italy and South Africa.

That explains why when the EFCC adopted the asset seizure at its inception about a decade ago it was hailed as one sure way of fighting sleaze. Consequently the commission has over the years seized countless number of real estate property, vehicles as well as physical cash. Unfortunately in typical Nigeria fashion, after the initial public show, nothing more is heard of the confiscated assets.

Whether under its pioneer Chairman Mallam Nuhu Ribadu or his successor, Mrs. Farida Waziri, the EFCC is known to have seized huge amount of assets from politicians, drug barons, bank chief executives and other suspects and convicts over the years. But the commission has so far failed to account for the whereabouts of these confiscated assets. And as presently alleged on the floor of the House, over $170 million proceeds from seized assets was allegedly transferred to an unidentified account, while 200 mansions, countless landed properties and exotic cars were left to rot away or vandalised. According to House Speaker Aminu Tambuwal "these landed property, monies, and business concerns were estimated to be worth in excess of two trillion Naira."

It is therefore only proper that the EFCC should be held to account for the properties it had confiscated from all the people it had investigated from its inception to date. There is also the urgent need to locate the whereabouts of the $170 million allegedly transferred to an unnamed account after it had been traced to the office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF).

Unfortunately, the two individuals who at one time or the other headed the anti-corruption agency failed to honour the House Committee's invitation to appear before it and help with the search for the confiscated assets. While we consider that to be rather unfortunate, the House should not despair in its determined efforts to ensure that the seized assets were accounted for by the EFCC.

Such assets were meant to be auctioned in a transparent bid and the proceeds deposited with the Central Bank or the money returned to the government agency or private organisation from where it was looted. For an organisation set up to fight corruption, EFCC should be transparent in its dealings

Nigeria: Heirs Holdings, Lsdpc to Turn Falomo Buying Complicated In to World Type Mall

Heirs Holdings, a pan-African investment company, chaired by Mr. Tony Elumelu, Tuesday signed an agreement with the Lagos State Development Property Corporation (LSDPC), for the redevelopment of the iconic Falomo Shopping Mall located in Ikoyi, Lagos State.  The mall will undoubtedly be redeveloped in to a shopping mall, a company complex and top notch residential apartments that will serve the requirements of the burgeoning populace in Lagos State and beyond.

Speaking at the website tour, the Managing Director of LSDPC, Mr. Biodun Oki, said: "The Falomo Shopping Mall's redevelopment is long overdue. Our partnership with Heirs Holdings is consistent with their state government's urban redevelopment project and it bodes well for their state, the united states and for the citizens.

"Once this project is completed, we can all look forward to a fresh and improved landscape that will stimulate business activity in this area and beyond.

"Relating to the private sector within our redevelopment agenda could be the model for all future projects."

Speaking on the program to remodel the shopping complex, the chairman of Heirs Holdings said: "Redeveloping among the country's most iconic malls is part of our commitment to drive development and move Nigeria forward through our business activities.

"As well as financial services, oil and gas, and power, real estate and hospitality is another of our core sectors since it plays a vital role in a nation's development. Specifically, real estate development contributes not merely visually but economically to the country's progress.

"We've other development projects in the offing. This include the Transcorp Hotels in Ikoyi, Lagos and Port Harcourt, that'll commence this quarter now that people have secured the land.

"We are also expanding our existing property in Abuja and that is just the start of the mega plans we have to transform the Nigerian skyline."

The Falomo Shopping Mall redevelopment project is really a private-public sector agreement between Heirs Real Estate Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Heirs Holdings, and the Lagos State Development Property Corporation (LSDPC).

Heirs Holdings is really a pan-African proprietary investment company that deploys capital in projects that will yield value on the long term.

Lagos House Plans Emergency Telephone Numbers

LAGOS - The Lagos State House of Assembly has held a public hearing over the proposed Emergency Command and Control Centre.

Commenting on the bill, the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Security, and Publicity, Hon Segun Olulade, explained that the purpose of the centre is to provide emergency telephone numbers for members of the public in times of emergency. He listed the numbers as 676,112.

He added that the centre is to facilitate quick and efficient response to accidents, emergencies and disasters.

Continue..

Nigeria: Dubai Property Deal Turns Sour As Marketing Company Drags Businessman to Court

An attempt by a Nigerian businessman, Mr. Washington Umweni to own one of the luxury apartments in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, has resulted in a legal tussle between him and the companies marketing the apartments in Nigeria.

In a suit filed at the Lagos High Court Sigma 111 Limited, TFG Real Estate Limited and four others plaintiffs have dragged one of their investors, Umweni and his lawyer, Mr. Tunde Abioje to court asking the court to compel Umweni to pay his overdue instalments for the purchase of Unit 2212 TFG Marina, a high luxury apartment hotel situate in Dubai Media City.

They are also asking for the payment of N170 million as damages arising from Umweni's refusal to continue to pay the instalments. They claimed that the refusal of Umweni to fulfil his obligations under the contract he executed with them constituted a breach of contract.

In his response to the suit, Umweni stated that it was The First Group who was in breach of their contract hence it made three separate proposals to make a refund and noted that there would not have been any problem if the company had refunded him his contributions.

He said: "I am amazed by their action. They earlier claimed in one of their numerous letters to me that no Nigerian court can delve into this matter and that I should go to Dubai and sue them there, now, they have gone to a Nigerian court in Lagos. This shows that they are beginning to come to terms with reality. I will get justice no matter how long it takes. The First Group cannot take my money for nothing."
In his statement of defence, Umweni said he was no longer interested in the TFG Marina Project and wanted his contribution which stood at N9.7 million refunded to him.

He stated that the project was a mere paper work and that the suit by the defendants was a cover up to tie down his money. In an affidavit he deposed and attached to the statement of defence, Umweni said that at all material time, he was made to believe he was dealing with The First Group (TFG) and not with the two companies that filed the action against him.

Source

Nigeria: FG Urges Nigerians in Diaspora to Invest in Centenary City

Senate President David Mark's quest for a vast land where he is said to be planning a university in his native Otukpo, Benue State, has pitted him against peasant farmers in Asa III, who claim that the retired military officer-turned- politician wants to deprive them of their farm land, their only means of livelihood.
The move was said to have started in the first quarter of the year when a delegation of the nation's number three citizen, led by one Chief Obogo Alapa, met some Asa III elders to inform them of the proposed university which, it stressed, would bring development to the area.

It was learnt that the villagers told the delegation that they welcomed the development, but that they needed to know the exact size of land and in which area of the village before they could give their terms.
Consequently, it was agreed that the delegation should take representatives of the villagers to the area and show them the location and size.

This was later undertaken, with a bulldozer setting out what represented the area of interest for the proposed institution. The said land, according Mr. Sam Obochi, measures about "4 x 4" km, covering the farmlands of many families. The area demarcated alegedly extended from Asa III to their boundary with Akpegede village on the one hand, and their boundary with Otobi on the other.
However, trouble started when the villagers discovered that bulldozers were sent in to clear the vast farmland without any further discussions with them. "The Alapa delegation that went to show the villagers the area to be taken by the university project did not return to give the villagers any feedback", the villagers claimed.
Some of the villagers went to their farms and asked the bulldozer operators to stop work on the grounds that the said land belonged to their families and that at no time did they hand over the land to anybody for any project.
As learnt, the workers ignored the villagers which led to protests during which the villagers blocked the main road that passes through Asa III in their efforts to attract public attention to their plight.
Attacks
If the villagers expected any form of sympathy, what they allegedly got was a rude shock as, rather than coming for negotiations, those taking their land were said to have mobilized persons from Igbanomaje, Otukpo, to attack them. The assailants were said to have invaded Asa III and shot six of the villagers, burnt down houses of those considered as the arrowheads of the alleged land-grab opposition, and looted every store in sight.
The villagers ran into the bush and kept away from their homes for four days. Those who ventured into the village were said to have been arrested by gun- wielding vigilante and policemen brought in from Otukpo. 18 persons were allegedly arrested including three minors. 15 were detained in Makurdi Police Station while the minors were detained in the Juvenile Detention Center, Gboko.
As learnt, six men were shot by the attackers and had to be rushed to the General Hospital Otukpo. But even at the hospital, the police went after them and attempted to arrest them. It took the resistance of the hospital staff to stop further action against the villagers who then sneaked out of the hospital that night to secret locations outside Otukpo to seek medical help.
Two weeks after the attack, leaders of the village, it was learnt, sent an emissary to Alapa, the alleged leader of Mark's representatives, to express their disappointment over the attack on Asa III.
A peace meeting was reportedly held with the Alapa group on June 21. The Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Council, Dr. Innocent Onuh, was one of the leaders that attended the meeting. That meeting was held at the palace of the Ad' Alekwu of Asa III, Mr. Inalegwu Onche, where the villagers claimed to have told Mark's representatives that due process should be followed if the Senate President wanted to acquire land for his university project.
Killing
The following day, the villagers said policemen from Otukpo Divisional Police Headquarters invaded the village at about 5.30 am to arrest some youths.
Those who noticed the arrival of the policemen were said to have alerted others by phone. Those who could not get the information on time were arrested while those who escaped arrest had their Okadas (motorcycles) taken away. The villagers then mobilized and insisted that every villager must be taken to the police station. Overwhelmed, Sunday Vanguard was told, the police started firing into the air to disperse the crowd. In the process, one of the police constables was shot due to accidental discharge by a fellow police man.
This was said to have infuriated the policemen the more as they insisted on arresting as many of the villagers as they could. But the policeman behind the shooting allegedly reported himself to the police authorities in Otukpo. He was said to have declared that he could not bring himself to accuse the villagers of a crime they did not commit.
The policeman was arrested and detained, then transferred to the Benue State Police Command headquarters in Makurdi where he was detained, pending his orderly room trial. In spite of truth about who shot the deceased policeman, the team that left the village only reinforced with more officers, soldiers and armed vigilante, and stormed the village later that day. The raid was unprecedented, according to the villagers, as they could not resist the large armed team that stormed their little village. Several villagers were arrested with others running into the forests. At the end of the day, many houses were allegedly burnt down and shops looted, creating a scenario of a village at war.
Strangers
After the raid, Mr. Obochi, a senior civil servant in Makurdi, but whose family land is part of the parcel in dispute, decided to meet the Senate President's representatives in Otukpo. He was arrested and detained for one week, in Makurdi, along with those earlier arrested.
Obochi told Sunday Vanguard, in an interview in Makurdi, that what was happening in Asa III since the beginning of the year was a clear case of intimidation of the peasant farmers.
He said he was arrested in the process of trying to resolve the issue between the Mark group and his brothers and sisters in his village. According to him, "my offence was that I bailed those who were arrested by a combined team of policemen, soldiers and vigilante".
Narrating the situation, Obochi said, "The Mark group claims that the villagers are strangers and as such will not receive any compensation for the land and their crops. Rather, they said that compensation will be paid to Otukpo indigenous people. Their informants misled them. They told them that those farming on the land in question are 'Aalala'".
Those referred to as 'Aalala' are those from south of Idomaland, especially Ogbadibo and Okpokwu Local Government Areas.
Obochi insisted that those who own the land and even currently own farms on the land in question are aboriginal Otukpo people.
He added that most of the houses destroyed and the looted shops belonged to indigenes of Asa III and not strangers which made it difficult for any reasonable member of the society to comprehend.
Obochi said the villagers had no intention of fighting Mark but that they won't allow anyone to forcefully take away the land which they inherited from their ancestors.
Effort to see Mark
Asked if the aggrieved villagers made any effort to meet the Senate President in person, he said, "I met Adakole Elijah ( an aide of the Senate President) and requested to see Sen. Mark. He promised to facilitate my meeting him. That was before the arrest and that was the last time I saw the man. I also had a chance meeting with one Onyilokwu Ekwo (said to be very close to the Senate President) and I told him that we don't want bloodshed in our village and that he should arrange a meeting for us to meet Mark. There was no response and I cannot just walk to Senator David Mark's house".
Demand
According to Obochi, the demand of the owners of the farm land is, "the Senate President should follow due process by coming to the owners of the land. If a dirty man has something which you need, the person cannot look dirty to you.

"He should come to us and make a request, then we will decide whether to give him the land or not; or give him part of the land; but certainly not the whole land as demarcated. We don't have any personal problem with Mark He chose the wrong process. Those he is working with are not representatives of the farmers who own the land. He should stop further work on the land in question until the issue is resolved".
Neither the Senate President's media team nor his family members responded to inquiries by Sunday Vanguard, in spite of repeated calls and text messages.
Source

Dubai Property Deal Turns Sour As Marketing Company Drags Businessman to Court

An attempt by a Nigerian businessman, Mr. Washington Umweni to own one of the luxury apartments in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, has resulted in a legal tussle between him and the companies marketing the apartments in Nigeria.  In a suit filed at the Lagos High Court Sigma 111 Limited, TFG Real Estate Limited and four others plaintiffs have dragged one of their investors, Umweni and his lawyer, Mr. Tunde Abioje to court asking the court to compel Umweni to pay his overdue instalments for the purchase of Unit 2212 TFG Marina, a high luxury apartment hotel situate in Dubai Media City.

They are also asking for the payment of N170 million as damages arising from Umweni’s refusal to continue to pay the instalments.  They claimed that the refusal of Umweni to fulfil his obligations under the contract he executed with them constituted a breach of contract.

In his response to the suit, Umweni stated that it was The First Group who was in breach of their contract hence it made three separate proposals to make a refund and noted that there would not have been any problem if the company had refunded him his contributions.

He said: “I am amazed by their action. They earlier claimed in one of their numerous letters to me that no Nigerian court can delve into this matter and that I should go to Dubai and sue them there, now, they have gone to a Nigerian court in Lagos. This shows that they are beginning to come to terms with reality. I will get justice no matter how long it takes. The First Group cannot take my money for nothing.”

In his statement of defence, Umweni said he was no longer interested in the TFG Marina Project and wanted his contribution which stood at N9.7 million refunded to him.

He stated that the project was a mere paper work and that the suit by the defendants was a cover up to tie down his money.
In an affidavit he deposed and attached to the statement of defence, Umweni said that at all material time, he was made to believe he was dealing with The First Group (TFG) and not with the two companies that filed the action against him.

Nigeria: Widow, 80, Drags Nephew to Court Over Property

Kaduna — A'isha Abdullahi, an 80-year old widow of Anguwar Dosa, Kaduna, has dragged her nephew, Abdulrahman Mohammed, to Magajin Gari Sharia Court for allegedly claiming her inherited property.
Abdullahi told the court: "Our late father left the house to us. I left the house to his (Abdullahi's) mother to take care of, I don't have a child.

"I took three of her children and at that time I resided at Warri, Delta state, with my husband."
The complainant added that she returned to Kaduna after the death of her husband.
"For almost 13 years they asked me to go to the house, I them told I can't stay with her husband and children using one toilet and bathroom. So I rented a single room," Abdullahi said.
She said that she never collected rent from them, but asked her sister to use the money generated from the house for her upkeep.

According to her, Mohammed claimed that he bought the house from her after the death of his mother at the cost of N250, 000.
The accused, however, denied the allegation.
Mohammed told the court that the house in dispute was "inherited by my mother and when her (A'isha) husband died she came back to Kaduna, but she refused to stay in the house for no reason.
"She has nobody than we because she brought us up; right from childhood I grew up with her in Warri."
He recalled that one day some community elders came to the house to say that the complainant wanted her share of house to be sold.

"They asked me if I am interested, which I said 'yes' and I gave them first N140,000 and later I paid N110,000, making N250,000 all in all," he said.

He said "the elders were there, we all sang and she sang, but she later took me to Kawo Upper Area Court on same matter which the judgment was in my favour."
The presiding officer, Khadi Ibrahim Mohammed, asked the accused to produce a copy of the judgment of the Upper Area Court on the matter before the court.
Mohammed adjourned the case to Aug. 6 for hearing and continuation. NAN

Nigeria: Aggrieved Client Slams First City Group

Abuja based businessman Mr. Washington Agbons Umweni, who allegedly went into business with Dubai property marketing company, The First City Group, has accused the company of defrauding him of the sum of N9.8 million.

This is even as The First City Group Through its lawyer, Mr. Ismail Muftau, has insisted that the relationship between The First Group and Umweni is founded on a contract which is governed by a Sales Purchase Agreement (SPA), signed by both parties and that the said sales purchase agreement shall only be governed and or construed by, in accordance with the Federal Laws of the United Arab Emirate and that it is only the courts of Dubai that shall have absolute jurisdiction to entertain any dispute or issues arising from that contract.
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Local News: Landlord Abandons Home For Land Grabbers

A landlord in Ikeshin Village, Ota, Ogun State, Alhaji Nojeem Obileye, has abandoned his home after some land grabbers in the area allegedly threatened to deal with him for accusing them of causing the mayhem that led to the death of one Alhaji Idowu Arinadeagbo.

Obileye said since he spoke in June about the incident, known and unknown people had threatened to take his life for saying the truth.

He said, “I am surprised they have targeted me because it is a known fact that many of the land grabbers use thugs to seize portions of land. I am not the only one in the village privy to this.”

The landlord added that one Kunle Matanmi, a nephew to the a traditional ruler in Ogun State, Oba Fatai Matanmi, had called him on the telephone to register his displeasure for saying Matanmi gave backing to some of the land speculators when he spoke to reporters.


Although the monarch denied the allegation when our correspondent spoke with him in June, Obileye said Kunle was not satisfied and had promised to deal with him for “soiling the monarch’s name.”

He said, “Kunle Matanmi has called me twice on the telephone to threaten me. “Apart from mentioning his name, a discreet investigation revealed that the number that called my line was Kunle’s telephone number. So, I am taking the threat serious.”

Obileye said Kunle had also visited his house in company with some people, adding that the development made him and his family members to flee his residence.

Obileye’s lawyer declined to reveal his name for fear of reprisal. He said, “I have been going to the police on behalf of Obileye. The police said since Obileye could narrate so much to the media, he must know a lot about the murder. They said the thugs who killed Arinadegbo parked their vehicle in Obileye’s factory. However, I told them that Obileye was just a witness, not the criminal.”

However, when our correspondent called Kunle on the telephone, he said there was nothing like that.

“That is not true; I swear that I did not threaten him. Please don’t mind Alhaji Obileye,” he said.

But other residents of the area said they had been bearing the brunt of daring to speak against the land grabbers.

The Public Relations Officer of the state police command, Muyiwa Adejobi, said the police were working towards bringing peace back to the area.