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Monthly House Rent Proposal by Fashola Rejected by Estate Surveyors

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Housing - Investors King

The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers have rejected the monthly house rent proposal of the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.

NIESV President, Emmanuel Wike, told journalists at a press briefing in Abuja on Sunday that although the institution would meet the minister on the matter, surveyors viewed Fashola’s position on monthly rent differently.

About two weeks ago, Fashola identified exorbitant amounts of rent, ranging from one to three years demanded by landlords and property owners before they let out their properties as the major cause of housing challenges in Nigeria.

The minister also dismissed the 17 million housing deficit figure being brandished in Nigeria, stressing that the claim had no scientific proof.

Fashola then proposed monthly rent by property owners in order to make houses affordable homes for Nigerians in urban centres.

Reacting to this, Wike said, “As a major stakeholder in the housing sector, the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers view the suggestion of the minister from a different perspective.

“The institution intends to visit him as soon as possible to deliberate and harmonise positions on the matter.”

On the claim that Nigeria had a 17 million housing deficit, the NIESV president stated that the institution was working on getting the right figure.

He said findings by the institution would be genuine, stressing that NIESV had also figured out that many abandoned properties were owned by the federal and state governments.

Wike said, “We wish to reaffirm the importance of data in addressing the housing provision. Data is a priority of the institution.

“We are at the moment updating the data we earlier produced on the Nigerian housing sector of which a copy was given to the minister at our 49th annual conference of 2019 in Lagos.

“No doubt, data produced by the institution would be reliable and acceptable to players in the real estate sector.”

He added that the institution would also endeavour to undertake the enumeration of wasting and abandoned properties, some of which belong to government at various levels, with recommendations on what could be done with them.

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Education

FG Abolishes 18-Year Age Benchmark For Admission Into Tertiary Institutions

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University - Investors King

The new Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has abolished the controversial 18-year admission benchmark for tertiary institutions in the country.

This is coming as the minister indicated interest in reviewing the nation’s education policy.

However, Alausa stated that there would be no reversal of the Federal Government’s decision to void over 22,700-degree certificates obtained by Nigerians from some “fake” universities in neighbouring Togo and the Benin Republic.

Alausa spoke on Tuesday at his inaugural ministerial press conference in Abuja.

He stated that practical education will help to address the unemployment situation in Nigeria, as tertiary institutions will not continue to churn out graduates every year without providing jobs for them.

He disclosed that the Federal Government will collaborate with private sector operators to train students in order to discover and unleash their potential.

Alausa added that universities of agriculture will be empowered to adopt commercial farming practices to combat food insecurity.

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Outrage in Equatorial Guinea: Government Restricts WhatsApp Multimedia Sharing Amid Scandal

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There is outrage in Equatorial Guinea as the government restricted its citizens from downloading and sharing multimedia files using mobile data on WhatsApp.

This decision followed the guidelines that the country’s government gave to telecommunications operators when it urged them to implement measures to restrict access to inappropriate content.

The country’s Director General, National Financial Investigation Agency, Baltasar Engonga, has been involved in a sex scandal involving the wives of notable people in the nation.

The scandal emerged in the course of a fraud investigation against the 54-year-old economist which resulted in the search of his house and office on impromptu notice by ANIF officials who came across several CDs that later revealed his sexcapades with different married women.

It was reported that the over 400 videos include encounters with high-profile individuals, such as his brother’s wife, his cousin, the sister of the President of Equatorial Guinea, the Director General of Police’s wife, and about 20 of the country’s ministers’ wives, among others.

The footage, discovered in his office, was said to have been recorded with consent and has since been leaked online, causing a media uproar.

But, in a new development on Tuesday, it was reported that the citizens have been lamenting their inability to share photos, videos, and audio when using a mobile data connection, leading users to rely exclusively on WiFi networks to share such content.

Sources revealed that the restrictions have been affecting business and academic activities in the country.

Citizens wonder why the actions of a few individuals would result into holding thousands of other innocent ones hostage.

Earlier, the Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, Teddy Nguema, announced plans to install surveillance cameras in all state body offices.

This sweeping measure is part of an ongoing effort to ensure strict adherence to public service laws and combat misconduct among officials.

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NCC Confiscates ₦23 Million Worth of Pirated Books During Bookstores Raid In Uyo

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The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) on Saturday, November 2, confiscated ₦23.1 million in pirated books from local shops, including Academic Needs and Zion Bookshop during a raid in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The raid was by the Deputy Director of Operations, Mr Macfoy Akachukwu, representing the NCC Director General, Dr. John Asein.

Akachukwu, who stated that the raid was a significant operation to combat the rampant sale of pirated books, listed the books seized during the raid to include: Basic Civic Education by Dr Merry Ukaegbu, Spectrum New Further Mathematics by T.R. Moses and Essential Christian Religious Study for Senior Secondary Schools by Orovwuje B.O and Okolie E.U.

Other books included Macmillan Brilliant English for Junior Secondary Schools by Wale Ossianwo, New General Basic Science for Junior Secondary Schools by S. Ajayi, New Oxford Secondary English Course for Secondary Schools by Ayo Banjo and New Concept Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools by H.N. Odogwu among others.

Major publishers affected by the raid included Evans, UPL, Lantern, Longman, TONAD, and Pearson among others.

According to Asein, the operation is important as it was part of a nationwide initiative to protect authors’ rights.

“What we have done is part of the commissions mandate to protect and promote the rights of authors and other genuine investors in the copyright book industry,” he stated.

He reaffirmed that the NCC is committed to “eliminating the sale of pirated works and to establish a robust copyright framework in Nigeria”.

Asein emphasized that authors deserve to benefit from their creative work and not run into financial losses because of piracy.

“It is our duty to ensure that authors get rewards for their creative work. I have under my watch, zero tolerance for piracy and infringement of Copyright Laws,” Asein said.

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