Business

Traditional Council Pillars of Stability and Development – RMAFC Chairman

Published

8 months ago

October 9, 2024

Joel Ajayi

Chairman Revenue Allocation Mobilization And Fiscal Commission Mohamed Bello Shehu OFR, has described the traditional rulers as not only the custodians of tradition and culture but Pillars of Stability and Development in Nigeria.

The Chairman made this remark when some traditional rulers from Nasarawa State, led by His Royal Highness Abdullahi Amegwa, the Osana of Keana paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.

He said, ” Prior to the colonial era, the system of government that existed in Nigeria was controlled by the traditional rulers in our various societies. The remarkable role they played not only as custodians of culture and traditions but also as development agents in various societies that formed what is known as Nigeria today can not be overemphasized. “

He therefore stressed the need to recognise the rightful position of the royal fathers and accord them a better role that will enable them to perform optimaly.

According to Shehu ” We did not get things right with the Local Government (LG) reforms of 1976 and we did not get it right with the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as ammended) but I only hope and pray that the present attempt at reforming the Constitution will place a bigger role on the traditional rulers and be able to also find a way not only to fund it but to sustain it so that they will be able to hold the society together as they have done over the years”.

Earlier, Dr. Samson Gamu Yare, the Chun Mada of Akwanga who spoke on behalf of the leader of the delegation, disclosed that the inter – face with the Commission emanated from the deliberation of the Council of Chiefs in Nasarawa State, which was endorsed by the Executive Governor, His Excellency, Engineer Abdullahi Sule .

He explained that they were in the Commission to request that the 5% of the allocation to local governments, which is constitutionally approved for traditional councils, should be deducted from the source and allocated directly to the respective traditional rulers to ensure proper accountability and compliance.

The royal father said, “Even with the improvement in statutory allocation, the 5 percent allocated to Traditional Councils has continued to experience decline and that for us is a serious concern. This called for the interface and pleading from the traditional council for the commission to consider deducting the 5% charge from the source and disbursing it to the traditional councils.

“Past experiences show that the Modus operandi of deductions where any kind of formular is applied with regard to the implementation strategy is unacceptable. “

He commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the resilience and courage to identify with the grass root to ensure that the third tier of government is given its rightful place of pride following the Supreme Court ruling, which granted financial autonomy to Local governments as provided in the constitution of Nigeria.

He also congratulated the Chairman of the Commission and the Hon. Members for being found worthy to serve the Country in this capacity.

Speaking on the issue, some Members and Directors of the Commission at the occasion emphasised the need for clear a policy on the deduction and allocation of the 5% entitlement to the traditional councils.

After an exhaustive deliberation, the royal fathers were advised to formally write a letter to the Presidential Committee on Local Government Autonomy and copy the Commission for actionable recommendation to the Committee.

Other members of the delegation were His Royal Highness, Mahmoud Umar Bwalla, the Sangarin Shabu and His Royal Highness, Pham. Luka Panya Baba, the Esu Karu.

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Business

FG To Sell 753 Housing Unit Estate Seized From Emefiele

Published

2 hours ago

May 23, 2025

The Gleamer

…Experts back Dangote, BUA on cement price reduction for FG estates

By Yahaya Umar

Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has announced plans to sell the 753-unit housing estate confiscated from the embattled former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria ,CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele.Disclosing this in a statement on Tuesday, the ministry said that the property was handed over by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ,EFCC, on Tuesday at the Ministry’s headquarters in Mabushi, Abuja.According to the ministry’s spokesman, Salisu Haiba, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, praised the EFCC for its sustained commitment to asset recovery and anti-corruption.“The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has taken delivery of the 753 Housing Units Abuja housing estate of former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission”, the statement said.“This marks a significant milestone in our collective determination to ensure that recovered assets are put to productive use in ways that directly benefit the Nigerian people. The housing estate recovered from the former Governor of the Central Bank is a case in point”.He announced that the Ministry, in collaboration with the EFCC, will undertake a joint familiarization tour to assess the current state of the estate.“We intend to carry out thorough integrity and structural assessments on all buildings and associated infrastructure to confirm their safety and suitability for habitation”, he explained.“The Ministry will offer the units for sale both to the public and for special government needs. For the public sale component, we will adopt a transparent and competitive process. This will include nationwide advertisement and the use of the Renewed Hope Portal, where interested Nigerians can submit their Expressions of Interest”, Mr Dangiwa added.Meanwhile, Economic experts have said the moves by the Chairman of BUA Cement Plc, Abdul Samad Rabiu and the Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote to slash cement prices of Renewed Hope projects will reduce the cost of owning homes.The CEO of NorthCourt Real Estate, Ayo Ibatu, and the Industrial Goods Analyst, Vevita Capita Management, Abigail Alabi, said this in reaction to moves by cement manufacturers.Last week, Dangote and Rabiu announced after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu that they would freeze any cement price increase for all contractors engaged in projects under the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope agenda.Dangote said, “We have decided that we are going to freeze the price of cement for any contractor that is involved with the Renewed Hope projects”.Similarly, Rabiu said, “There will be no increase for the foreseeable future. This is our contribution to support Mr President’s Renewed Hope Initiative”.Analysing the impact of the decision, the CEO of NorthCourt Real Estate, Ayo, said during an interview that the country faces an affordable housing challenge.Findings shows that the housing gap has grown to about 28 million.Ayo said, “They are committing as market leaders to take the heat despite circumstances that ordinarily“It is for a good course and it is restricted to Renewed Hope Estate contractors”.He argued that the deal needs monitoring to avoid abuse, which will discourage new entrants in the cement market.He said cement accounts for about 40% of building cost.“What this does is that it allows for long-term planning. We can do forward contracts and execute them quickly enough. We need to start seeing projects being done as a result of this commitment from market leaders.“The idea here is to aggregate these costs and then ensure that the funds saved are not held by the developers in terms of expanded profit margins but passed down to end users in terms of reduced pricing per unit of housing”.Industrial Goods Analyst at Vevita Capita Management, Alabi, said the development will affect the profit margins of cement makers.Abigail acknowledged that the decision of the cement producers will benefit Nigerians when it comes to the pricing of the affected projects.

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