•Pledges to upscale civil servants
Lagos State has stepped up action to complete 7,000 housing units towards mitigating the high cost of housing. The state Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has, therefore, ordered contractors back to the sites.
During a facility tour to Sheridan, Sangotedo and Abraham Adesanya estates under construction in Eti-Osa Council, the state Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, said the state government has delivered 3,500 housing units out of the 7,000 targeted.
He expressed optimism that work would soon continue in all estates and more would be added to meet up the thousands of units promised by the governor.
Akinderu-Fatai warned that after three months, beneficiaries of the Rent-to-Own schemes, who did not occupy the houses would have their deposits refunded and the houses given to those ready to occupy them.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Housing, Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, spoke on regulating private estate providers through the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA).
She advised residents to approach LASRERA on all transaction issues to avoid being duped and promised to work with the leadership of local governments in the state to ensure that LASRERA has offices in all the local governments.
This, she said, would make it easier for residents to make enquiries and seek redress against infractions. Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Abdulhafiz Toriola, assured residents of the reliability of the schemes, adding that prospective homeowners should key into it by applying for houses through the ministry.
Toriola added that applicants would get a response within two weeks of their application.
MEANWHILE, the state has pledged continuous upscaling of civil servants for efficiency. The Commissioner for Establishments and Training, Mr. Afolabi Ayantayo, who gave this assurance, yesterday, at Alausa, stated that the government was prepared to continue to invest in capacity building of the state’s workforce.
He identified human capital as the centre of the state government’s strategy for development, adding that building human capacity is not only critical for realizing individual potential for greater efficiency but also central to achieving some of the goals of THEMES + agenda.
Whilst expressing determination to bring innovations that would ensure every civil servant is equipped with relevant skills and competencies to deliver on their assigned jobs, the commissioner affirmed that the state government would deploy existing technology and improve on the training schedules ranging from sector-specific hands-on and interactive training to industry exchange programmes that will make it possible for significant number of civil servants to benefit from the capacity building programmes of government.
Responding to questions on pension payment, the commissioner said the state government had been consistent in the payment of pensions to its retirees and is reputed to be the best pension administration compliant state in the federation. He promised that the state government would not deviate from this path except to assure Pensioners of the state government’s commitment to improve on timely payment of pension and clear the backlog.
