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Lagos Vows To Enforce Monthly Rental Policy
“We all see what is being done in other climes, rents are collected monthly. Hence, we are looking and hoping that before the end of the year, or by early next year, we will be able to implement the policy of monthly rental. Also, the rental would be charged according to tenants’ earnings.
The Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Housing, Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, has disclosed that the state’s monthly rental scheme will be enforced before the end of 2024 or early next year.
She stated it during a recent press briefing of the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority in Ikeja, Lagos.
She said, “We all see what is being done in other climes, rents are collected monthly. Hence, we are looking and hoping that before the end of the year, or by early next year, we will be able to implement the policy of monthly rental. Also, the rental would be charged according to tenants’ earnings.
“The good part about it is that we would be test-running it first within the public sector since we can ascertain how much everybody is earning, and once we see that it works in the public sector, we can now push it out to the private sector.”
Odunuga-Bakare reiterated that the N5bn allocated for the monthly rental scheme was still set aside and untouched.
She added that the fact that the scheme was slow to take off showed that the Lagos State Government was still trying to perfect one thing or the other.
She noted, “The last administration that initiated the monthly rental scheme was coming to an end when the scheme was to be introduced. Now, we have a new administration and the governor wants the scheme to come into effect by the end of this year or early next year.”
Sanwo-Olu, had said the current rental model in which people pay yearly rent in advance to property owners has become inadequate to address contemporary realities in the housing sector, especially in cities where demand for property is high and expensive.
Sanwo-Olu advocated rental policy
The governor advocated a monthly rental system, which he said would be affordable to low- and middle-income earners pressured by the yearly rent obligation.
Sanwo-Olu made the recommendation at the 10th meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development held in Lagos recently.
He urged policymakers to consider the suggestion and initiate a regulatory framework that would aid the transition to a new rental system.
The governor said Lagos was already working out monthly rent modalities to accommodate residents not keen on the state’s homeownership scheme.
He said, “In Lagos, we operate a very robust rent-to-own programme of five per cent down payment and six per cent simple interest rate payable over 10 years. We are working on another product, which is a purely rental system, where residents will pay monthly.”
The then Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, corroborated Sanwo-Olu’s position, stressing that the yearly rental system had created inequality in the housing supply and widened the affordability gap for low-income earners.
News
Delta NMA Declares Blessing CEO’s Cancer Report Fraudulent
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Delta State branch, has officially debunked the cancer claims made by relationship influencer Blessing Okoro, popularly known as Blessing CEO.
In a statement on Tuesday, the association revealed that the document is an altered version of an original medical report belonging to a different patient diagnosed with breast cancer.
The statement, jointly signed by NMA Delta State Chairman, Dr. Israel Adaigho, and Secretary, Dr. Usamah Hannah, was sighted by The Nation on Tuesday.
According to the NMA, the viral report was purportedly issued by Xinus Medical Diagnostics and signed by consultant pathologist Dr. O.A. Odigwe.
However, Dr. Odigwe, who is the proprietor of the diagnostic centre, clarified that his facility never issued any report to Blessing Okoro.
The association explained that Xinus Medical Diagnostics is located in Asaba, Delta State not Enugu State as claimed in the circulating document.
The centre was contacted in May 2025 by a doctor from a private hospital in Asaba to conduct a confirmatory histology test for a patient identified as Mbara Deborah, who had a suspected case of breast cancer.
The test confirmed breast cancer, and the original result was issued to the referring doctor on May 9, 2025.
The NMA stated that the document currently being paraded online by the law firm Allen Juris Law is the original report bearing the name Mbara Deborah.
The version linked to Blessing CEO appears to be a doctored copy of this same report.
The statement read in part: “Our attention has been drawn to an online histology report purportedly issued to one Blessing Okoro, aka Blessing CEO, by Xinus Medical Diagnostics allegedly located in Enugu State. The said histology report was also alleged to have been signed by Dr. O.A. Odigwe, a consultant pathologist.
“The proprietor of Xinus Medical Diagnostics, Dr. O.A. Odigwe, who is also a member of the Nigerian Medical Association, Delta State chapter, has reached us and offered the following clarification: that Xinus Medical Diagnostics is located in Asaba, Delta State and did not at any time issue any report to Blessing Okoro.
“The centre was contacted in May 2025 by a doctor from a private hospital in Asaba to do a confirmatory test on a possible case of breast cancer for a patient, Mbara Deborah. The test was done and the result issued to the referring doctor as a case of breast cancer on May 9, 2025.
“A copy of that result is the one currently being circulated online by the law firm, Allen Juris Law, with the name Mbara Deborah as the patient. That result from the law firm is the original version issued to the patient through her hospital.”
The NMA said the clarification became necessary because of the way the altered report was allegedly being used to solicit public sympathy and financial assistance.
It urged the public to be cautious and warned against actions that could tarnish the integrity of medical professionals.
The association also called on relevant security agencies to take appropriate steps to protect unsuspecting members of the public.
“The integrity of our association and its members is very paramount and should not therefore be taken for granted.
“We call on the authorities responsible for maintaining law and order to do the needful and save unsuspecting members of the public from being unduly taken advantage of,” it added.
Recall that Blessing CEO recently solicited financial help from the public for the treatment of what she claimed was stage four cancer.
Following widespread backlash and allegations that her medical report had been edited, she made a U-turn, stating in an interview: “I don’t have stage 4 cancer. That was a miscommunication.”
News
Abuja Court Jails Boko Haram Food Supplier, Hamatu Modu For 40 Years
Justice Binta Fatima Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced Hamatu Modu, a major food supplier for Boko Haram terrorists, to 40 years imprisonment for his involvement in terrorism activities.
Modu, who confessed in the open court to supplying food items and information to terrorists, was put on trial by the federal government through the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
He was slammed with 4- count charges and instantly pleaded guilty to them.
The Director of the Public Prosecution of the Federation, DPPF, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, led the prosecution.
In his judgment, Justice Nyako sentenced him to 10 years on each of the count but due to the plea of the defense counsel, the judge ordered that the 40 years imprisonment should run concurrently, giving the convict opportunity to spend only 10 years.
In another development, Isah Ali, another food supplier also in Borno, was jailed 10 years by Justice Nyako.
His jail term will, however, start three years ago when he was arrested and clamped into detention.
The convict confessed to committing the offence as charged.
Justice Nyako ordered that the convicts be made to undergo rehabilitation and radicalization at the end of their service of the jail terms.
The Federal Ministry of Interior was ordered to determine where the two men will serve their jail terms.
News
Just In: Kebbi Assembly Speaker Muhammad Ankwai Passes Away
The Speaker of the Kebbi State House of Assembly, Muhammad Usman Ankwai has passed away in the late hours of Monday, 6 April 2026.
Ankwai, who represented Zuru Constituency under the All Progressives Congress (APC), was elected Speaker at the inauguration of the 10th Assembly on June 8, 2023.
Details surrounding the circumstances of his death were not immediately disclosed at the time of filing this report.
His death has, however, triggered an outpouring of condolences from fellow lawmakers, political associates, and residents across Kebbi State, many of whom have described him as a dedicated public servant who contributed to legislative development in the state.
Further announcements regarding burial arrangements are expected to be made by his family soon.
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News13 hours agoAbuja Court Jails Boko Haram Food Supplier, Hamatu Modu For 40 Years
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News17 hours agoJust In: Kebbi Assembly Speaker Muhammad Ankwai Passes Away
