Headline

N5bn Raised To Kick-off Monthly Rental Policy In Lagos

Published

4 years ago

December 8, 2021

Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State

The Lagos State Government has urged Lagosians to key into the proposed Lagos monthly rental policy initiated to kick off in 2022.

Speaking at the 2nd Lagos Real Estate Marketplace conference and exhibitions, tagged: ‘Lagos 21st century real estate investment hub’ organised by the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority, LASERA, Special Adviser to the Lagos State governor on Housing, Mrs Toke Benson- Awoyinka said: “With the state of the country, we cannot really enforce monthly tenancy.

“We need to create an enabling environment for people to subscribe into it. Once people understand how it works, people would rather subscribe than pay their landlord.

“The state government spoke to quite a number of financial institutions in a bid to gather funding at a very minimal interest rate, the same way we do it in the mortgage board and Lagos home scheme but we find it difficult putting those big funds together.

“We have various components like the insurance, the financiers, we have the landlord, we have the tenants and then we have the legal.

“We have put five components together as a state government; midwife the policy we made it seamless and easily accessible by citizens of the state.”

On her part, Nigeria’s real estate company, The Address Homes, representative, Mrs Olufunke Morunfoye who commended policy said: “It’s a good development for many people that cannot afford the humongous yearly payment.

“But our product is actually for all because we enable everybody that comes to us to have a home. With our flexible payment plan, lots of people that think they cannot afford a home in Ikoyi are doing so.

“Nigerians in Diaspora that complained about uneasy payment plan of other developers are compelled to come to us due to our subtle payment plan that is second to none.”

In the same vein, the Lagos State Commissioner for finance, Dr Rabiou Olowo, reiterated that what made it important is because of its impact on society.

“We did a rental experience survey and we found out that 88 per cent of Lagosians would rather pay their rent monthly.

“At that point, we felt that it was an important policy for the Lagos government to conceive and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu immediately keyed into it. The solution will create resilience throughout Lagos. It is going to bring a lot of relief for tenants.

“We worked with lots of stakeholders groups including landlords, tenants, lawyers, financial institutions.

“We came up with a fit of purpose structure that would enable us to launch a monthly rental model in Lagos. As part of putting it together, we have gone through a lot of risk analysis and risk evaluation to look at how it would work.

“We have met with a lot of stakeholders like: Landlords, tenants, lawyers are there, agents are there, we have financial institutions and we also have technical advisers that will come up with a purpose structure that will enable us to launch a monthly rental model in Lagos. We have gone through lots of risk analysis to know it would work.

“We went on to look at operational risk, legal risk and default risk. With all the insight we got from the survey, we came up with a model that would now be launched as the Lagos monthly rental policy.

“We put together with our stakeholders, especially the financial institution a N5 Billion portfolio to kick off this idea and we are welcoming more support from other financial institutions in order to raise the bar of the portfolio to be able to enjoy the policy”.

Headline

‘Pioneer Of Cable TV News’: Key Facts About CNN Founder, Ted Turner

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2026

Editor

Ted Turner, the media businessman who founded CNN died at the age of 87. He died peacefully on Wednesday, surrounded by family, according to Turner Enterprises.

Contents

Launched 24-hour news television

Built a media network

Expanded through sports

Recognition and influence

Philanthropy and global causes

Environmental efforts

Health and later years

Early career path

Leadership and legacy

Personal life

Exit from business

Family

Below are key facts about his life and impact:

Launched 24-hour news television

Turner founded CNN on June 1, 1980, introducing the first 24-hour news channel and changing how audiences follow global events.

Built a media network

He moved from billboards into broadcasting, turning an Atlanta TV station into a national superstation in 1976. His business later grew to include CNN International, TNT, Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network.

Expanded through sports

Turner invested in sports broadcasting and owned teams including the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks, using television to reach wider audiences.

Recognition and influence

In 1991, he was named Time magazine’s Man of the Year for his role in shaping modern news coverage.

Philanthropy and global causes

He founded the United Nations Foundation and supported campaigns against nuclear weapons. In 1997, he pledged $1 billion to the United Nations.

Turner supported conservation work, including reintroducing bison in the United States, and backed environmental education through the “Captain Planet” cartoon.

Health and later years

In 2018, Turner revealed he had Lewy body dementia. He also recovered from a mild case of pneumonia in early 2025.

Early career path

He took over his father’s billboard company at 24 after his father’s death and later expanded into radio and television, despite limited experience in journalism.

“I worked until 7 o’clock, and when I got home the news was over,” he once said. “So I missed television news completely. And I figured there were lots of people like me.”

Leadership and legacy

“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement,” Mark Thompson, Chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said in a statement. “He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world.”

Personal life

Turner married actress Jane Fonda in 1991, and they later divorced after 10 years, though they remained close.

“I would never love anyone like I love him,” she said. “But I just couldn’t keep moving in his world, along the surface for the rest of my life. I knew that I would get to the end of my life and regret not doing the things that I also needed to do for me.”

Exit from business

He sold his company to Time Warner in 1996 and later stepped away following its merger with AOL.

Reflecting on his life, Turner once said: “I lost Jane. I lost my job here. I lost my fortune, most of it. Got a billion or two left. You can get by on that if you economize.”

Family

He is survived by his five children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Headline

Iran’s Nationwide Internet Shutdown Hits 70 Days

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2026

Editor

NetBlocks, a monitoring group, has disclosed that an internet shutdown enforced by the Iranian regime has entered its 70th day, severing key access from swathes of the population under the shadow of war.

NetBlocks reported on Friday that the blackout has now surpassed 1,656 hours, marking more than two months since US-Israeli strikes pounded Tehran and escalated across the Middle East.

“Digital connectivity is vital in times of crisis,” NetBlocks said in a post on X. “Limiting service harms those most in need – people with disabilities, students, small businesses and the general public.”

According to CNN, Iran imposed a separate internet shutdown on the country’s 92 million people earlier this year, when it launched the most lethal crackdown on anti-government protesters since the Islamic Republic’s founding 47 years ago.

CNN further reports that the latest blackout has cut off another potential lifeline for Iranian residents faced with high unemployment and economic pressure exacerbated by the US-Israeli campaign.

(CNN)

Headline

Gas Prices In US Edge Down After Two Weeks Of Increases

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2026

Editor

The cost of a gallon of regular gas in the United States (US) has edged down a little more than a penny to $4.55.

According to AAA’s readings, this marks the first decline in the average gas price after 15 straight days of increases.

The decline is minuscule compared to the large increases in gas prices over the last two weeks.

According to CNN, gasoline costs rose an average of nearly 4 cents a day during that period and had several daily increases of between 7 and 9 cents.

Also Read: Trump insists US-Iran ceasefire intact despite recent exchange of fire

CNN also reports that based on past gas spikes, it will likely take weeks for gas prices to get down below $4 a gallon.

The report, however, states that a previous two-week stretch of gas price declines only shaved 14 cents off the average price, taking the average price to $4.02, before the recent 15-day run of increases.

According to CNN, it could take months for the average price to fall below $3 per gallon, as it did before the war in Iran.

CNN further reports that only one state – Oklahoma – now has an average price of less than $4 a gallon, and its average stands at $3.98. California has the highest average price at $6.16.

(CNN)