2025 ICSC: Housing Ministry’s Dr. Ibrahim Kogbe Wins HCSF EPIC Award   Dr. Bamidele Ibrahim Kogbe, an Assistant Chief Administrative Officer in the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has won an EPIC Award for the 2025 International Civil Service Day celeberated in Nigeria    The EPIC award was instituted by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack for federal civil servants who distinguished themselves in the service at their various Ministries, Departments and Agencies.   The acronym EPIC stands for Efficient, Productive, Incorruptible, and Citizen-Centered. It represents the core values and a culture change initiative which the office of HCSF is actively promoting through various means.    The award ceremony which took place at the state house banquet hall was part of activities celebrating the 2025 international civil service day in Nigeria.   Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Dr.Shuaib Belgore in company with some Directors of the ministry were on hand to witness the award giving ceremony, along with the immediate past Permanent Secretary, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, now in Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.   The Housing Sector stole the show with the Directors and two Permanent Secretaries  dancing and rejoicing with the awardee.   Dr. Kogbe holds a PhD in Politics and International Relations from the University of Dundee, UK, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Administration of Nigeria.   At the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Kogbe consistently exceeds his primary performance expectations. Asides his routine work as Technical Assistant to Director (Special Projects Unit), he volunteered to ensure that the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP25) and Performance Management System (PMS) is institutionalised in the Ministry.    He facilitated several trainings of the Ministry on FCSSIP25 and PMS, as well as coordinated the timely submission of FCSSIP25 Quarterly Performance Reports of the Ministry to OHCSF.  Dr. Kogbe equally facilitated the Ministry’s inaugural PMS Day and was also the keynote lecturer.   Another landmark contribution he made was the conceptualisation of the Ministry’s first Cybersecurity Awareness Lecture, and served as a member of the Ministerial Technical Team at various national programmes.   His service wide impact includes; co-authoring of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025 (FCSSIP25), crafting three of its six core pillars: Performance Management, Digitalisation, and Staff Welfare.  He also proofread and refined the entire document for clarity and policy coherence.    He co-developed the FCSSIP25 Quarterly Performance Tracking Template, now adopted service-wide, institutionalising performance accountability and transforming reporting practices.    One of his greatest landmark was his proposal to recognise high-performing Permanent Secretaries which was subsequently adopted and implemented during the 2023 Civil Service Week.   Also through extensive capacity-building efforts, Dr. Kogbe has trained over 10,000 civil servants across 22 MDAs in performance management, innovation, and leadership. He has embedded the AMPLE Culture (Accountability, Meritocracy, Professionalism, Loyalty, and Efficiency), and mainstreamed the EPIC Ethos (Efficient, Productive, Incorruptible, and Citizen-Centred).    Beyond his Ministry’s nomination, Dr. Kogbe enjoys broad endorsements from senior civil service figures with whom he previously worked, especially at OHCSF, where he spent the first 13 years of his Service. They have provided written attestations and affirmations as evidence of his extraordinary contributions, describing this national honour as long overdue.   Dr. Kogbe is not merely deserving of Civil Service recognition - he is a beacon of the values Nigeria’s civil service must champion. Honouring him is more than rewarding excellence; it is a strategic affirmation of meritocracy, reform, and visionary leadership. This award is not just fitting, it is imperative. ...

'94 Victorious Super Eagles: Housing Ministry Hands over Housing Allocation to Efan Ekoku   The long-standing pledge of houses to the victorious 1994 Super Eagles Team that won the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia (Tunisia '94), is steadily being fulfilled.   A prominent member of the victorious team, Efan Ekoku, a striker in the then team was handed the allocation letter of his house in Abuja.   Ekoku was represened by his niece, Lisa Jenifer Nwagbogun.    Director and Head of Department, Public Building and Housing Development, QS Pemi Temitope handed over the allocation letter on behalf of the Honourable Minister.   QS Temitope explained that government was committed to ensuring the fulfilment of the pledge and rewarding members of the team for their patriotic service that brought honour to the nation.    In a remark on behalf of the recipient, Nwagbogun stated "I am deeply grateful to the Federal Government and the Ministry of Housing for fulfilling this long-standing pledge to my uncle. It is truly heartening to witness such commitment to integrity and follow-through. This gesture not only honors Mr. Efan Ekoku’s service but also restores faith in the value of public promises being kept".   It could be recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari, in 2022 approved the allocation of the houses to the members of the team to fulfil the pledge made by the then administration in 1994, a pledge fulfilled 28 years after.   The allocation of the housing units to the members of the victorious team was done in various states across Nigeria, while some members received their houses in their respective states, others collected theirs in Abuja. ...

Dangiwa Expresses Support for NUJ's  Journalists’ Village Project    * acknowledges the crucial role of the media in national development    Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc Ahmed Musa Dangiwa has given his support to the NUJ FCT Council in order to bring to fruition, their Journalists village project in the FCT, Abuja. He also gave assurance to include members of the FCT Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), in the housing programmes of the Ministry.   The minister gave this assurance when a delegation from the NUJ FCT Council, led by its Chairman, Comrade Grace Ike, paid him a courtesy visit at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.    Dangiwa acknowledged the crucial role of the media in National development, saying that they bridge the gap between government and the people, informing, explaining and challenging the government to do better.   The Minister equally expressed appreciation to the NUJ FCT Council for their consistent efforts alongside the Media and Communications team of the Ministry, in spotlighting the programmes of the Ministry and policy actions, despite resource constraints.   Dangiwa told the Journalists' Union about key programmes of the Ministry under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; the Renewed Hope Housing Programme which he described as a transformative initiative designed to address housing deficit and create jobs.   Accordingly, he explained the three (3) structured components of the Renewed Housing Agenda to include; Renewed Hope Cities of 1000 units in each of the six geo-political zones and the FCT; Renewed Hope Estates of 250 units in each state capital; and Renewed Hope Social Housing planned for 100 housing units in each Local Government Area of the country.   The Minister further informed about the commencement of work for over 10,000 housing units across 14 states and the FCT, as well as the completion of more than 150 slum upgrade and urban renewal projects across the six geopolitical zones, delivering roads, solar streetlights, clean water, among others, to deserving communities.   Dangiwa also spoke about the transparency approach the ministry adopted in the sale of the houses by creating the Renewed Hope Housing Portal-www.renewedhopehomes.fmhud.gov.ng, in order to give all Nigerians a level playing opportunity to purchase the houses of their choice   Speaking on structural reform, Arc. Dangiwa informed of the Ministry’s collaboration with the state governments and the World Bank to modernize land administration by implementing the Nigeria Land Registration, Documentation, and Titling Programme, which would unlock more than $300 billion in dead capital, to boost investment and productivity.   Similarly, he also spoke of partnership with Shelter Afrique Development Bank to finance the construction of 5,000 affordable housing units, “we are laying the groundwork for Building Materials Manufacturing Hubs in each geopolitical zone to support domestic production and reduce construction costs”, he said.   The Minister while emphasizing on the significance of the media in national development, requested for continuous collaboration with the Union, in educating the public to dispel misinformation and highlight the importance of the programs of the Ministry.   Responding to the request of the Union on Journalists’ village project, Dangiwa gave assurance that Ministry will support the union in securing land and facilitate building the estate through the Cooperative Housing Development of Nigeria under the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).   He adviced that the Union secures a titled land as well as an architect who would design the houses, promising to direct the Federal Mortgage Bank to create corporative housing development to build the estate for the journalists, while the Union brings off takers who gets allocated to the houses, with a payment plan of up to thirty (30) years, at 6% interest rate.   Minister Dangiwa equally promised that the Ministry would inspect the ongoing pentagon building of the NUJ FCT council, for further necessary support.   Speaking earlier, the chairman of the NUJ FCT council, Comrade. Grace Ike, commended the visionary leadership of the Minister in the housing sector, describing it as bold, strategic and people-centred, with  remarkable strides.   She applauded Minister Dangiwa’s global engagements, particularly at the World Urban Forum, as well as his commitment to disability-friendly housing in compliance with national laws.   Comrade Ike, sought the support and intervention of the  Ministry in the NUJ FCT Journalists’ Village project in order to actualize affordable housing scheme for journalists; infrastructure support for the completion of a Pentagon building and a new ultramodern hall to accommodate over 2,000 journalists.   She also appealed for support in access to Housing finance and Capacity Building, seeking the inclusion of journalists in housing finance schemes through FMBN and other platforms. “We are not just here with requests, we come as partners, ready to spotlight your successes, engage critically where needed, and be part of the national solution.    With your support, the NUJ FCT Council will continue to strengthen the pillars of democracy, holding the powerful accountable, while working with government to achieve national goals”, she voiced.   The Chairman, further extended an invitation to the Honorable Minister to be a special guest at the Press Week event of the Union, scheduled for next month. ...