FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT IN MAGAMA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF NIGER STATE

FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT IN MAGAMA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF NIGER STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

There is no generally accepted definition for the term; child abuse; but it simply refers to the ill-treatment of a child by his parents or any other adult. Edu and Edu (1999) defined child abuse as a willful maltreatment of a child. Such maltreatment according to them can include acts of commission [abuse] and omission [neglect].

A narrow definition of child abuse is limited to life-threatening physical violence, including severe beatings which are inflicted on children by the adult members of the community. Olawale (1995) and Obidigbo (1999) defined child abuse and neglect as intentional , unintentional, and/or well-intentional acts , which endanger the physical, health, emotional, moral, and educational welfare of the child. According to the African network for the prevention and protection against child abuse and neglect (Anppcan 1991), child abuse and neglect comprise any act of omission and commission by adults capable of causing the child physical and emotional trauma. Olawale (1995), Kanu (1996) and Obidigbo (1996) distinguished between child abuse and neglect. While child abuse consists of acts developed and commissioned to inflict harm directly or indirectly on a child, child neglect involves disregard to general needs of the child, which interfere with his/her welfare and development. This means that any abusive or neglectful act or deed meted on any person under the age of eighteen is regarded as child abuse and neglect.

A broader definition however lays emphasis on any treatment other than the most favorable care, and it includes neglect, sexual or emotional abuse and exploitation. Whichever way, child abuse is the flagrant abuse of the children’s god-given and constitution-guaranteed freedom, comfort and peace, by adults in the society.

In Nigeria ,for example, the rights of citizens’ basic and fundamental rights in chapters 4 section 30,40 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria guarantees every citizens’ basic and fundamental human rights . Here, the constitution does not make any distinction between the rights of an adult and children. Thus, children are expected to enjoy these rights. With the menace of child abuse in the country, children are being denied some of these rights. This study therefore examines street hawking in Nigeria, with a view to identifying it’s consequences on children. It makes particular reference to Lagos, a populous city in south southern Nigeria.

1.1       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

It is very unfortunate that most parents and caregivers don’t know the difference between child discipline and child abuse. Parents and caregivers engage their wards in act like street hawking which they termed as child discipline. In the long run, this activities end up moulding and impacting negatively on the psyche of the child as a result of the tough experience that he/she was subjected to at a very young age when he/she is supposed to be in school for formal education. The child is also likely to come in contact with criminals in the process of hawking goods around the neighbourhoods who will in turn initiate him/her into the act of criminality.

In the traditional African society, the training of the child was the sole responsibility of the parents and the members of the community who had the right to discipline and correct the child whenever they went wrong. The parents trained the child in a way that is suitable and acceptable to the standard of the society. Following the advent of western education and the introduction of nursery and pre-primary schools, parents tend  to  give  over  the  responsibility  of  guiding,  directing,  counseling  and  role modeling of the children to school to do what parents should in addition to their normal school function. Parents now push over the responsibility of caring for their children to the school. Many young children who would have been at home at about two years have been pushed over to the school. The task thus become enormous for the teachers and the school management to carry leading to many children being neglected, despised and abused on daily basis.

Nigerian society most especially, Magama Local Government Area of Niger State where this research aimed  at beaming it searchlight is plagued with incidences of child labour, child maltreatment, child marriage, child trafficking, neglect and child prostitution. The effect of such abuses are many and varied including teenage pregnancies; youth restiveness and violence, cultism, youth decadence, joblessness, arm bandits, molestations and school dropouts. This menace has eaten deep into the life of most Nigerian Children.

It is gratifying to note that the convention on the Right of Child (CRC) have now been domesticated  in  Nigeria.  However,  the  National  Assembly  should  be  serious  in looking at this and other international laws especially issues that affect the rights and fundamental freedom of the child. Thus, the problem now is to effectively enforce and monitor the implementation of these provisions as they affect children’s life and rights in Nigeria. These also presupposes that all social rights should be made justifiable in Nigeria so as to empower the less privileged in the society.

Consequently, where children experience several aspects of poverty and special inclusion, they become susceptive to behaviours that give room for the commission of serious crimes. For instance, children living in the slums and shanties of Sabo area of Abeokuta North Local Government may experience different health related problems more than those living in a more decent and desirable neighbourhood. Sometimes, poverty and social exclusions are transmitted throughout a child’s lifetime, even so to the extent of passing it onto his offspring and across many generations for instance, leprosy and tuberculosis. In  a  nutshell,  economic  status  of  family,  parents  or  guidance  as  well  as  the environment has far reaching effects on the youth and development as well as survival of the children.

1.  RESEARCH QUESTIONS
2. How does child abuse cause crime?
3. Why are there still incidences of child abuse in our society?
4. What  are  the  implications  and  effects  of  child  abuse  and  neglect  on  our society?
5. Is there any link between abuse and socio-economic status of a child?

1.4       OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The general objective of this study is to examine the factors responsible for the child abuse and neglect in Magama Local government area of Niger State. In view of the research questions in 1.3, this research have hereby attempted to:

1. Explain and analyze how child abuse can cause crime.
2. Highlight how poverty and low socio-economic status have been responsible for the increase incidence of child abuse and neglect in our society.
3. Analyse the effects and implications of child abuse on our society.
4. Increase the level of awareness of the crime of child abuse in our society.
5. Recommend to schools, a kind of programme to sensitize children on avoiding potentially harmful scenarios.
6. Make recommendations to the government and other policy makers on how the crime of child abuse can be abated.

1.4       HYPOTHESIS

1.(a)  Ho:  There  is  no  significant  relationship  between  child  abuse  and  the increase in the level of crime and criminal behavior in our society.

(b) H1: There is significant relationship between child abuse and the increase in the level of crime and criminal behavior in our society.

2.(a) Ho: There is no significant relationship between child abuse and the high level of poverty and low socio-economic status of people living in Magama Local government area of Niger State.

(b) H1: There is significant relationship between child abuse and the high level of poverty and low socio-economic status of people living in Magama Local government area of Niger State.

1.5       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be of great importance as it will provide necessary information on the causes, effects and means to curtail or reduce the crime of child abuse and neglect in Nigeria. Apart from providing means and strategy for curtailing the prevalence of the  crime of child abuse and neglect in our society, this study will also advocate for practical and conscientious moves towards the rehabilitation of children that have already been a victim of various forms of abuses. In practical terms, the findings of this  study will  bring  to  the  fore;  the  inadequacies,  deficiencies,  flaws  and  other problems inherent in the enforcement of the Child’s Right Act 2003 and other laws on the rights of the child.

The crime of child abuse has received little attention from people in our society in time past. This study has hereby aimed at bringing the crime of child abuse into the limelight and also steps to take in curbing its menace.

This research is also aimed at analyzing the crime of child abuse and how it impacts on our society. The government and other policy makers will also find this work very handy in an attempt to find solutions to this problem. Similarly, this work will also assist law enforcement agencies in their bid to abate the crime of child abuse in Nigeria. And finally, this research will serve as veritable source of reference for students and researchers and those in related discipline for further research.

1.6       RESEARCH METHOD

The data would be collected from both primary and secondary sources. The secondary sources would be gotten from the journals, articles, internet, library and news papers. While the primary source is a simple designed questionnaire tagged “factors responsible for child abuse and neglect in Magama Local government area of Niger State”. The questionnaire will comprise of two sections (Section A and Section B). Section A will comprise of items seeking the demographic data of the respondents such as age, sex etc. while Section B will comprise questions that are aimed on what the respondent feel about the factors responsible for child abuse and neglect in Magama Local government area of Niger State.

1.7       DEFINITION OF TERMS

Abuse: All forms of maltreatment.

Acquaintance: People who are close to a child or living together with a child. They are usually relations.

Child: Child in this study means someone under the ages of eighteen years.

Child labour: Any work or services forced on children against their will at a time when they are supposed to be in school or places of socialization.

Child trafficking: The recruitment, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation.

Custodian: Person(s) entrusted with the care of a child.

Guilt: The fact of having done wrong.

Incest: Sexual relations between close relatives (acquaintance).

Maltreatment: It means cruel and harmful treatments.

Molestation: The act of abusing a child or minor.

FACTORS INFLUENCING HOMEOWNERSHIP THROUGH MORTGAGE FINANCE AMONG CIVIL SERVANT IN NASARAWA

FACTORS INFLUENCING HOMEOWNERSHIP THROUGH MORTGAGE FINANCE AMONG CIVIL SERVANT IN NASARAWA

ABSTRACT

This study examined factors influencing homeownership through mortgage finance among civil servant in Nasarawa It identified the socio-economic characteristics of civil servants in Nasarawa town. It also investigates the housing preferences of civil servants in the study area and identified and examined factors affecting homeownership amongst civil servants in the study area. This is with a view to promoting homeownership. The study employed the use of self-administered questionnaires to obtain relevant data. The study revealed that the housing of preferences of civil servants in the study was ranked  the hierarchical order as follows, Duplex, Condominium, Flat house, Detached house,  Bungalow, Semi-detached, Terrace house, Tenement house, Row house while the factors influencing homeownership were ranked in the order below, Costs of building materials, Land acquisition, Personal priority, Salary, Marital status, Loan facilities, Land security, lending rate, parental home ownership, Gender, Age, Education. This work recommends that in other to improve and increase homeowners amongst civil servants mortgage finance, government should implement a policy that will make cost of building materials  affordable (rebate for importers of building materials), ensure that civil servants salaries are upwardly reviewed as at when and paid promptly, should ensure the mortgage institutions in the country are citizens-friendly, efficient and effective, government should also implement a policy that will make land affordable and secured, and provision of housing loans at a  relatively low lending rate should be implemented. These will really help increase number of homeowners the study area.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the study

Shelter is one of the basic needs of human, hence more than just a place of habitation but a personal abode of dwelling (personal home) is a dream of an average aged African and it is  enshrouded in myth about Africans. Some homes are constructed by the owners with the intent to occupy, many are inherited, and some are purchased as new homes from real estate developer or an existing home from a previous landlord or owner-occupier.

Homeownership is synonymous to owner-occupier, it is driven by the desire to improve the quality of life and as a dream of an average Nigerians, it is premised on the ease-off on rental prices, peaceful habitation with co-tenants, managing pressures from property managers or landlords, conveniences in terms of alteration, right to modify and use, and the self-fulfillment of owning a home.

According to Fetter (2013), Factors influencing homeownerships are many and broad, but the major influencing factors are; Priority of needs, access to fund, Agboola (1987) in his work recognised finance as part of home development problems. Availability of land, affordability of land, security of tenure etc. Other factors have experienced a steady increase in their impact on home ownership. In a tight money market, homeownership is the first area to suffer, since neither the builder nor the consumer can readily obtain finance for home development.

Accessibility to finance plays an important role in home ownership effort. In Nigeria today, finance is the fulcrum around which housing provision revolves, and is the most crucial element in housing investment.The availability of finance determines access to other key inputs of land, labour,materials and infrastructure (Okoroafor2007). The issue of finance is pivotal to the realization of any housing scheme. The problem arises from poor fund mobilization and current pervasive level of poverty, which inhibits savings and investment; the undeveloped nature of Nigeria’s housing finance system; absence of appropriate legal framework for efficient operation of housing finance system and general lack of awareness on the operation and benefits of housing finance system through capital markets(Nubi, 2008; Abiodun, 1999).

Homeownerships are increasing in age as well as income levels. This is most likely reflecting the steep increases in the real cost of “affordable housing.” One factor that has remained the same is the impact of race. `’No matter what the level of progression of minorities in society, economically many remain below the wealth constraint for home ownership” (Gyourko and Linneman, 1996).

A mortgage occurs when an owner usually of an interest in real property pledges his interest as security or collateral for a loan. Therefore, a mortgage is an encumbrance on property just as an easement would be, but because most mortgages occur as a condition for new loan money, the word mortgage has become the generic term for a loan secured by such urban housing, Jackson (2005). Mortgage financing represents the genuine means of housing in the world’s developed economies and is also more of a challenge in developing countries. For example, United Kingdom has the largest mortgage market in Europe which is approximately 25% of the European market. In Mexico, the housing finance market is in a state of retrenchment, the macroeconomics environment has not been favorable to the development of primary mortgage market (Lea, 1996). The Mexican mortgage is highly segments with a verity of mortgage programs designed for different sectors.

In Nigeria, presently the mortgage sub sector accounts for >10% of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product which means that the opportunities that exist in this sector to boost the nation’s economy cannot be exaggerated. The federal mortgage bank of Nigeria puts an estimated over 10 million homes ‘as housing deficit in Nigeria; the implication of this is that with time the mortgage industry will also become large in the Nigeria capital market.

The mortgage industry in Nigeria involves few active players which are often banks subsidiaries and a collection of smaller inadequate mortgage institutions. These institutions include semi government agencies, mortgage banks and building societies. Mortgage financing has often been fingered as the most difficult constraints in the Nigerian housing sector. This study is therefore set to conduct a thorough research into the factors influencing homeownership through mortgage finance Nigerian with particular interest in Nasarawa.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

One of the major problems of homeownership has been the inadequate supply of long term funds which represents the major in issues of providing mortgages. Thus, the system has relied on compulsory savings into National Housing Trust Fund (NTITF) scheme. As a result of this, effort has been made by the regulatory authorities in Nigeria to increase the supply of long-term funds for onward lending to prospective homeowners A few of these effort include the recent recapitalization of Primary Mortgage Institutions in Nigeria, the pension and financial sector reforms and the recently promoted Mortgage Backed securities on the future of investment return in the mortgage industry. According to Agbakoba (2015), Homeownership is a desire of an average Nigerian, and most people in Nigeria still find home ownership as a major, it is interesting to note that all governments in Nigeria since Independence have always highlighted homeownership for citizens as a major priority. Agbakoba (2015) said, “There is a shortage of housing for low – income earners and constantly growing housing demands (due to increase in population) that are not met.” Unfortunately, banks are reluctant to provide mortgage facilities to low – income earners. It is against this background that this study seeks to examine the factors influencing homeownership through mortgage finance among civil servant in Nasarawa.

1.3       Aim and Objectives

The aim of the study is to examine the factors influencing homeownership through mortgage finance among civil servant in Nasarawa.

The specific objectives are to:

1. To find out if lending policies of mortgage institutions affect ownership of housing by civil servants (public sector staff) in urban centers.
2. To find out if high interest rates charge by mortgage institutions affect ownership of housing by civil servant in the study area
3. To find out if size of family affect ownership of housing or homes by Public sector staff Nasarawa
4. To examine other possible factors militating against the smooth of operations of mortgage institutions in the country.
5. To find out if availability of funds affect ownership of housing by civil servants in the study area.

1.4       Research Questions

The following are the research questions ,r

1.  How does stringent lending conditions e.g. collaterals affect ownership of housing by public sector staff in Nasarawa?
2. How do interest rates influence ownership of housing by civil servants in Nasarawa?
3. How does size Of family affect ownership of housing by civil servants in the study area?
4. How do Government regulations affect ownership of housing by public sector staff in the study area?
5. How does availability of funds affect ownership of housing by civil servants in the study area?

1.5       Significance of the Study

To the Government of Nigeria: The study will lead to the understanding of the factors that influence home ownership in urban centers in the country and therefore assist in crafting of policies tailored towards making home owner ship affordable to its citizens.

To the management of the Organizations: The study will be beneficial to them as it will assist in environmental scanning which involves analysis of both internal and external environmental factors which includes; strengths, weaknesses ,opportunities and threats.

To the consumers Lenders: The study will enable them to have various options available in the market as it will enable them be aware of the opportunities a available in the housing market.

To researchers: The study will lead to establishment and examination of the root cause of the problem under investigation, its effects and the necessary recommendations from the research findings while addressing problems of mortgage loans.

It will also be used as a basis of future studies, act as authority and reference. They will have material for future research topics.

To other stakeholders: The study will be useful in business decision making with the companies involved. It will enable other stake holders to deliberate and make important decisions on their dealing with the organizations involved.

1.6       Scope and Limitation of the Study

The scope of this study was limited to the factors influencing homeownership through mortgage finance among civil servant residing in Nasarawa. The study was mainly focusing on mortgage facilities offered by mortgage institution and the influence they had in home ownership by civil servants.

Limitations

1. Some respondents were likely to avoid questions put to them and this may result in wrong conclusions or recommendations made.
2. Un returned questionnaires could lead to inadequate data from respondents. This may affect the study by not giving the general view of lenders. However a representative sample will be selected to ensure that the findings of research are not jeopardized.
3. Due to high confidentiality of some information, it was likely that access to someinformation which was of great importance to this study might be denied.

1.7       Operational Definition of Terms

Home: According to Cambridge English Dictionary home is defined as the house, apartment, etc. where you live, especially with your family: 2. a house, apartment, etc. when it is considered as property that you can buy or sell:

Ownership: Business English Dictionary define ownership as the ultimate and exclusive right conferred by a lawful claim or title, and subject to certain restrictions to enjoy, occupy, possess, rent, sell, use, give away, or even destroy an item of property.
Mortgage: Cambridge English Dictionary define mortgage as an agreement that allows you to borrowmoney from a bank or similarorganization, especially in order to buy a house, or the amount of money itself:

Finance: Merriam Webster define finance as money or other liquid resources of a government, business, group, or individual.

Civil servant: Collins English dictionary define civil servants  as a person who works in the Civil Service of a country or state.

1.8       Background of the Study Area

Nasarawa Emirate in Nasarawa State is located in the Central region of Nigeria. It is flanked by Keffi and the Federal Capital to the North. To the South, it is bounded by Benue River and to the west; it bordered the present Gadabuka and Toto Local government area which are of course, part of the Emirate. To the East, it is bordered by Doma, Lafia and Keana Local Government Areas all of Nasarawa State.

The founding of Nasarawa Emirate in 1835 AD was the consequence of palace tussle that arose in Keffi between Umani Makama Dogo then Madaki of Keffi and Jibrilu, son of Abdu Zanga (first Emir of Keffi).

Umaru later known as Makama Dogo was born in 1958 at Ruma village in Katsina Emirate, his father was UsmanKabawana and his mother Amina. Umaru migrated to Zana , having lost his parent where he =-stayed with Emir Musa, he was accorded recognition by ShehuUsmanDanfodio, among the jihadists that captured Zana under Musa.

After receiving the flag from Danfodio, Emir Musa sent Umaru Southward of Zana to spread the Islamic faith,Umaru arrived at a place called Zana near the present Nasarawa region. He met Abdu Zanga a Fulani normad from Katsina, they both became very close that Umaruadviced them to present themselves to the Emir of Zana for recognition, this was done successfully, which triggered the granting of a request of Abdu Zanga by the then Emir of Zana to settle in a place called Keffi which was ruled by Abdu Zanga since he was the eldest with Gunki, his Madaki and Umaru as Makama.

In 1802, Keffi was famous for the exploits of the great warrior Umaru and with Abdu Zanga. A misunderstanding between Abdu Zanga and MakadiGunki later made the duo paeted ways.

On the sickbed of Abdu Zanga, he gathered his brothers and sons and told them to appoint Umaru Makama Dogo as the Emir of Keffi which was never realized after the death of Zanga  due to the betrayal to one Albarka. However , Makama Dogo was advised to move Westward of Keffi where the Kwato (Igbira) resides, fought then and established his own kingdom but he kicked against the idea and moved Yankardi, where he camped about ten kilometer South of Keffi.

Makama left his sons AhmaduManmanGaladima and ManmanSani in Keffi as a flash back. He later left Yankardi where he arrived at a place occupied by Bassa speaking people called TAMMAH, met Bagobiri known as Kasimau, who assisted him in the establishment of a kingdom called Nasarawa (meaning victorious). Makama Dogo fought many wars in the course of his Islamization, fought Afo speaking people, conquered Ubbe, Usheni, Agwadama, Itta and Gwaffa.

Makama Dogo also conquered Panda due to some misunderstandind between him and Ohimege (the ruler of Panda). Makama Dogo fought the people of Toto (Igbira people) because of the combination of Islam and traditional way of worship by the people. After fighting other kingdoms like Dogo, Agaza and Udeni, Umaru told MadakiAhmadu his eldest son to continue leadership after his death and should please be buried in Nasarawa town.

Physical Characteristics

The major things considered under physical characteristics of Nasarawa are, geographical location, temperature, rainfall, geology, wind, vegetation, humidity, soil.

Temperature

The temperatures are generally high during the day, particularly between the months of March and April. The main monthly temperatures in the state range between 20⁰C and 34⁰C with the hottest months being March/April and the coolest months being December/January.

Rainfall

The study area experience dry season without or little’s rainfall from November to March of about 95mm, which is wet season is from April to October of about 1.30mm,

Geology

From the Jos Plateau, this comprises of basement complex metamorphic rocks, granite and basalt of two or more ages. The basement complex is covered by shadow soil.

Wind

Nasarawa local government is determined by the seasonal movement on inter-tropical convergence zone [ITCZ], which represents the moving frontier between the moist Atlantic air from the south and the dry air from the north. In the dry season from November till March the north east wind are dominant. For the remaining of the year, the south-western winds are prevailing. Generally, the wind velocity is relatively low.

Vegetation

Nasarawa is situated in the Benue valley between the Benue river and Jos Plateau. This area lies within the part of southern guinea savannah. The vegetation of Nasarawa has, to a large extent resulted from extensive agricultural use of the land, the predominant vegetation type is partly savannah which is characterized by a discontinuous canopy, shrubs and grasses many areas are affected by man through bush burning during the dry season. Among the common trees are oil bean trees, locust bean free and isoberline trees.

Relative Humidity

The relative humidity is the measurement of deepness of the atmosphere which varies from place to place and different time of the day. The level of humidity in Nasarawa state in January is quite less that 40% which rises as from February to July to about 88%. By April when the steady rain commences it will be about 75% by August when the inter-tropical discontinuity is at it northern part, must position of the entire state will experience tropical marine wind and continues till December.   

Soil

The major soil units of Nasarawa belong to the category of oxisols or tropical ferruginous soils. The soils are derived mainly from the basement complex and old sedimentary rocks. Lateritic crust occurs in extensive areas on the plains while hydro orphic soils (limbic incept sols) occur along the flood plains of major rivers (Nyangba, 1995).

Socio-Economic Characteristics Nasarawa main economic activity is agriculture; cash crop, such as yam, cassava and egusi (melon). Production of minerals such as salt is also another main economic activity of people in the state; Nasarawa produces a large proportion of the salt consumed in the country.

PROBLEM AND PROSPECT OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT IN NASARWA STATE

PROBLEM AND PROSPECT OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT IN NASARAWA STATE

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the problem and prospect of commercial property management in Nasarawa, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Data for the study were obtained from property managers in licenced Estate Surveying and Valuation Firms operating in Maiduguri Metropolis. Thus purposive random sampling technique adopted in selecting all the [eight (8)] active Estate Surveying and Valuation firms and  duly analyzed using tables and percentages. The challenges identified include: default in rent payment (100%), delinquency maintenance payment /service charge by tenants (94%), insufficient information on tenant to aid in tenant selection  (90%), vacation of premises by tenants without notice (87%), improper use of available  facilities by tenants in the premises (84%), insistence on down-ward review of rent by tenants (81%), sneaking in extra people or animals by tenants (71%), carrying out of illegal business by tenants (68%), illegal occupation of premises by IDPs (65%) fighting or domestic dispute among tenants (61%), constraint in inspection of premises due to tenant behaviours (58%) and difficulty in payment of commission on part of the tenant (39%). It is suggested that there is the need for the property manager to take enough time to find out some basic information about the prospective tenant: and should establish and review from time to time standards or criteria for tenant selection as the situation demands.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF IMPACT OF INFRASTRUCTURAL FACILITIES ON VALUES OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF IMPACT OF INFRASTRUCTURAL FACILITIES ON VALUES OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES

A STUDY OF MARARABA AND ABACHA ROAD KARU LGC

ABSTRACT

These projects is a comparative analysis of the impact of infrastructural facilities on value of residential properties, in study  Study Of Maraba And Abacha Road Karu LGC. The study examined among other things, the provision of infrastructural facilities as an impetus for real Estate development and value in the study area. The study employed the use of structured questionnaire; the data collected were analyzed through simple percentage tables. The study revealed that the residential property in the study area has very limited number of these infrastructure facilities. The result of inadequate provision of these facilities has in most cases being reflected in the amount of rent paid for the properties in study area i.e. Maraba and Abacha Road in Karu LGC. It is also seen that properties in Abacha road command more rental value than those in Maraba which is also dependent on the facilities provided within the residential properties. It is therefore recommended that infrastructures should be provided by both the private and public sectors to better the lot of the residents and to also ensure continuous flow of investors’ income (rent).

CHAPTER ONE

1.0     INTRODUCTIONS

One of the remarkable developments associated with the process of socio- economic change in Nigeria during the last seventeen years has been the damour for increase and improvement of infrastructural facilities. Infrastructural facilities involve the provision of services which the various levels of government in the country as well as various communities are collectively involved. This also includes services provided by voluntary agencies and private individuals for the benefits of the community at large. In the light of the harsh condition Nigeria has been going through recently, sky rocketing cost of building and construction, high cost of finance and unpredictable economic conditions there has been decrease in infrastructure development and little or no maintenance of the existing stock. There has therefore, arisen a need for finding alternative means of infrastructure development as it relates up grading and managing the present. Stock, thus, preserving our built emolument. In line with the basic need of shelter and its preservation, the need to have basic infrastructure in place for the development. Individual who commits capital into real estate as an investment intends to reap optimum returns from such investments. In order to achieve this aim, the investment must be strategically positioned where it has access to basic infrastructure so as to keep this property in a state to command a constant flow of income or benefits and an appreciation in capital value. The majority of investors in residential properties development in Nigeria are individual and a handful of corporate concerns, considering the problem of increasing cost the dilapidated ones still in use, infrastructure is almost static which over stretching of the existing ones continues. The federal government and it agencies like the development control have been doing all they can to improve the present infrastructural facilities stock. But the fact remains that the government does not have enough fund to improve on the entire stock. The study is critically examining the presence state of infrastructural facilities and will also recommended ways to improve these facilities. This is an attempt to increase values to tenants, optimize returns to property owners and presence our build environment. The findings could therefore be applicable to other residential areas presenting problem in Nigeria.

1.1     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Infrastructure facilities have over the years contributed immensely to the general well being of developed nations. Developing nations have also being able to exploit these facilities though not at a highly appreciative level Nigeria has over the years being grappling with the problem of inadequate infrastructural facilities. Corruption has being the bare of adequate provision of these facilities. Residential properties in Minna has very limited number of ‘wit1i these infrastructure facilities. The result of inadequate provision of these facilities has in most cases being reflected in the amount of rent paid for properties in Minna Residential properties areas that have of these facilities ar experiencing poor maintenance which affect their longevity the problem is Property owner in Minna are often unaware of how infrastructural facilities could to a large extent influence rent paid for there properties. This is evident in the fact that only few of them make effort to either proved these facilities or make effort to ensure that these facilities are provided.

1.2.    AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The aim of this study is to carry out a comparative analysis of the impact of infrastructural facilities on value of residential properties. A study of of Maraba and Abacha Road in Karu Local government council.

To achieve this aim the under listed objectives will be pursued.

1. To identify the infrastructural facilities in the study area.
2. To analyze the relationship between infrastructural facilities and property value.
3. To determine the nature and pattern of trends in rental values of residential property in the study area.
4. To compare the impact of infrastructure facilities on value of residential properties in Maraba and Abacha Road.

1.4       Research Question

The following research questions shall guide the researcher towards achieving the set aim and objectives:

1. What are the types of infrastructural facilities in the study area?
2. What is the relationship between infrastructural facilities and property value?
3. What is the nature and pattern of trends in rental values of residential property in the study area?
4. What is trend in the impact of infrastructure facilities on value of residential properties in Maraba and Abacha Road?

1.5       Significance of the Study

This project is an attempt to carry out a comparative analysis of the impact of infrastructural facilities on value of residential properties in Maraba and Abacha Road in Karu Local Government Council, the study discuss the types of residential property in the study area, identifies the types and condition of available infrastructural facilities available and tries to establish the relationship between infrastructural facilities and residential property rental value. The result of research will help developers, investors, real estate managers and valuers and the government to know the relevance of infrastructural facilities to residential properties and its effect on rental value thus given them a better chance to an informed decision.

The study will assist public authorities in putting more efforts in infrastructural investment and as well take full advantage of the income that can be generated from such investment.

This study will also serve as a reference material for subsequent research related to the effect of infrastructural facilities on residential property value where researchers, students and scholars will tap into the wealth of knowledge provided in this study.

1.6       Scope and Limitations of the Study

The research work is confined to the comparative analysis of the impact of infrastructural facilities on value of residential properties in Maraba and Abacha Road in Karu Local Government Council,. It deals with rental value of residential properties such as single room, two bedroom flats and three bedroom flats which are the common types of residential properties found in the study area.

There are several limitation encountered during the conduct of this research. These limitations include: non availability of adequate data which played a major limitation to this write up because of non-cooperative attitude of some respondents who were not willing to give information and data needed to aid findings, time was another major factor which affect the study as the researcher do not have enough time to make detailed investigation on all the aspects of the study. And the general unwillingness of some respondents to fill the questionnaire provided for the research made it difficult to gather data needed for this research study at the most appropriate time.

1.7       Operational Definitions of Terms

Residential Properties: Oxford advanced learners dictionary defined residential properties as properties suitable for living in, consisting of houses rather than factories, or offices.

Property: Property is by property dictionary as anything that is owned by a person or entity, which be divided into “real property” and personal property.

Infrastructure: This is seen as a wide range of economic and social facilities crucial to creating an enabling environment for economic growth and enhances the quality of life, Nubi (2002).

Value: Value is basically the worth of a thing which depend largely on the basis of assessment and unit of measurement.

Property Value: property value according to Millington (1981) is the money obtainable from a person willing and able to purchase property when it is offered for sale by a willing seller, allowing for reasonable time for negotiation and with the full knowledge of the nature and uses which the property is capable of being put.

CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF INSTITUTIONAL PROPERTIES

CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF INSTITUTIONAL PROPERTIES

ABSTRACT

The research aims at assessing the challenges associated with management and maintenance in institutional properties. The research objectives are to investigate the current state of institutional properties and also to determine the Factors responsible for the mismanagement of the public hospital building. Simple percentage rating was used to analysis the data collected. The research  reveals that the study area adopts direct labour method of contracting a frequency of 77%.  Similarly the absence of  maintenance  strategy, poor workmanship are the most factors responsible for the  current defect in the study area with 25% each. Major causes of defects in public hospitals were identify as negligence and poor workmanship with rating of 56% and 29% respectively. Research concludes that lack of maintenance culture, poor workmanship, negligence, absence of maintenance strategies are the most factors that affects the maintenance culture in the study area.

CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

Public facilities are facilities provided, owned, or being monitored by government either at the federal, state or local government level. Basically, they can be classified into two namely movable facilities which are facilities like earth moving equipment, vehicles, computers, typewriters, etc., that can change location from time to time and non-movable facilities like buildings, electricity lines, pipe lines for water, etc., that cannot change their location. All these facilities, irrespective of their group needs effective regular maintenance for proper functioning of the assets acquired. The performance of public facilities depends on the degree of effective maintenance. Unfortunately, however, maintenance is one of the major problems facing the public organizations with a resultant effect of having their premises littered with broken down plants/equipments which are allowed to rust away under rainy and sunny conditions and eventually are sold as scraps (Lawal and Adeyemo, 2004).

Maintenance management in the public sector in Nigeria has suffered from lack of funds for a considerable time. While the requirements for good practice in maintenance management of building stock have been established over a considerable period, the achievement of good practice is by no means universal (Turrell, 1997). Maintenance of the built environment impacts on the whole nation. The conditions of the surroundings in which we live and learn, is a reflection of the nation’s well being. (Lee, 1987) Maintainability of building has been identified as one of the key areas in which the construction industry must achieve significant improvement (Nayantharas de Silva et al, 2004).

According to Iyagba and Adenuga, (2003) it is impossible to produce buildings which are maintenance free, but maintenance work can be minimized by good design and proper workmanship carried out by skilled experts or competent craftsmen using suitable codes of installation, requisite building materials and methods. Management of any process involves assessing performance, and maintenance management of buildings is no exception (Turrell, 1997).

In order for any maintenance manager to measure performance and set priorities, the organizational needs have to be considered i.e. the function and performance of buildings and their appropriate standards will be independent on the user’s perception and their primary needs (Chanter and Swallow, 1996). Performance of hospital buildings and their component depends to large extent on continuous and planned periodical maintenance, which challenges owners and facility managers to institute precise planning based on a well-structured maintenance programmes (Shohet et al, 2002). Despite the ever-growing need for lower operational costs, facilities managers must ensure that facilities are constructed and maintained without compromising safety. In Nigeria, colonial architecture in some of the older public buildings especially hospitals which was hitherto famous for its sturdiness and functionality has now become less attractive because of the general neglect of the buildings. Overcrowding has also led to the deterioration of the facilities installed (Onifade 2003).

If no action is taken all these old buildings and facilities will decay and will only be replaced in function if the means are available. The inadequacy of the operation and maintenance of building and infrastructure in developing countries has serious consequences for economic and social development especially on the health sector.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Existing health sector buildings in Nigeria lack adequate maintenance attention. Most public hospital buildings are in very poor and deplorable conditions of structural and decorative disrepair. While considerable of research have been carried out on factors responsible for the poor maintenance of public housing estates and offices in Nigeria but only scant attention has been given to the key parameters affecting the implementation of maintenance programmes for public hospital buildings. There is therefore a need to establish and evaluate the challenges associated with management and management institutional properties with particular reference to public hospital buildings using appropriate analysis.

1.4       Aim.

The aim of the research is to assess the challenges associated with management and maintenance of institutional properties in Nigeria. To achieve this aim the following objective were pursued.

1.4.1 Objectives

• To investigate the current state of maintenance of institutional properties in the study area.
• To assess the factors affecting institutional properties management and maintenance
• To determine the factors responsible for the mismanagement of the institutional properties in the study area.
• To determine an alternate measure of maintenance practice on the institutional properties.

1.5       Research methodology.

For the purpose of these study which reviews  relevant literature was done on the basis of which information were gathered and is been used to structure a research questionnaire for the survey other sources of information related to the topic were obtained through verbal interview.   

1.6     Scope and de-limitation.

• The study focus on the challenges associated with the management and maintenance of institutional properties in Nigeria, the current condition of maintenance management and the strategies to be adopted in improving maintenance management in the study area.
• De-limitation of the study is an assessment of maintenance management of health care and the facility used in the hospital.

ASSESSMENT SURVEY OF PUBLIC HEALTH FACILITY BUILDINGS IN NIGERIA

ASSESSMENT SURVEY OF PUBLIC HEALTH FACILITY BUILDINGS IN NIGERIA

(A CASE STUDY OF GENERAL HOSPITAL, MINNA, NIGER STATE)

ABSTRACT

The aim of this project was to execute an assessment survey of General Hospital, Minna, Niger State. The research was designed to assess the present condition of the built environment, and to determine factors affecting maintenance management of public health facilities in Nigeria. Primary data were collected directly from the field through the use of oral interview, field observation, questionnaires and building survey conducted. 50 questionnaires were distributed and all 50 were returned fully responded to. Relative Index (RI) was employed for ranking and determination of significant factors affecting the state of the facilities through the collected data. The study determined that although there were facilities and services provided in the hospital, they were inadequate and at times not functioning effectively and efficiently. Use of poor quality components and materials and Absence of a form of planned maintenance programmes were ranked as the most significant factors responsible for poor maintenance management of public hospital buildings. The study recommended that: Government should equally make it as a matter of policy for private and public hospitals that there should be a maintenance policy guiding their maintenance programmes.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Public facilities are facilities provided, owned, or being monitored by government either at the federal, state or local government level. Basically, they can be classified into two namely movable facilities which are facilities like earth moving equipment, vehicles, computers, typewriters, etc., that can change location from time to time and non-movable facilities like buildings, electricity lines, pipe lines for water, etc., that cannot change their location. All these facilities, irrespective of their group needs effective regular maintenance for proper functioning of the assets acquired. The performance of public facilities depends on the degree of effective maintenance. Unfortunately, however, maintenance is one of the major problems facing the public organizations with a resultant effect of having their premises littered with broken down plants/equipments which are allowed to rust away under rainy and sunny conditions and eventually are sold as scraps (Lawal and Adeyemo, 2004).

Maintenance management in the public sector in Nigeria has suffered from lack of funds for a considerable time. While the requirements for good practice in maintenance management of building stock have been established over a considerable period, the achievement of good practice is by no means universal (Turrell, 1997). Maintenance of the built environment impacts on the whole nation. The conditions of the surroundings in which we live and learn, is a reflection of the nation’s well being. (Lee, 1987) Maintainability of building has been identified as one of the key areas in which the construction industry must achieve significant improvement (Nayantharas de Silva et al, 2004).

According to Iyagba and Adenuga, (2003) it is impossible to produce buildings which are maintenance free, but maintenance work can be minimized by good design and proper workmanship carried out by skilled experts or competent craftsmen using suitable codes of installation, requisite building materials and methods. Management of any process involves assessing performance, and maintenance management of buildings is no exception (Turrell, 1997).

In order for any maintenance manager to measure performance and set priorities, the organizational needs have to be considered i.e. the function and performance of buildings and their appropriate standards will be independent on the user’s perception and their primary needs (Chanter and Swallow, 1996). Performance of hospital buildings and their component depends to large extent on continuous and planned periodical maintenance, which challenges owners and facility managers to institute precise planning based on a well-structured maintenance programmes (Shohet et al, 2002). Despite the ever-growing need for lower operational costs, facilities managers must ensure that facilities are constructed and maintained without compromising safety. In Nigeria, colonial architecture in some of the older public buildings especially hospitals which was hitherto famous for its sturdiness and functionality has now become less attractive because of the general neglect of the buildings. Overcrowding has also led to the deterioration of the facilities installed (Onifade 2003).

If no action is taken all these old buildings and facilities will decay and will only be replaced in function if the means are available. The inadequacy of the operation and maintenance of building and infrastructure in developing countries has serious consequences for economic and social development especially on the health sector.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Existing health sector buildings in Nigeria lack adequate maintenance attention. Most public hospital buildings are in very poor and deplorable conditions of structural and decorative disrepair. While considerable of research have been carried out on factors responsible for the poor maintenance of public housing estates and offices in Nigeria but only scant attention has been given to the key parameters affecting the implementation of maintenance programmes for public hospital buildings. There is therefore a need to establish and evaluate the factor affecting maintenance management of public hospital buildings using appropriate analysis.

1.3       AIM AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of this project is to execute an assessment survey of General Hospital, Minna, Niger State.

The objectives of this research are:

1. To assess the present condition of General Hospital, Minna, Niger State as carried out by the maintenance department.
2. To determine factors affecting maintenance management of public health facilities in Nigeria.
3. To make useful suggestions on improving the existing facilities in Public Health Facilities in Nigeria.

1.4       SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

This study evaluates the maintenance services that are provided in the General Hospital, Minna, Niger State. This provides an insight to the significance of the physical characteristics of the hospital in determining the level of satisfaction. Such information will enhance the skills of architects and housing administrators to ascertain specific actions that can maximize more satisfactory maintenance provisions in not only hospitals but in other government owned buildings and minimize dissatisfaction as much as possible, lessons learnt from the evaluations of existing projects can serve as input into ongoing or future projects.

It is expected that the main contribution of the study will be to propose an expanded approach to buildings and building services evaluations of government owned buildings, which goes beyond the limits of present day’s building industry.

1.5       SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

The research is based on the study on “Conditional Survey of Public Health Facilities: A Case Study of General Hospital, Minna, Niger State”. This study takes into consideration the services and facilities provided in the General Hospital, Minna, Niger State

This evaluation focuses on the maintenance management and maintenance framework available at the hospital.

This study is limited to conducting a conditional survey of the General Hospital Minna, Niger State and make useful suggestions on improving the existing facilities in Public Health Facilities in Nigeria only.

1.6      RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research design involves the conducting of conditional building survey on General Hospital Minna, Niger State. The research involved two (2) stages of survey and the use of a designed questionnaire in relation to the objective assessment.

• Iinitial Inspection:

This involves the researcher interviewing the staff and patients about their views about the condition of the hospital building and its facilities.

During the initial inspection, the researcher took a detailed look at the whole building from a distance, inspecting the building, looking at the condition of adjoining buildings and other facilities.

• Building Survey

 The next stage is to undertake a present condition survey of the building. The building is measured. The characteristics of building are plotted onto a drawing or sketch of the building. After which a questionnaire was introduced. The questionnaire is the main method used for data collection for this research and it was personally administered by the researcher. It consisted of simplified questions. Efforts were made to ensure that the target respondents were given the questionnaires to respond properly to the objective assessment needed for this research.

ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE HOUSING POLICY IN FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY FCT ABUJA

ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE HOUSING POLICY IN FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY FCT ABUJA

CHAPTER ONE

1.0       INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the Study

Rapid urbanization and population growth have caused many problems in developing countries. Nigeria the most populous nation in Africa is estimated to have 198 m i l lion people (NPC 2018), is faced with the problem of a huge housing deficit. As a result of this many slums have emerged thereby distorting the growth and development of towns and cities. There are so many people without shelter who have to either squat, or live in make-shift and temporary housing without proper utilities. With a combination of push and pull factors, urban migration in a developing country like Nigeria account for over 55% of population growth (World Bank, 2013). Abdullahi and Aziz (2010) give Abuja’s growth rate as 9.3% and housing development is a major challenge to the government. The series of policies for the realization of this have been inconsistent, inadequate, slow and procedurally difficult. This has led to a serious overcrowding and massive development of squatter settlements and Slums all over Abuja.

Housing is a crucial basic need of every human being just as food and clothing (Aribigbola, 2006). It is very fundamental to the welfare, survival and health of man (Fadamiro 2004). Hence, housing i s one of the best indicators of a person’s standard of living and his place in the society. The location and type of housing can determine or affect the status of man in the society. Kehinde (2010) noted that shelter is central to the existence of man. He submitted further that housing involves access to land, shelter and the necessary amenities to make the shelter functional, convenient, safe and hygienic. Hence, unsanitary, unhygienic, unsafe and inadequate housing can affect the security, physical health and privacy of man.

Abuja has been experiencing very rapid urbanization. This is largely due to urban growth associated with natural population growth and rural-urban migration driven by rapid socio-economic changes and development, tied to the movement of the seat of Federal Government of Nigeria from Lagos to Abuja in 1991. However, this growth has not been matched with simultaneous provision of adequate housing infrastructure. The demand for basic infrastructure services has also grown over the years, quickly outstripping the supply capacity of existing assets which manifested in the acute shortage of dwelling units and resulted in overcrowding, high rents, poor urban living conditions. Many years of underinvestment and poor maintenance have left Abuja with a significant infrastructure deficit which is holding back the city development and economic growth. Abuja needs to make massive investments beyond the means available to government in order to close its yawning infrastructure gap. The Federal Government believes that the private sector can play an important role in providing some of this new investment through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). Therefore, the need to provide adequate, suitable and equitable housing has remained a major priority of the government, since that piecemeal housing can never solve the housing requirement of the country estimated at about 16 million units (Gemade, 2010).

With the declining financial resources of government on housing delivery and other infrastructural services, Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) has been widely advocated for housing and infrastructure development in Nigeria as part of recent housing reforms. The National Housing Policy (NHP, 2006) marked a significant transition of the government to position itself as enabler and facilitator in housing delivery. It advocated increased participation by the private sector and emphasized government’s role in creating conditions to boost housing supply by eliminating legal and regulatory constraints and supporting appropriate infrastructure investments.

This entailed a notable shift in the public sector role from direct housing provision to engaging the private sector in constructing, financing, operating and maintaining housing units. Deriving from international documents such as the Global Strategy for Shelter to the year 2000 (UNCHS, 1992), and later Enabling Markets to work (World Bank, 1993), subsequent policy documents like Nigeria National Housing Policy (NHP, 2006) emphasized the policy thrust of simultaneously enhancing and changing the roles of the public and private sectors. This new role requires that real estate developers learn how to build houses to particular price targets, so that members of different income groups can aspire to the status of homeownership.

In recognition of the importance of housing for the citizenry in Nigeria, there have been several housing policies dating back to the colonial era, some by the central government while some were by regional governments between 1950s and 1970. These regional housing policies were coordinated by the various Regional Housing Corporations (Oladimej i , 20 15). By 1973, the Federal Government established the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) as a public housing agency to play a dominant role in the implementation of the National Housing Programme as outlined in the Third National Development Plan (Amdii, 1993 in Oladimeji, 2015). This study is undetiaken to assess the i mplementation of Housing Policy from 2007 to 2017 with the view to ascertaining the effectiveness of the implementation of the Housing Policy and the challenges that Federal Housing Authority is faced within the period under review.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

Nigeria is perhaps the fastest urbanizing country in the Afi”ican continent and one of the major problems facing the urbanization process is provision of affordable housing. Raj i (2008), opined that as more and more Nigerians make towns and cities their homes, the resulting social, economic, environmental, and political challenges need to be urgently addressed. Modernization, characterized by a rapid growth of the population, can exert pressure on the demand for housing if not adequately addressed by a corresponding increase in the provision of houses. The housing imbalance in Nigeria has widened in the last decade. From 7 million in 1991, the Nigeria housing deficit has since increased to 12 million in 2007 and 14 million in 2010. Latest estimates of the state of housing in Nigeria put the total housing deficit as at end of 2011 at 16 million units and in 2017 housing deficit in Nigeria is 17 million, requiring investments of over N56 trillion to narrow the deficit, (CBN 2017). Nigeria could not overcome this 17 million housing deficit due to government policy summersault in housing policies as successive administrations scarcely complete set projects before their tenures elapsed and most of such projects are usually abandoned for new ones by the successors. Dearth of funds, improper regulatory and compliance system for real estate developers, lack of access to land, corruption, poor administrative system, high cost of construction and the like have also been listed as some of the reasons for Nigeria’s housing sector woes. These factors have led to the huge housing deficit in the nation leaving over 65 per cent of Nigerians dwelling in slums.

The 1999 Nigerian Constitution Section Sixteen (16), Sub Section (2)d under the Fundamental Objectives of State Policy urges the Nigerian State to provide suitable and adequate shelter for all citizens. The Nigerian government seems to have recognized the importance of providing decent and affordable housing for Nigerians and the government agreed that we have housing deficit. The 1981/82 National Housing Programme was designed to provide 350 medium and high income housing units in each of the then 19 states of the Federation by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA). This is in addition to the National Low Income Housing Programme embarked by the government in all the states of the federation popularly known as Shagari Low Cost Housing, under the supervision of Federal Ministry of Housing and Environment (NHP, 2006). During this pe1iod government embarked on elaborate housing programme, a proposed 40,000 housing units were to be constructed all over the federation annually with 2000 units per state including Abuja, the Federal Capital City. The estimated target for housing delivery under this policy was 200,000 between 1981 and 1985 but only 47,500 houses were constructed across the nineteenth ( 1 9) states of the federation including Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. Again an ambitious housing policy was launched by the then military government in 1991 with a slogan “Housing for all by the Year 2000 A.D”. The 2000-2004 policy focus was on the private sector to serve as the main catalyst for housing delive1y in Nigeria, but all these efforts to achieve the various targets failed. Thus, there is need to evaluate the causes of the housing deficit and also examine the nation’s agencies tasked with the responsibility of tackling the menace and by so doing, be able to tackle the problem of housing from the point of cause and to proffering lasting solutions.

The study therefore assessed the implementation of the housing policy in Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, in doing so; the study provided answers to the following questions:

1. To what extent do the factors of provision of Housing affect the growing housing deficit in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)?
2. To what extent does policy summersault by successive government’s impact on the effective implementation of the housing policy by Federal Housing Authority (FHA)?
3. How does access to funding affect the capacity of Federal Housing Authority (FHA) in the provision of low cost housing for the low income earners?

1.3       Objectives of the Study

The broad objective of this study is to assess the implementation of the housing policy in Federal Capital Territory FCT Abuja.

The study was further guided by the following specific objectives:

1. To determine whether the factors in provision of Housing affect the growing housing deficit in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
2. To access the impact of policy summersault by successive governments on the effective implementation of the housing policy by Federal Housing Authority (FHA).
3. To evaluate access to funding affecting the capacity of FHA in the provision of low cost housing for the low income earners.
4. To recommend solution to the housing deficit in Nigeria

1 .4      Research Hypotheses

1. H_o: There is no significant relationship between the factors in provision of

Housing by Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and the growing housing deficit.

2. H_o: There 1s no significant relationship between policy summersault by successive governments and the effective implementation of the housing policy by Federal Housing Authority (FHA).

3. H_o: There i s no significant relationship between access to funding and the capacity of Federal Housing Authority in the provision of low cost housing for the low income earners.

1.5       Significance of the Study

The following are the significance of the study:

This research is an addition to several other researches that have been made in recent times with the aim of encouraging stakeholders in the housing sector to bring the growing housing deficit to a halt by providing affordable housing for Nigerians.

The findings of this study will be of great importance to the Management and staff of Federal Housing Authority (FHA) as it will analyze the Nigeria housing policy and its implementation with a view of establishing the reasons for lack of access to descent housing by low income earners, it will also contribute to the process of developing better housing policies and strategies in meeting the housing demand of Nigerian populace to enhance their socio-economic status.

The study will equally educate Nigerians on the role the government is playing in housing policy implementation in solving housing deficit in Nigeria.

This will enable the policy makers to initiate policies that will ameliorate the housing problem and the government will also know areas of deficiency to address the problem of housing deficit in Nigeria.

1 .6      Scope and Limitations of the Study

The focus of this study is on the Assessment of the implementation of the Housing Policies in Federal Capital Territory with particular references to

Federal Housing Authority (FHA) between 2007 and 2017 in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and how it has led to provision of housing for low income earners. It will comprise of the staff of FHA and members of the public in the FCT. The period between 2007 and 2017 is very recent in the history of our nation when according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) housing deficit jumped from 12 million in 2007 to 17 million in 2017 which represents about 42% rise in the housing deficit within the 10 years in focus. Also the Federal Capital Territory is found according to NBS, (2017) to have contributed about 1.7 million to the 17 million national housing deficits.

The Federal Capital Territory has six Area Councils which are:

1. Abaji Area Council;
2. Abuja Municipal Area Council;
3. Bwari Area Council;
4. Gwagwalada Area Council;
5. Kwali Area Council; and
6. Kuje Area Council.

The study is focused on Abuja Municipal Area council (AMAC) because it is the largest Area Council in terms of population and much of the activities of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has so far been concentrated on this Area council since it is the seat of power and as such attract the presence of so many people, as many people want to be close to the seat of power.

The depth and extent of this study is limited by the following factors:

1. Unwillingness on the part of the staff and management of the FHA Abuja to volunteer information: To this end the researcher persuaded them to release the needed information by appealing to them and by obtaining a letter of introduction from the Department to the Managing Director seeking for cooperation.
2. Inadequacy of time: the time to go repeatedly to FHA Abuja and National Bureau of Statistics to seek information and also to administer questionnaire and consult my supervisor required seeking permission from work frequently. The researcher overcame this challenge by obtaining leave within the period when serious work would be required by the research.
3. Insufficient fund: The researcher would have loved to work on a higher sample size, but that would require more fund to administer the questionnaire, retrieve and analyze the data therein. Such fund is not available right now so the researcher had to make do with the minimum requirement for sample size using the criteiion of 10% as suggested by Babbie (1979) that systematic sampling requires that where a study is confronted with a very large population size, certain percentage can be employed to reduce the population to a manageable size for empirical analysis.

1 .7      Operational Definition of Terms

For better understanding of the study, the basic concepts enumerated below are defined.

Housing: Housing is a permanent shelter for human habitation or building where people live, it can also mean a dwelling place.

Housing Deficit: Means housing shortage, a deficiency or lack in the number of houses needed to accommodate the population of an area.

Affordable Housing: This refers to a house which cost no more than 30% of the income of the occupant household, “in Nigeria the housing policy does not want Nigerian to spend more than 20% of their income on housing expenditure”.

Low-income Earner: This refers to members of the public whose legitimate annual income ranges between N216, 000 and N999, 000. This based on the national minimum wage of N 18, 000 monthly. Note that such income also covers self-employed members of the society.

Middle-Income Earner: The middle income earners are senior officials in government and private establishments. The legitimate annual income of this group ranges from between Nl,000,000 and N5,000,000

High -income Earner: this refers to top government officials in the executive, legislature, judiciary and captains of industry whose legitimate annual earnings is above N5,000,000.

Housing Finance: This refers to a specialized method of long-tenn finance for the purpose of housing construction or purchase.

Urbanization: this refers to the outcome of socio-economic and political development that leads to urban concentration and growth of large cities, changes in land use and transformation from rural to metropolitan pattern of organization and governance.

1.8       Historical Background of the Study Area It was in 1976 that Federal Military Government led by Late General Murtala Mohammed enacted Federal Capital Territory Act (FCT) established Abuja after it has been chosen to be the administrative capital of Nigeria and with solely administrative functions. This was after the failure of Lagos due to the problems of inadequate land space for future expansion, terrible traffic congestion, poor drainage, acute housing shortage and associated costs, unbearable ethnic influence etc. The planned period for the transfer was to be completed in 1986. However, it was on 12^th December, 1991, that the final movement of Federal capital to Abuja became a reality. Abuja is located in the geographical centre of Nigeria (Figure 1.1) and lying between latitudes 6o 45’ and longitudes 7o 39’ north of the equator. The land of approximately 8,000 square kilometres was carved out from the then neighbouring states of Kwara, Niger and Plateau to serve as the FCT and the Federal Capital City (FCC) to constitutes about 250 square metres. From its designed capacity the FCC will contain 3.2 million people when the development of the city is completed, however, the Abuja population has exploded to 6 million with less than 50% of development attained. The government vested all the land in FCT in the Federal Government of Nigeria. The government also created Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), as its agency responsible for the spatial planning and development of the FCT.

ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE ON RENTAL VALUE OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES

ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE ON RENTAL VALUE OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES

ABSTRACT

Property value is dependent upon many characteristics associated with that property such as physical characteristics of property; location of the site in relation to employment centers and other urban infrastructure. In addition the social and economic characteristics of neighborhood, including the presence of such amenities as view, parks, schools and community services affect value. Those attributes are usually provided by the State and Local governments through their various policies and services.  Thus this project is aimed at assessing the impact of urban infrastructure on rental value of residential properties. The researcher adopted the use questionnaire to collect data from the research population which consists of tenants, landlords, property developers and real estate firms that resides in Nasarawa town. The use of tables, percentages and descriptive statistical tools were used to analyzed the data. The results of analysis indicates that the availability of urban infrastructure positively affect the rental value of residential property this is shown clearly in the rental values of properties located in rural areas where there are no infrastructures and those found in urban areas where infrastructures such as electricity, portable water, medical centers etc are found.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0       INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Nigeria with 5.3 percent growth rate has a population of 140 million and it is one of the countries with the fastest rate of  urbanization in the world . One of the greatest challenges of successive governments in Nigeria had been the need to provide adequate housing to its teeming population. Submissions on appraisals of different housing programmes over the years revealed that no significant positive effects had been achieved.

Findings from recent studies of urban problems in Nigerian cities have revealed that a significant proportion up to 34 percent (in some cities) of the houses had no access to electricity, pipe-borne water, decent safe waste disposal systems and un-connected by motorable roads.

Unfortunately, the level of deficiencies and the degree of deterioration of infrastructure in Nigerian urban centres is becoming more alarming and worrisome due to the inability of the public sector to meet up its social responsibilities to the people.

The problems of deteriorated infrastructure are particularly pronounced in the old, indigenous core areas of the cities while the non-availability of infrastructure is peculiar to the outer spontaneous settlements that accommodate the low-income population. This led to the prevalence of a generally unwholesome and unhygienic environment in most Nigerian cities that pose a greater danger to the health of the inhabitants.

In addition to its health implication, Olanrewaju (2000)  has earlier qualified areas in cities with deteriorated infrastructure as poor areas that are characterized by spatial concentration of low-income population, which are possible sources of urban crimes and violence.

The effects of infrastructural deterioration and their non-availability on the quality of lives notwithstanding; Floyd and Allen (1998)  have reiterated their importance in the local development process. Thus, concluding that infrastructure development or the lack of it is often used as a policy tool to encourage or discourage growth. However, this study focuses on the analysis of the effects of infrastructure on property development. It is an attempt to determine the influence of infrastructural provision on the rent al value of residential properties based on the underlying view that improved infrastructural facilities would enhance the rent al value of residential

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The needs and important of urban infrastructural cannot be underestimated since investment in infrastructure is well connected to all factors of economic development. This always includes an increase always offset by increasing opportunities and income to the general vicinity. The closer a residential area, is to new infrastructural projects, the higher the increase in its value. However, the reverse relationship is also true as failing in infrastructural investment is closely related to hold that, decaying or neglecting infrastructure is a major determent of economic decay and recession.

The problem therefore is that, this important and significant relationship between urban infrastructures and property value has not being properly identified thereby resulting in neglect in terms of infrastructural investment especially in the study area.

 1.3       AIM AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study is to assess the impact of urban infrastructure on rental value of residential property in Nasarawa, Nasarawa State. In order to achieve this aim, the following objectives are critically pursued:

1. To identify the types of residential properties
2. To identify the types of infrastructure available in the study area.
3. To access the adequacy of the infrastructure
4. To analyse the relationship between infrastructural facilities and property value.
5. To appraise the problems of residential properties in Nasarawa
6. To make appropriate recommendation on the way forward.

 1.4       RESEARCH QUESTION

            Below are research question derive from the objective listed above.

1. What are the types of urban infrastructure in the study area?
2. What is the adequacy of urban infrastructure in the study area?
3. What are the relationship between urban infrastructural facilities and property value?
4. What the problems associated with urban infrastructural facilities and residential property in Nasarawa?

1.5       JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY

Similar studies in the past have revealed the poor state of our urban infrastructure and its consequential effect on property value with much emphasis on the relationship that exist between infrastructure and property value. However the income generation capacity of infrastructural provision to the public authorities through high rental values, rates and taxes has been neglected. This study is therefore necessary to assist public authorities in putting more efforts in infrastructural investment and as well take full advantage of the income that can be generated from such investment.

1.6       SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The research work is confined to the study of the Impact of urban infrastructural facilities on residential rental problem in Nasarawa. It deals with rental value of residential properties such as single room, two bedroom flats and three bedroom flats which are the common types of residential properties found in the study area. The work activities however, will cover the provision of road network within a period of 2010-2021.

1.7      OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Residential Properties: Oxford advanced learners dictionary defined residential properties as properties suitable for living in, consisting of houses rather than factories, or offices.

Property: Property is by property dictionary as anything that is owned by a person or entity, which be divided into “real property” and personal property.

Infrastructure: This is seen as a wide range of economic and social facilities crucial to creating an enabling environment for economic growth and enhances the quality of life, Nubi (2002).

Value: Value is basically the worth of a thing which depend largely on the basis of assessment and unit of measurement.

Property Value: property value according too Millington (1981) is the money obtainable from a person willing and able to purchase property when it is offered for sale by a willing seller, allowing for reasonable time for negotiation and with the full knowledge of the nature and uses which  the property is capable of being put.

 1.8      HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Nasarawa Local Government area of Nasarawa state was established in 1976 during the military regime under the leadership of general Mohammed Administration, the local government have thirteen 13 wards and it consist of six department which is responsible for carried out the activities personal social primary health care agriculture and natural resources. The state derived its name from the local government Nasarawa. The local head quarter is between latitude 7.8 degree east by Karu.

The also shared boundary with Benue state, Toto Local government area and federal capital territory, the local government have a population 187220 by the 2006 census through contest in the law court it has multi ethnic Afo, Agatu, Gwandara etc.

 THE PEOPLE AND THEIR OCCUPATION

The major ethnics groups are Hausa, Afo, Gwari, and Gwandara. The earliest inhabitants were predominantly farmers and some of them are fishermen they use river for their routine fishing.

Besides, they were also engaged in rearing of cattle, black dying and weaving. Meanwhile, trading is one of their major occupation as a result of the establishment of the Federal Polytechnic.

TOPOGRAPHY

From an elevation of about 1,500 to 1,000 meters, the Nasarawa descends in a series of step to the wide Benue through the northern part of the low lands forms a continuous plain about 50 kilometers wide which gradually slopes from the foot of the Nasarawa towards river benue. The western part of the northern low land is an area of transaction, only part of it can be regarded as belonging to the Benue plains.

ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTS OF RENT DEFAULT ON RETURN OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY INVESTMENT

ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTS OF RENT DEFAULT ON RETURN OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY INVESTMENT

(A CASE STUDY OF NASARAWA)

ABSTRACT

The study assessed the effects of rent default on return of residential property investment (a case study of Nasarawa).  The specific objectives include to examine the causes of rent defaults in Nasarawa town, identify the methods of rent recovery adopted in the study area, assess the factors influencing rent default in Nasarawa town, examine the level of return on investment in most residential properties in the study area; and determine the effects of rent default on return on investment in Nasarawa.  The research method used was survey design. The sampling techniques adopted for this study is the random sampling techniques. Statistical tools such as tables, percentage and descriptive methods were used to presents and analyzed the data. The study revealed that the causes of rent default are general economic conditions in the country, Non-payment of salaries as at the time their rent expired, Irregular flow in tenants’ income, un-foreseen circumstances on the path of the tenants’ and finally, some tenants bad characters and that rent default have negative impact on return on investment. The study recommended that Real Estate firms and landlords must clearly and unequivocally stipulate the consequences of refusing to pay rent and enforcement of relevant laws and regulations.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the study

The management of real estate investment for optimum returns is one of the fundamental areas in real estate profession. These returns may come either as regular income streams, or a lump sum; depending on whether the subject property is put for letting or is out rightly purchase. In order to achieve this sole objective of the investor, an adequate property management schedule must be put in place for such real estate investment (Guyimu & Oladimeji, 2015).

Property Management, according to Wikipedia (2020) is the operation, control and oversight of real estate as used in its most broad terms. The word management indicates a need to be cared for, monitored and accountability given to its useful life and condition. This practice is mostly carried out by estate surveyors who carry out property management services which include selection of tenants, acceptance of rent, responding to and addressing maintenance issues, advertising vacancies for letting, reviewing rent and representing the landlord before courts of competent jurisdiction in ejecting defaulting tenants amongst other services. Sanni and Gbadegesin (2015) further noted that in addition to managing income and expense related activities Estate Surveyor manages construction, development, repair and maintenance of a property. Irrespective of the diverse area of application, there are some challenges with appropriate professional service delivery witnessed by Estate Surveyors and Valuers.  

For instance, in property management, property managers generally face some constraints when discharging their professional duties.  Gbadegeshi and Oletubo (2018) noted one of such constraints to be tenants’ inability to pay their subsequent rents which is known as “Rent Default.

Rent default occurs when a tenant does not pay the rent specified in the tenancy agreement as at when due and in the manner as specified in the term of agreement. There, failure to pay rent is the most frequently committed breach by tenants and is the most common cause of eviction. According to Oni (2017), the rate of default in rent payments amongst the tenants in Lagos metropolis is high. In a survey of 120 Estate Surveyors, 12 (representing 10%) stated that tenants usually fall into arrears for up to six months; 86 (about 72%) stated that default is between seven and twelve months; and 22 (about 18%) were of the opinion that rents are owed for more than twelve months. In other words, the study revealed that 90% of the respondents had the experience of default in rent for more than seven months. These rates of default are attributed to some factors.

Moss (2003) identified factors responsible for rent default to include: affordability, disputes over quality of housing units; confusion over the type of tenure and the prevailing culture of entitlement on the part of tenants amongst others. Also Salleh, Yosof, Johari and Talib (2014) in a study conducted in Malaysia indicated that only ethnic group significantly influenced the ability to pay rent in the study area. Similarly, Dabara, Ankeli, Oluwasegun and Odewande (2014); Ankeli, Dabara, Oyediran, Guyimu, and Oladimeji (2015); and Sani and Gbadegesin (2015) identified poor housing facilities, breach of tenancy agreement, unemployment, retrenchment, poor property maintenance, bad landlord/tenant relationship and harsh landlord’s policy as the major factors responsible for rental default. Without any iota of doubt, rent defaults often affect the nature of returns on real estate investment  

It is important however to state that the success of investing in rental properties is determined partly by space consumers’ (tenants’) attributes. The cases of indiscriminate destruction of properties, breach of covenant and rental default are common in varied degrees and categories of lease (Gbadegeshi and Oletubo, 2018). It is against this background that this study seeks to assess the effect of rent default on return of residential property investment in Nasarawa.

1.2       Statement of Problem

The process of rent collection in residential property has a lot of challenges. One of such challenges is delay in the payment of rent. Some tenants fail to meet up with the agreed deadline for payment. This could be as a result of delay in the payment of wages by their employers, increase in rental price, the effects of inflation, among other factors. Delay in the payment of rent often results  in some significant impacts on return on investment and could also lead to legal battles between the landlord and the tenant, which may lead to the forceful eviction of the tenant. The failure to pay rent and as when due is a major and the most frequently committed breach which rocks the landlord-tenants’ relationship. This accounts for the cause of most eviction in Nigeria (Oni, 2011). In a bid to forestall this, rental property owners as well their agents engage in scrutiny of prospective tenants within a set criteria through an adequate tenant selection process. As much as certain tenants’ characteristics are historical, there is possibility of change in behaviour over a period of time in some aspects, thereby making it difficult to blindly rely on past records of prospective renters. Olukolajo and Ojo (2016) identified rent related issues such as default in rental payment and its associated cost of recovery as a major contributor to conflicts between landlords and tenants and a risk to property investment. It is on this note that the research seek to assess the effects of rent default on return of residential property investment.

1.3       Aim and objectives of the study

Aim

The aim of this study is to assess the effect of rent default on return on residential property investment with particular reference to Nasarawa town.

            Objectives

            The specific objectives of the study include:

1. Examine the causes of rent defaults in Nasarawa town
2. Identify the methods of rent recovery adopted in the study area
3. Assess the factors influencing rent default in Nasarawa town
4. Examine the level of return on investment in most residential properties in the study area; and
5. Determine the effects of rent default on return on investment in Nasarawa.

1.4       Research Questions

1. What are the causes of rent defaults in Nasarawa town?
2. What are the methods of rent recovery adopted in the study area?
3. What are the factors influencing rent default in Nasarawa town?
4. What is the level of return on investment in most residential properties in the study area?
5. What are the effects of rent default on return on investment in Nasarawa?

1.5       Significance of the study

This study focused on the assessment of incidence of default in rental payment and its affect return on investment on residential property investment. This is especially significant considering the rising wave of tenancy cases in law courts and the high rates of rent default in the country. This study will help to reduce tenancy cases by identifying the incidence of default in rental payment and proffering solutions to address these problems. By reducing the number of rent-related issues, there would be better and higher return on investment. Thus, further encourage investment in residential real estate.

The significance of this study will also be found in the area of reduction in forceful eviction of tenants. This will result from a better understanding between landlords and tenants. Furthermore, since rent collection and payment is an important aspect of property management, this study will enable property owners to assess the best possible way of collecting rent. This will help to save time spent on litigations and as well save resources which are scarce.    

This study will contribute to the body of knowledge that is available in public document, literatures, book, magazines and journals. Also it will serve as a reference material for students, scholars and other researchers.

1.6       Scope and limitation of the study

The scope of this study is limited to the examination of the effect of rent default on return on investment of residential property. Emphasis is placed on residential properties in Nasarawa town alone because of the importance of residential properties and it serve as a source of housing and also has the highest percentage of land use. This is because rent collection covers a wide range of property types, and delving into these will make the study too broad.

Limitations

The researcher faced various problems when carrying out this field study. Some of these challenges included:

1. Some respondents were unwilling to fill the questionnaires since they were suspicious about the study. Many perceived it as sharing very vital information which they were not ready to furnish the researcher with.
2. Delays were experienced from the respondents who took very long to complete the questionnaires and constant postponement of the picking date proved to be very frustrating to the researcher.
3. At times some of the respondents did not fill in the questionnaires adequately and ignored certain sections that required the giving of opinions which made it difficult for the researcher to make adequate conclusions.

Irrespective of the various challenges encountered, they did not limit the achievement of the stated aim and objectives of the research as well as the validity of the research.

1.7       Definition of Term

Property: This is the embodiment of tangible ownership right or bundles of right in real estate. It could also be described as a concept of right which can be held separately (Babatunde, 2003).

Rental Value: This is the worth or value of property in an open market. It is also the value arising out of the lease or renting out of a property on a periodic basis usually yearly.

Residential Property: it is a building that is used or suitable for dwelling purpose. They are dwelling house such as bungalows, duplex, detached houses, semi-detached houses, etc. (LBTT 4010)

Value: This is the monetary worth of a thing. It is expressed as the value of a goods or services measured by the amount of other goods and services for which it will exchange. It is a determination or quality of an object, which involves any sort of appreciation or interests. Such appreciation involves feeling and ultimate desire or tendencies. Value is basically the worth of a thing (Olayonwa 2006).

1.8       The study area

Nasarawa Emirate in Nasarawa State is located in the Central region of Nigeria. It is flanked by Keffi and the Federal Capital to the North. To the South, it is bounded by Benue River and to the west; it bordered the present Gadabuka and Toto Local government area which are of course, part of the Emirate. To the East, it is bordered by Doma, Lafia and Keana Local Government Areas all of Nasarawa State.

Physical Characteristics: The major things considered under physical characteristics of Nasarawa are, geographical location, temperature, rainfall, geology, wind, vegetation, humidity, soil.

Temperature: The temperatures are generally high during the day, particularly between the months of March and April. The main monthly temperatures in the state range between 20⁰C and 34⁰C with the hottest months being March/April and the coolest months being December/January.

Rainfall: The study area experience dry season without or little’s rainfall from November to March of about 95mm, which is wet season is from April to October of about 1.30mm,

Geology: From the Jos Plateau, this comprises of basement complex metamorphic rocks, granite and basalt of two or more ages. The basement complex is covered by shadow soil.

Wind: Nasarawa local government is determined by the seasonal movement on inter-tropical convergence zone [ITCZ], which represents the moving frontier between the moist Atlantic air from the south and the dry air from the north. In the dry season from November till March the north east wind are dominant. For the remaining of the year, the south-western winds are prevailing. Generally, the wind velocity is relatively low.

Vegetation: Nasarawa is situated in the Benue valley between the Benue river and Jos Plateau. This area lies within the part of southern guinea savannah. The vegetation of Nasarawa has, to a large extent resulted from extensive agricultural use of the land, the predominant vegetation type is partly savannah which is characterized by a discontinuous canopy, shrubs and grasses many areas are affected by man through bush burning during the dry season. Among the common trees are oil bean trees, locust bean free and isoberline trees.

Relative Humidity: The relative humidity is the measurement of deepness of the atmosphere which varies from place to place and different time of the day. The level of humidity in Nasarawa state in January is quite less that 40% which rises as from February to July to about 88%. By April when the steady rain commences it will be about 75% by August when the inter-tropical discontinuity is at it northern part, most position of the entire state will experience tropical marine wind and continues till December.   

Soil: The major soil units of Nasarawa belong to the category of oxisols or tropical ferruginous soils. The soils are derived mainly from the basement complex and old sedimentary rocks. Lateritic crust occurs in extensive areas on the plains while hydro orphic soils (limbic incept sols) occur along the flood plains of major rivers (Nyangba, 1995).

Socio-Economic Characteristics: Nasarawa main economic activity is agriculture; cash crop, such as yam, cassava and egusi (melon). Production of minerals such as salt is also another main economic activity of people in the state; Nasarawa produces a large proportion of the salt consumed in the country.