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International Day of the Midwife: Adequate Investment In Midwifery Could Save 4.3 Million Annually By 2035- WHO

By
Toyin Adebayo
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0
Regional Director for Africa, WHO

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti
has hinted that with adequate investment in midwifery, the 4.3 million lives could be saved annually by 2035, adding Midwives are central to the prevention of maternal and newborn deaths, and stillbirths.

This has particular relevance for the WHO African Region, which records about 196 000 maternal deaths each year, along with the deaths of one million babies younger than one month.

She gave this hint in her message to commemorate the 2022 International Day of the Midwife, providing the opportunity to honour the work of midwives, and promote awareness of the crucial care that midwives provide to mothers and their newborns.

This year marks the establishment, 100 years ago, of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM). There are currently 143 Midwives’ Associations representing 124 countries worldwide, including the Confederation of African Midwives Associations (CONAMA), which was inaugurated in 2013.

According to her: “Unfortunately, if current trends persist, only 300 000 midwifery jobs are likely to be created in low-income countries, with the shortage of midwives set to increase to 1 million by 2030. This has serious implications for the Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100 000 live deaths before 2030.
The contributions that midwives have to make towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Health Coverage cannot be overestimated. Midwives have been strengthening Primary Health Care for decades, acting as a critical link between women and the health system, and making pregnancy and childbirth safer and more secure.

“Fully integrated into the health care system, and with the necessary enabling support, midwives have the capacity to provide a wide range of clinical interventions, so contributing to broader health goals. These include advancing Primary Health Care, addressing sexual and reproductive rights, promoting self-care interventions, and empowering women.

“Midwives, who have been an integral part of African medicine for centuries, are the front-line caregivers and backbone of maternal and child health care on the continent. They support women through pregnancy and childbirth, providing antenatal, intrapartum and post-natal care, and family planning services, as well as breast and cervical cancer screenings. In emergencies, they can also perform basic emergency obstetric care.

“According to the 2021 State of the World’s Midwifery report, by the WHO, the ICM and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the global shortage of midwives stands at 900 000, and is particularly acute in Africa.

“With estimates that 75% of essential needs for maternal and reproductive health care are met by midwives, it is concerning that the comparative figure for the WHO African Region is only 41%.”

She further stated that: “The African Region’s tragic record of maternal and infant deaths demands urgent interventions to expand the coverage of emergency obstetric and newborn services, along with a revision of the scope of practice to allow more task-sharing and task-shifting to mitigate the shortage of midwives.

“We, as WHO in the African Region, are working closely with our Member States to improve the quality of maternal and reproductive care. We are supporting the development and implementation of national strategies to accelerate the reduction of preventable maternal and newborn illness and death, and to improve every mother’s experience of care, by 2030.

“Despite significant progress in Africa to reduce preventable deaths related to pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, the interruption of services due to the COVID-19 response is only one of several challenges that still remain.

“Governments and partners need to substantially increase investment in the education, recruitment, deployment, retention and protection of midwives. This is essential if African countries are to be capacitated to increase coverage and quality of maternal services, while still responding effectively to health emergencies.
During the pandemic, midwifery has been impacted by restrictive practices introduced in maternal and newborn care to mitigate the risk of cross-infection. WHO, in collaboration with UNICEF and UNFPA, developed technical guidance for countries to enable continuity of essential Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child and Adolescent Health services, while protecting and supporting midwives.
In addition, WHO advocates for the adoption of policies to combat sexual harassment and promote a safe and respectful work environment, for midwives and other health workers.

“On the International Day of the Midwife today, I urge governments, academic institutions, civil society and partners to invest in midwifery education, recruitment, regulation and protection. An investment in boosting the number of midwives in Africa will contribute to better health, gender equality, and inclusive economic growth.

“Let’s give these vital and cost-effective contributors to high-standard maternal care the attention they truly deserve”, she hinted.

Lekki Deep Seaport to Create Jobs, Boost Nation’s Economy-Lai Muhammed

By
Ekaette Ibuot
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0

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has expressed optimism that the Lekki Deep Seaport has the tendency to turn the nation into a shipping hub, boost the economy, and create jobs for the teaming unemployed youths in the country.

The minister who described the Lekki Deep Seaport as a game changer in the Maritime Sector added that, the project would generate over 200 times the cost of its investment.

The Minister made the remarks on Wednesday in Lekki, when he was accompanied by heads of parastatals under the Ministry of Transportation, on a Media Tour of the Lekki Deep Seaport.

According to the minister, “the investment in the seaport is worth 1.53 billion dollars on fixed assets and 800 million dollars on construction while the aggregate impact has been put at 361 billion dollars in 45 years, an amount which is over 200 times the cost of building it”.

He added “the investment in addition to the financial returns it would generate, will create 169,972 jobs and bring revenues totalling 201 billion dollars to state and federal governments through taxes, royalties and duties.

“I called it a game changer because of the impact it will have on the nation’s economy and the jobs it will create, among others”.

The Minister noted that Nigeria would utilize the Lekki Deep Seaport as an avenue to regain the maritime business that was lost to ports in Togo, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, stressing that it is also a big boost to Nigeria in its quest to take advantage of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

“A major advantage we have to leverage is transshipment. With this port, Nigeria will become a transshipment hub and the revenue we are currently losing to our neighboring countries will come here”, he said.

Lai Mohammed however commended the shareholders of the Lekki Deep Seaport for deploying first class equipment for its operations, listing some of such equipment as 7 Ship-To-Shore cranes and 21 Rubber Tyred Gantry (RTG) cranes

He said the provision of modern equipment is why the port can do 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (teu), which is more than four times the number that can currently be handled by the other ports in the country.

The Minister said the project is self sufficient in required electricity as it is now ready to generate up to 10 Mega Watts, in addition to an installed capacity of 16 mega watts.

Zuma Film Festival 2022: NFC,FCTA Fete IDPs With Food, Drinks

By
Toyin Adebayo
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0

As part of the ongoing Zuma Firm Festival 2022 celebrations, officials from the Nigeria Film Corporation (NFC) and the FCT Administration visited and fed hundreds of women and children at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Malaysian Gardens, Waru District, and Durumi IDPs Camps, respectively.

The NFC and FCTA, the festival’s organizers and sponsors, attacked the IDPs Camps with bags of cooked rice and beverages (soft drinks) packaged in take-away packs, which were given to leaders of the two temporary shelters for distribution to women and children.

The organisers of the festival made a donation of Naira equivalent of 100 Dollars to the family of a new born baby girl, who was delivered just as the team stormed the Durumi IDPs Camp, to enable them buy some of the necessary the new born will require.

Speaking during the outreach, the NFC’s Managing Director, Dr. Chidia Maduekwe, said the film festival having coincided with the Sallah holidays, the organisers decided to have an outreach to those in the IDP Camps, to let them know that they are not alone in the challenging situation they are facing for years.

According to Maduekwe : “What we have brought for our women and children who are here, is not much , as it’s just very symbolic, to let you that you’re not alone as your fellow Nigerians are with you. You’re part of us, and we are part of you.

“Film festival is about creativity and uplifting the creative industry and economy , we therefore felt that we should visit part of the society that may not have found possible to join us in celebrating the film festival in the city centre.

“So we felt that we should come to them with the message of hope, because even though that their situation today is one of misery and disadvantage, we know that they have the potentials for creativity in them.

” That’s why we are here to let them that there is hope, so long as they are living and that the Federal Government is concerned about their situation. The government is attacking the issue at the root cause there in Borno State.

“And the Federal Government here in Abuja through its agencies like the FCT Administration is providing succour in terms of accomodation. Coming from the creative angle, of course, federal government through its agency like the NFC is telling them that yes you’re here in the IDPs Camp, but there is creativity in every human being, and that creativity must be unlocked”.

Receiving the team at the Durumi IDPs Camp, Idris Ibrahim Halilu , Coordinator and spokesman of Abuja based IDP camps, commended the organisers of the Zuma Festival for deeming it fit to reach out to them with food and drinks.

Similarly, Ibrahim Ahmed , Secretary of the IDPs Camp at the Malaysian Gardens Estate, who described the outreach as a welcome development, however sought their intervention in other areas like the eviction threat from the owners of the Estate.

2022 Hajj: FCT MPWB Holds Second Phase Of Education, Orientation Exercise For lIntending Pilgrim

By
Toyin Adebayo
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0

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board has ramped up its preparations for this year’s hajj by launching the second round of instruction and orientation for its Intending Pilgrims just a month before the airlift to Saudi Arabia begins.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by PRO, FCT-MPWB Muhammad Lawal Aliyu, the Board’s Director, Mallam Muhammad Nasiru Danmallam, stated that the Board has mapped out a strategy to conduct a hitch-free exercise by preparing the Intending Pilgrims to achieve an acceptable Hajj despite the shortest time available to prepare.

The Director said that the Intending Pilgrims would be enlightened on the entire hajj operation on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th of this month at the Permanent hajj transit camp, near the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport Abuja from 8 o’clock in the morning.

He further stated that with 1537 seats allocation for this year’s hajj, the Board has streamlined its preparation to ensure that Intending Pilgrims from the territory get the best services compare to non in line with the aspiration of the Federal Capital Territory Administration.

He said that Board has already mobilize renowned Islamic scholars for the exercise to educate the Intending Pilgrims on the Hajj rites as well as new policies introduced for this year’s hajj by the Saudi authorities and National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).

The Director advised Intending Pilgrims from the territory to participate in all programmes organized by the Board especially with the new policies and guidelines introduce for hajj this year by Saudi Arabia after COVID-19 pandemic.

He further stated that the Board would not relent in its effort to ensure that the Intending Pilgrims from the Territory attain an acceptable hajj by complying with the rules and regulations put in place by relevant authorities for the exercise.

He hinted that the Board has already commenced the process of transferring the deposits of those who have already opened their personal Hajj Saving Account with Ja’iz Bank as directed by NAHCON.

He therefore warned all intending pilgrims who are yet to submit their account details or submit their International Passport to do so to enable the Board commence the process of their travel documents as soon as clear signal on the exercise is received from relevant authority.

He reassured the Board’s principle of first-come first-served in selecting those that would participate in this year’s hajj exercise through the Board.

He, however, advised intending pilgrims particularly the first timers, to take advantage of the exercises and enhance their Islamic knowledge on Hajj rites and proper guidance toward the attainment of acceptable Hajj.

Floods: FCTA To Barricade Sleep Roads, Urge To Residents To Heed Early Warnings

By
Toyin Adebayo
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0

In order to save lives and property, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will barricade the main road from Games Village to the Airport road, as well as other roads in the FCT.

This comes after severe rains in the Lokogoma District of the Federal Capital Territory on Wednesday morning, which were caused by early morning showers.

Alhaji Abbas Idriss, the Director General of the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), made the announcement in Abuja.

Reacting to the heavy floods which affected,Dogongada in Lokogoma and Damangaza and Apo Dutse in Gudu Districts, Alhaji Idriss appealed to residents to heed the early warnings issued by FEMA.

This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by FEMA Head,PRU, Nkechi Isa stressing that: ” We will continue to educate residents as a government in the language they will understand. Motorists should avoid driving on running water, wait for five or more minutes for the water to subside before driving. Cross check before leaving homes or your work places to ensure that the road is safe”. He said.

Noting that the onset of the rains in the FCT Will commence on the 14th of this month, Idriss said, We are going to have a little above normal rainfall this year.Therefore, residents should be wary of the devastating effects of flooding.

Residents should avoid building on water ways, water channels, raising retention walls, and ensure that the required 25 meters gap between your house and the water channels/roads are allowed for safety in accordance with the Abuja master plan. When you do this we will all be safe”.

The FEMA boss who blamed flooding in the Territory on indiscriminate construction, infractions and urbanisation, assured that relevant agencies were working to remove all obstructions.

“We will advise them to remove any obstructions, nobody should assume that they can block water ways just because they want to have a wider space”. He quipped.

In the meantime, the Search and Rescue Unit of the Forcasting Response and Mitigation of FEMA,(FRM), has rescued a resident from drowning on at Dogongada in the early hours of today.

According to the Acting Director FRM,Mrs Florence Wenegieme, the rescue followed a distress call on the 112 emergency toll free number at 5.25am.
She informed that the victim’s vehicle was totally submerged , leaving him trapped on the roof top of his car.

Securing FCT: DPO Charges Security Personnel On Teamwork

By
Toyin Adebayo
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0

Security professionals, particularly police officers, have been urged to constantly be there for one another in the pursuit of their main mandate of policing the city in order to properly secure lives and property in the nation’s capital.

This charge was given on Wednesday in Abuja by Superintendent of Police (SP) Rahamatu Umar, a retired Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the FCT Secretariat and surrounds.

SP Umar, who was retiring this week after 35 years in the force, said that police work is a team effort because no one can do it alone, and urged senior officers to constantly be on the job by being hardworking and patient while training subordinates.

According to her, police work is a team work, so you can’t do it alone. You have to go with others , so I thank my subordinates and junior ranks – we were always there for each other.

Sharing her working relationship between her Division and the FCT Administration while in service, she said : “We were all good to each other – from the FCT Security Department to other stakeholders. We are attachees to the complex, but we are the overall number one security.

” When anything happens – whether in the night or day, my phones are open 24/7, they call my lines; or they have any security report, they will call me direct, saying beef up security, this is what is going to happen. And I will call my personnel, let us act and the situation brought under control. It is not my doing, but it is the grace of God.

“My advice to my successor is that she should be patient and carry everybody along, put the personnel through the job, and she herself should be up and doing. Let her not sit down in the office, just waiting for her subordinates to do it for her, so she be up and doing by visiting them, talking to them and organising lectures.

“Also, she should not hesitate to call their attention and point fingers to whoever that is wrong. Also, she should place anybody that is misbehaves where he belongs to – that’s the job.”

SP Umar, who joined the Police on the first May, 1987, and retired on Sunday, First May, 2022, said : “I thank God for seeing this day alive- physically alright and I’m bouncing out physically to my family. I thank the FCT Minister for being there for me, because if there is anything concerning the personnel, I would run to him, and he will always answer me”.

She retired as a Division Police Officer posted to FCTA Secretariat complex, which houses office the FCT Minister and top officials of the FCTA as well as the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Ecobank.

Other areas of coverage within the Division include CBN Quarters, FCDA building, Nicon Luxury, NTA broadcasting and admin blocks and Cantonment barracks within the Area 11, Garki District of Abuja.

On her part, the new DPO posted to the FCTA, SP, Gimbya Audu, said she taking over to continue from her predecessor stopped, even as she going to work with the advice from SP Umar.

She said , “I have to work very hard with my personnel as a team, because without their cooperation, then the work will not go well.

“My general charge to my subordinates, is that let us work together, as I need them to be always cooperate like one family, so as to deliver on our mandate here”.

World Hand Hygiene Day: Effective Infection Prevention, Control, Hand Hygiene, Could Cut Infections By Half- WHO

By
Toyin Adebayo
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0
Moeti
WHO Regional Director for Africa

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said data shows that effective infection prevention and control strategies, including as hand cleanliness, can cut health-care-associated infections in half while increasing new-born survival rates by up to 44%.

She went on to say that proper, frequent hand hygiene is critical in the fight against epidemics and pandemics, as seen by the responses to COVID-19 and cholera, as well as the looming issue of antimicrobial resistance.

Moeti stated this in her message commemorating World Hand Hygiene Day in Abuja on Thursday.

According to her:”The depth of the challenge of prioritizing hand hygiene as an infection prevention and control measure is highlighted by WHO/UNICEF global estimates, which reveal that one in every four health facilities worldwide lack even the most basic access to water supplies, and one in every three do not have hand hygiene facilities at point of care. The situation is even more dire in Africa, where half of all health care facilities do not have basic water access.

“World Hand Hygiene Day is marked annually on 5 May to foster and support a culture of handwashing, while raising awareness and understanding about this effective and affordable way to help prevent the spread of diseases.

“This year’s theme, “Unite for Safety – Clean Your Hands”, focuses specifically on health facilities, with a call to all health workers, patients and their family members to unite on hand hygiene to achieve a culture of high quality, safer care.

“WHO has developed and disseminated hand hygiene in health care guidelines to Member States and facilities, and offered technical guidance in the implementation of monitoring tools in countries in the African Region. Additionally, WHO in the African Region has supported the improvement of hand hygiene practices through awareness campaigns in Member States, the training of more than 200 000 health workers since the onset of COVID-19, and the provision of WASH infrastructural support to multiple facilities. Technical guidance on local production of Alcohol-Based Hand Rub (ABHR), and scaling up existing efforts, has been conducted in Member States including Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, South Africa and Uganda”.

Moeti further stated that: “WHO has collaborated with the African Union and the Africa Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention to develop a legal framework to institutionalize Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) standards at national level, and in healthcare facilities. This legal framework emphasizes that hand hygiene is a national indicator of the quality of healthcare systems that must be formalized in all countries. Good practices on hand hygiene need to be expanded and sustained to build a culture of compliance, to ultimately improve the well-being of all people in the African Region.

“Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and hand hygiene measures, are a fundamental part of the WHO’s Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) minimum requirements. The Regional IPC strategic plan includes implementation of these minimum requirements in all countries in the Region, with a view to boosting future resilience.

“A holistic approach that includes improved collaboration, and public-private partnerships and investment, remains crucial to expanding and maintaining infrastructure for safe water, sanitation and hygiene in the Region. More financial resources are required in most African countries to achieve universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene services by 2030, and research on the socio-economic burden of healthcare-associated infections in African countries is also needed.

“To prioritize clean hands in health facilities, workers at all levels need to believe in the importance of hand hygiene and IPC in saving lives. They are key players in achieving the appropriate behaviours and attitudes to this critical intervention.

“Today, on World Hand Hygiene Day, I would like to thank our hardworking health care staff in the African Region for leading by example, and encouraging others to clean their hands. I would also like to acknowledge the work of IPC practitioners, who tirelessly encourage health workers to become part of new hand hygiene initiatives.
To governments and partners, I urge you to invest more in the expansion of access to safe water and sanitation for our people. If we all “unite for safety” by practising good hand hygiene, we will indeed be better positioned to secure the high quality and safer care which we all envision for future generations of Africans.

“Additional Resources: Initiative for patient safety – hand hygiene with private organizations; Supporting you to talk about hand hygiene: A primer for those in health care; Applying the WHO multimodal strategy for successful infection prevention improvements in health care! Initiative for patient safety – hand hygiene with private organizations; Tools for creating an institutional safety climate; and Annual 5 May advocacy toolkit”‘ she stated

Apprehension As Miscreants Assault , Hold FCTA Taskforce Team Hostage

By
Toyin Adebayo
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0

… Injures Police Officer, Others

A gang of miscreants attacked, injured, and kidnapped members of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Taskforce team on Thursday, at Gaduwa District, Abuja.

The hostages were eventually freed after a swift response from the FCT Police Command’s rescue unit, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police for Operations, Bernard Igwe.

The incidence was confirmed by Comrade Ikharo Attah, FCT Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection, and Enforcement, who was on another Ministerial assignment in flood-devastated regions in Lokogoma District when the assaulted team called.

According to Attah: “Some officials of the Development Control attached to the Taskforce, who went to Gaduwa Community to mark for demolition some illegal  houses springing up indiscriminately in the community, were heavily resisted and attacked by some persons bearing different dangerous weapons.

“Some indigenous youths who helped in calming the situation and work towarda  the release of the hostages, he also noted that,  but for the quick intervention of the re-enforced  rescue team, the miscreants would have unleashed more mayhem on the team. 

” I was sent somewhere by the Minister and before I could I arrive the scene the Police officer who was badly injured on the head and others had been rushed to hospital. 

” Those who were held hostage were rescued by rescue team led by DC Bernard Igwe. The area where the indigenous people stay was not marked. The Police will determine what happens to those who were arrested “.

One of the officials that were held hostage and leader of the Development control  officials Kalu Amadi,  said the experience was horrific and may take some time for him to overcome the psychological trauma. 

Amadi who was allegedly striped half naked, explained that the attackers refused to hear that he was on an official duty, and almost killed him.

An indigenous youth who spoke under the condition of anonymity says there are  few houses owned by some indigenes in the areas marked illegal  expansion within the community. He noted that  the place  is largely occupied by non indigenous people whom he pleaded should be allowed to live with them.

He also explained that a man and lady who sustained injury in the conflict have also been rushed to the hospital. 

Workers Dau: FG Begs ASSU, Labour for Dialogue Over ASUU Strike

By
Ekaette Ibuot
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0

As workers join its counterparts all over the world to commemorate the 2022 workers’ day celebration, President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU to seek dialogue with the Federal Government in order to address and put an end to the lingering strike action by the university lecturers in the country.
President Buhari who was represented by the Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo made the appeal in Abuja at the May Day.
He further appealed to organized labor as the mother of trade unions in the country to set up machinery that would help address the lingering strike action.
The Vice President who took time to emphasize the contributions of workers in national development, enumerated what the administration has done, in a bid to improve the wellbeing of workers.
He assured workers that the country is gradually moving into a progressive nation. He added that a new Chapter in the nation’s history of equal justice would soon be rewritten.

He said “We are not unmindful of the anxieties of our children and their parents who are plagued by thoughts of an uncertain future as they stay home because their universities have been shut by an industrial action. I appeal to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the broader labour community to seek the path of dialogue.
Disagreement and debate have always been part of the relationship between labour and the government. Even as we disagree today, we must not do so as mortal adversaries but as members of the same progressive family. We both want the same thing – a country that works for all and offers each citizen a fair deal – even if occasionally we differ on how to achieve this goal. But at all times, we have through dialogue found a path forward. It in this spirit that I call on ASUU to embrace dialogue with the Government and I call on the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress to help facilitate a resolution of this dispute through dialogue. I believe that we can find a path forward in good faith. And this is what we will do”.

“However, we must recognize that the quest to give practical meaning to our Constitution’s promise of inclusion will take time. The lesson of history, the world over, is that structural inequities are not dismantled in one day. As members of the labour movement, you belong to a tendency that has been involved in the most consequential struggles of our history. You understand that the struggle for social justice, equity and fairness is an inter-generational one but each generation writes its own chapter of progress. Just as it took time to win our independence from colonial rule and just as it took time to establish democratic governance, we are moving steadily and surely towards a more progressive Nigeria”, he added.

Speaking earlier, the President Nigeria Labour Congress Comrade Ayuba Wabba who took time to lament over the present challenges bedeviling the nation, charged the Nigerian workers to be
Conscious of the 2023 elections, by making sure that they acquire their voter’s cards to vote out political leaders who don’t have workers at heart.

Ayuba said “Fellow workers and dear citizens, there is no better time than now to enter the political rings and engage more vigorously with the questions of our collective survival as a people and as the working class who produce the wealth that the political class squanders at whim. The absece of serious engagement by our professional political class with the real issues that define our lives and set the limits of decent living even as the campaign s for 2023 general election gets underway should alert and alarm Nigerian workers”.

“Instead of engaging the issues of physical security, social protection, decent wages, unemployment and poverty eradication, fixing the economy, our politicians are more interested in zoning of political offices and threatening the peace of our country which is already greatly imperilled. Clearly, it is a failed political class that would wish to keep the masses, workers and the daily social-economic struggles we face as footnotes in the 2023 political agenda”, he added.

May Day otherwise known as workers’ Day, is a day set aside globally to celebrate workers. workers’ day is celebrated every 1st May of the year.
The theme for the 2022 May Day is “Labour, politics and the Quest for good Governance and Development in Nigeria”.

FCT Minister vows to dislodge Apo-Dutse Pantaker Over Insecurity

By
Toyin Adebayo
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0

As the nation’s capital intensifies operations on suspected criminal hideouts, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said there was no turning back on the planned removal of Apo-Dutse Pantaker, the greatest scrape markets.

The Minister stated that the deadline they were given could only be extended by one week starting today (Friday), claiming that the location houses suspected criminal elements.

Comrade Ikharo Attah, the FCT Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection, and Enforcement, said in an interactive meeting with Pantaker market stakeholders on Friday that the Minister has given the market a marching order to be removed.

He noted that Operators of the Pantaker market admitted that the place was riddled with several challenges, but pleaded for enough time to enable them remove all their property. 

Attah noted that the decision to extend the ultimatum by one week, was due to the Ramadan.  He explained that the Minister demonstrated magnanimity,  but insist that the location of the market was illegal and contravenes Urban and Regional planning rules.

According to him: ” FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello has given a marching order to clear the place, because criminals are largely hibernating their, even the the people have admitted that the criminals have stollen some electrical installations there.

” We have warned them and given them ultimatum before, but they pleaded that their pantaker is not like the other ones, but the biggest in the country. They said that parking their things will take almost one month.  We reviewed it because of the Ramadan and agreed on one week  after the Sallah to vacate the place”, Attah hinted.

One of the leaders of Apo-Dutse   Pantaker Market Association,  Ambusa Umar , stated the operators have consented to the decision of the administration,  but pleaded for two weeks, instead of one. 

Umar added that the operators are law abiding citizens,  working to eke out a living and also contribute to the country’s economic growth. 

He equally acknowledged that the place have had security challenges,  but urged the administration to consider their request. 

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