The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) , Malam Muhammad Musa Bello on Wednesday appealed to religious leaders to support the efforts of government to rid the society of the menace of drug abuse, especially among the youths.

He added that, a lot of the reports have indicated that many criminal issues relating to kidnapping, banditry, rape and murder have their roots in drug abuse.

Bello therefore urged religious leaders to encourage the adoption of core family values among their members, noting that the problem of drug abuse and its attendant effects would be better solved at the community level when they are adequately addressed at the family level.

Bello made this known when a delegation led by the Primate, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, the Most Reverend Henry Ndukuba paid him a courtesy visit in his office, in Abuja.

According to him, “With respect to the issue of insecurity, as you know, we are in a situation whereby only the negative gets reported. But I’m privy to a lot of information that quite frankly I will tell you and I’ve said it elsewhere before, for every incident that you read in the newspapers, either kidnapping, murder, banditry or rape, more than 10 cases had been prevented and thwarted and criminals arrested by the relevant security agencies”.

The Minister also charged religious leaders to continue to support the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He, however,has called on religious leaders to continue to promote peace unity and overall harmony in the country through their actions and communications to members of their flock.

According to the Minister, “It is very important that those of you that God Almighty has bestowed upon leadership, to use your position through  your actions and your communication to your flock to really work towards unity and overall harmony because these will keep us going as a country.”

He commended religious leaders for their prayers and support, during the difficult period of the COVID-19 pandemic also thanked them for their understanding when places of worship in the FCT were closed as part of efforts to curtail the spread of the disease.

While acknowledging that the country is passing through difficult phases in its journey to nationhood, Malam Bello assured that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari was doing its best to tackle the challenges at hand.

Earlier in his remarks, The Most Rev. (Dr) Henry Ndukuba, commended the FCT Minister for creating an environment and atmosphere for peaceful coexistence in the FCT and for political, economic, socio-political and religious activities to thrive in the nation’s capital.

Rev. Ndakuba also expressed satisfaction with the people-oriented programmes of the current FCT Administration, noting that the religious communities have keyed into its  programme of health on the National Health Insurance Scheme and attempts being made to develop the youthful population and entrench social development for the populace.

The Primate assured the Minister of the prayers and support of not only of the Anglican Church but the whole Christian community and Nigerians in general.

He said, “We love what God is doing through you and the President of our nation, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR. Our prayer is that God will continue to grant you success to really see that our nation progresses in spite of the challenges because we are one of those that believe that whatever may be challenges before us today, it’s only a passing phase.”

Also present at the ecent were the Permanent Secretary, FCTA, Mr Olusade Adesola, the Director, Department of Human Resources Management, Dr Bashir Muhammad, The Chief of Staff to the FCT Minister, Malam Bashir Mai-Bornu, Wife of the Primate, Mrs Angela Ndukuba, senior officials of the church and of the FCTA.

…Says FCT Is Not Owing Teachers Salaries, FCT-UBEB

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Universal Basic Education Board (UBEC) has said that the Area Councils Chairmen should be blamed for the indefinite strike embarked upon by the primary schools’ teachers.

Saying, the FCT Administration is not owing teachers’ salaries .

Dr. Alhassan Sule, Executive Chairman, FCT UBE Board who made this known in a press briefing to clarify the strike issue said they were surprised to receive a letter from the NUT Secretariat with the information that they gave a directive to all teachers in the primary schools not to resume on Wednesday.

He said that the FCT administration has been doing its best for FCT teachers, that in December all teachers that are under the payroll of the FCT administration were paid, that they are not owing any teacher salary.

According to him, “At the local government level, they were able to implement promotions, but the issue of arrears became a problem.

“I could remember that in December NUT and the local government had an agreement to suspend their strike based on the agreement that they are going to have a round table to discuss the template on how they are going to implement the arrears.

“I believe that what the area council did by not inviting the NUT to a round table discussion is one of the reasons that they decided to go back to strike.

“They are not talking of the arrears now, but that they should come together and get a workable template on how they are going to decrease all the outstanding arrears date back to 2015, 2016 till date in the local government arrears,” he explained.

Sule, however, stressed that as well as FCT teachers’ welfare is concerned, the FCT administration does not play with it. “They have paid all promotion arrears as far as FCT education is concerned. But that of local government has to do with friction between the LEA secretaries and their chairmen when it has to do with the employment of teachers.”

He however commended the FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, for her roles in ensuring that the arrears are paid.

Meanwhile, the FCT NUT Chairman, Comrade Stephen Knabayi, while speaking during the briefing, said as far as NUT is concerned, the payment of teachers’ salaries in LEA schools, FCT has been prompt and regular. We do not have any issue with that as far as NUT is concerned.

“We have been part of the meeting and members of JAAC where allocations come from the federation account and shared accordingly, where the issue of teachers salaries is made a frontline charge. Also, there is never a time when salaries are held by the six area councils.

“But presently, we have directed that schools should be shut down in the six area councils with effect from today Wednesday. That has to do with the outstanding arrears and the none payment of the arrears of the new national minimum wage, and some months of annual increment in some LEAs,” he said.

‘Be the hero your community needs!’ say Nigeria and South Africa Celebrities, also U-Report supporters, Kate Henshaw , Maps Maponyane

Week after COVAX delivered its billionth dose in Rwanda, UNICEF begins the first ever U-Report Challenge calling on all 13.3 million U-Reporters in Africa to help get vaccines to the unvaccinated.

A statement made available to newsmen by UNICEF Communication Officer/ Communications, Advocacy and Partnerships, Anike Alli-Hakeem on Wednesday in Abuja, Through improving access and confidence in COVID-19 vaccines, the #GiveitaShot challenge aims to activate young people in motivating those eligible in their community to get vaccinated.

The statement reads: “Through improving access and confidence in COVID-19 vaccines, the #GiveitaShot challenge aims to activate young people in motivating those eligible in their community to get vaccinated.

‘Covid-19 information and advocacy messages have been packaged and disseminated via SMS, Facebook Messenger and other communication channels.

“With an initial focus on six countries on the continent (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe), the U-Report #GiveitaShot challenge will be rolled-out for eight weeks. Weekly messages will be sent on U-Report to encourage young people to learn about COVID-19 vaccines. They will be engaged in community actions (both online and offline)”.

Nigeria and South Africa celebrities, also U-Report supporters, Kate Henshaw and Maps Maponyane are teaming up with UNICEF on this initiative.

“Africa has been battling COVID-19 for two years now,” Kate Henshaw said. “At a time of Omicron, it is more important than ever to get vaccines to the unvaccinated.”

“If we want to combat misinformation, it is key to mobilize the continent’s U-Reporters and provide much-needed information on Covid-19 vaccines to save people’s lives”, Maps Maponyane added.

It is estimated that about 10 per cent of the adult population on the African continent is vaccinated.

U-Report is a messaging tool that empowers young people around the world to engage with and speak out on issues that matter to them. Today, U-Report is active in 88 countries worldwide, with 19.3 million U-Reporters all over the world, and works with SMS, Facebook Messenger, Viber, Telegram, and Whatsapp. 

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olusade Adesola has harped on the need for continuous reform and repositioning of the Civil Service in order to sustain its relevance at all times.

He made this public at the on going 43rd National Council on Establishments (NCE) at the International Conference Center in Abuja.

He stressed that holding the National Council on Establishments annually, provides the platform for participants to seek better working conditions as well as reflect deeply on their roles and responsibilities and also evolve strategies and policies that will enhance the discharge of its mandates to the Government and deliver efficient services to the citizens.

He also described Civil Service as the tool which Government uses for planning and executing its programmes and therefore, that a committed Civil Service is the best vehicle for carrying out and explaining to the people, the policies and intentions of Government.

According to the Permanent Secretary, “Already the Administration has cleared 2021 promotion salary backlog of FCTA staff, as well as made staff promotion an annual exercise, added that the steps taken so far, are geared towards building a well-committed FCTA workforce.

” The Administration has made to build a strong and motivated staff, the Permanent Secretary revealed that last year alone, over 40 percent of the FCTA workforce participated in one form of training or the other. Even as he disclosed that plan is already at advance stage to train additional staff at prestigious training Institutes, such as Lagos Business School and Philip Consulting in Lagos.

“Due to the high premium the Administration places on retirees’ welfare, currently the Administration is not owing any single retiree”, he said.

Speaking further, Adesola explained that it is the responsibility of civil servants to ensure smooth and effective day-to-day performance of the machinery of government.

He urged the NCE to ensure their recommendations align with the policy trust of Government and also strive to demonstrate the same concern with Government on the rising cost of governance.

The Permanent Secretary lauded the officials of NCE for including MSMEs as one of the sideline events for this year’s Council meeting, explaining that MSMEs have become the foundation on which the Nigerian economy lies and by strengthening MSMEs, it will help in the diversification of the economy.

He expressed optimism that the meeting will set the appropriate agenda for the Council to further strengthen the Civil Service to enable it meet its objectives and properly play its role in the development of the country.

He charged the delegates to contribute meaningfully to the proceedings and make germane contributions driven by patriotism and love for the country.

Also, in his remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Service Policies, Strategies Office, Dr. Emmanuel Meribole said the cardinal role of Civil Service is service to the public. He added that the principles in the discharge of this fundamental objective are accountability, responsiveness, objectivity and impartiality.

He charged civil servants to double their efforts to ensure that the Civil Service is re-engineered and re-fertilized to meet the challenges of modern times.

On his part, the Director of the Department of Human Resources Management, FCTA, Dr. Bashir Muhammed who welcomed the delegates to the meeting, assured the Council of continuous collaboration and support.

Director, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Udo Atang thanked participants for travelling far and near to the Federal Capital Territory to attend the 43rd Council meeting, particularly commended the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation for granting FCTA the honour to host the epoch-making event.

In an effort to empower more vulnerable groups in the nation’s capital,
the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) through its Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat (ARDS) has restated the preparedness of the Secretariat to reinvigorate the FCT Aquaculture and Allied Trades Centre for women and youth towards.

Making this revelation during a visit to the Center at Kuka Village in Kwali Area Council to assess the production activities at the Centre. the Mandate Secretary of the, Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat (ARDS), Mallam Abubakar Ibrahim assured he will do everything possible to ensure that with the provisions that have been  made in the budget, facilities at the centre will be improved and expanded to accommodate more groups.

According to him in a statement made available to newsmen by Deputy Director Information, Zakari Aliyu stated that, the Centre which was Commissioned by the Minister of State, FCT Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu in 2020 was part of her grassroot developmental programmes aimed at providing opportunities for vulnerable groups particularly women and youths towards poverty alleviation as well as boosting fish production in the FCT.

He said, ” the vision the Honorable Minister of State Fct, Dr  has is to have a centre that will provide entreprenual skills on a regular basis to the less privileged  and the choice of Aquaculture is very strategic being one that is thriving in terms of demand.

We will ensure that this worthy vision is realised so we are going to put in the required funding to improve on the programmes at the centre”

The mandate Secretary directed the Department of Fisheries to Strenghten its monitoring mechanism to follow-up on the progress of the trainees to ensure that they are bsupported and properly guided on managing their businesses.

In her remarks, the Director of Fisheries in the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat Mrs Ifeoma Okeke commended the Secretary for displaying strong commitment towards repositioning the Agric Sector since his appointment.  This she noted has boosted the morale of staff who more encouraged to put in their best.

Okeke hinted that the pilot beneficiaries are all.doing well in thoer businesses and contributing their quota in enhancing nutrition fish production output in the FCT.

One of the beneficiaries Mama Safiya Nokoda who still maintains a pond at the centre, thanked the Honourable Minister of State for the laudable project which she stated has enabled her fend for her family with the proceeds from the fish business.

In another development the Secretary has reiterated the readiness of the Secretariat to work with Area Council Authorities towards improving meat handling and sanitary conditions in the various slaughter slabs in the 6 Area Councils.

Abubakar who was at the kwali slaughter slabs commended the Charman for the ongoing rehabilitation works taking place at the slaughter slab which he advised should make provision for easy removal of waste.

“I recently held a meeting with the Chairmen of the Area Council and they assured us that they will improve on the conditions in the slaughter slabs and with what we have seen here today the chairman of Kwali has proven to be a man of his words” Abubakar said.

The Chairman Kwali Area Council Hon. Chiya Boboyi welcomed the collaboration with the Secretariat which he noted will help the Area Councils benefit from the expertise of the Secretariat towards improving the quality of services and hygienic conditions.