The Ministerial Taskforce on City Sanitation of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has shut Jikwoyi phase II intersection, causing a major traffic jam on the already congested road.
After the junction was sealed on Tuesday, Comrade Ikharo Attah, the Taskforce’s commander and the FCT Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection, and Enforcement, told reporters that the decision was made to facilitate free flow of traffic on the axis.
According to the Minister’s orders, Attah visited the Karu-Jikwoyi route with a group of stakeholders about two weeks ago in order to relieve traffic congestion caused by unorthodox activities.
He explained that FCT Administration was keen on ending the chaotic situation on the road, by removing all the illegal structures built on the road shoulders on Karu-Jikwoyi road, especially the Jikwoyi phase II junction which motorists have converted to a bus stop that build up logjam.
According to Attah: “Sealing of the junction and planned pulling down of the illegal structures was meant to ease movement of vehicles and the residents that ply the route.
“Sealing of the Jikwoyi phase II today, is one of the measures that we have taken to ease free flow of traffic on the axis.
“We have identified the causes of the traffic grilock on Karu-Jikwoyi road, we will ensure that all the illegal structures built on the road shoulders are pulled down.
“The exercise is not meant to infringe pain on the people, is rather going to address the logjam that people have been experiencing and complaining, strategic stakeholders are fully in support of the FCT Administration stance”
Attah said all the vehicles that ply the road or would be plying the road will go to the Celestial Church junction to turn, saying the area was better for U-turn.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Ministerial Taskforce on City Sanitation destroyed a micro market on land belonging to the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) Area 11 near the FCT Administration Secretariat, causing noticeable agitation among vendors.
Traders, mostly food vendors, told reporters on Monday that the taskforce team had given them three months to leave the area, but that they were still waiting for the administration to supply them with another spot.
A merchant, Rafat Mohammed, expressed concern about finding a location to start her business.
“This is worrying, where will I go and start? Government suppose to provide an alternative place for us before the demolition” she said.
One of the traders and leader, Malam Ibrahim Lawal who was expressing his anger over the incident, admitted that the FCT Administration gave them a notice of three months but it was not yet time.
Lawal said: “I feel very bad because we were given three months but is not up to the three months, We were following up the issue till late last week, the people that came told us that they were sent by the minister, others said the minister is not aware of the demolition, how comes? The minister promised us land, we have not seen it” he said.
Fielding questions from journalists after the exercise, the Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to the minister of FCT, Comrade Ikharo Attah explained that the area which is near the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) has constituted a nuisance in the area.
He said pulling down of the illegal structures will bring about sanity in the area that has been converted to mini market which is against the master plan.
“This place is constituting nuisances in Area 11, it started as a small restaurant gradually it metamorphose into a market, now it has become a serious challenge.
“The activities on this single plot of land have become a serious issue, the minister of FCT malam Mohammad Bello has directed that we should clear the place, such illegality will not stand. We gave them warning before coming”
On what the place will be used for, after the cleaning, Attah said the land belongs to National Council for Women Societies (NCWS), the council will decide on what to be done in the plot.
One of the customers who was at the scene, Elder Charles Olili said the place was the only nearby restaurant that its food is affordable, but he explained that government has powers to decide what is good for the people, “It is a legal plot of land but has been turned into an illegal market” he said.
The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) on Saturday disowned Prince Joseph Kpokpogiri, a former boyfriend of popular Nollywood star Tonto Dikeh, after the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) demolished his multi-million naira mansion in Abuja.
Officials of FHA, including its Managing Director, Gbenga Ashafa, who visited the deadly building site three days ago with some top FCTA management team, admitted that the parcel of land originally belonged to FHA, but denied that a legal building design was approved before the mansion was completed.
FHA, however, affirmed that notices to stop work were served at different stages and time of the work, but Kpokpogiri refused to comply.
The Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCTA) Engr. Shehu Hadi who was also in the team that visited the site, said that the road alignment had been done long ago and FHA was duly notified.
Hadi noted that the road alignment which the demolished building obstructs, was designed to serve as an important bypass to Abuja-Keffi axis.
He added that any plan to realign the road because of the building would be difficult and not fair judgement to those that it would affect, considering that the demolished building was not in existence earlier when the plan started.
Also speaking, the Director, Department of Development Control, Muktar Galadima said the Multi-billion Naira Mansion, located in the highbrow District of Guzape, Abuja, was an unapproved, and can’t be allowed to over ride public interest.
Galadima noted that the Mansion sitting on a rock in the fast developing district, is an obstruction to a major road network, connecting the popular Apo bridge to many parts of the city.
According to him, FHA was duly allocated the Area in the district to carry out its Mass Housing programme.
He however, clarified that when the road network of the district was officially realigned, FHA was promptly notified that some plots of lands within its area have been affected.
Galadima added, that FHA was ordered not to allow any further development on the affected plots , as replacement plots will be given to them.
He also denied lack of inter-agency collaboration between FCTA and FHA, stating that all necessary communications were properly documented.
According to him: ” There is adequate inter-agency Corporation, the Federal Housing Authority ( FHA) approached the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) for allocation, and they were given global approval and were asked to make sure that whatever they do aligns with the approval
” The plot in question was part of what was in the allocation, but because of the importance of the road, we wrote to FHA, notifying it that a number of your plots have been affected the realignment of the road, and that we are going to give it replacement plots.
We told them that no development should be allowed on the plots, and this was around 2019, we came for site visit and have given them notice. We even marked the building for demolition, but the owner cleaned it off”, Galadima said.
Kpokpogiri, the estranged lover of Popular Nollywood star, Tonto Dikeh has however claimed that the decision to pull down his mansion worth over N700m was an act of oppression.
Kpokpogiri alleged that his house was demolished because he refused to sell it to some ” powerful ” but unnamed individuals who had begged him to sell the property to them.
He assured that he would fight fervently to get justice for the demolished building.
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has sworn not to back down from its planned demolition of all estates illegally erected on waterways.
This is as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was negatively mentioned in the 2022 Annual Flood Outlook.
Shuaib Umar, Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), reiterated this pledge during a stakeholders meeting with Trademore Estate Management and Residents Associations on Friday.
According to Umar: ” by next week all these houses are going down.The solution to this is the removal of these houses. We won’t like ourselves at the detriment of others.
” Even a single house could cause problem for so many people. If that single house is not constructed where it is suppose to be constructed “.
Meanwhile, the Director of Department of Development Control, Tlp Muktar Galadima who led a demolition squad to one of the offending Estates, in Lugbe District, said it was appalling that developers were jeopardising peoples lives.
He hinted that the Valley Hub estate in Lugbe that is already under the fire of angry bulldozers, violated development rules, by illegally expanding and building on green area.
He also said that over 20 houses built along waterways at Trademore Estate and others would be demolished as scheduled, after the ultimatum given to them.
Galadima said, ” now is the moment, those houses marked for removal are going.
” Anything that would come after can be resolved. The first thing now is to save lives and properties.
” This demolition will not only be limited to Trade More estate, even the down stream we are going to remove all the houses that are on the flood plain “.
However, a representative of Trademore Estate, Arc. Ifeanyi Uzoigwe, said there was need for FCTA to evaluate a dam located at Alieta, a community before Lugbe, which has collapsed and is contributing to the flooding.
Uzuigwe also added some of the water channels within the area, need to be expanded urgently.
According to the recent Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency’s (NIHSA) 2022 Annual Flood Outlook, Gwagwalada and Abuja Municipal Area Councils (AMAC) are extremely likely flood risk area councils.
The forecast stated that, 233 local government areas in 32 states and the FCT are in very probably flood risk zones, while 212 local government areas in 35 states and the FCT are in moderate probability flood risk areas.
Alhaji Abbas Idriss, the Director General of FEMA, stated this in response to the flood forecast in Abuja.
The Head of the PRU, Nkechi Isa, made this statement available to journalists in Abuja.
To mitigate the impact of flooding, the FCT Emergency Management Agency,(FEMA), has put in place a number of measures, which include a high level and technical assessment of all flood prone and vulnerable areas in the FCT with a high level technical partner, the FCDA, Department of Development Control, Engineering Services, Facility maintenance and management department, Abuja Environmental protection Board, Urban and regiional planning among others to identify and remove all objects obstructing the free flow of storm water.
As part of measures to mitigate flooding in the FCT, Alhaji Idriss appealed to the area councils to strengthen their Local Emergency Management Committees to enable them respond to flood early warnings and carry out other mitigation strategies in their locality.
Idriss also said that FEMA was intensifying efforts to convene an extended stakeholders conference of all professionals such as water and civil Engineering Department, Architects, Town planners, Builders and other relevant professionals involved in town planning, design and provision of engineering infrastructure. He informed that particular attention was being paid to all the vulnerable areas of the FCT. According to the DG, FEMA would continue to strengthen and train the local divers and equip them adequately to tackle any emergency in all the area councils.
Idriss further stated that the FCT Minister ,Malam Mohammed Musa Bello has directed that all structures obstructing the free flow of water must be removed to prevent the loss of lives and property of the residents of the FCT. .
“The problem is enforcement,we have the laws.Even if it means having a mobile court to stop the violations that could lead to loss of lives and property in all towns in the FCT would be quite appropriate . He said.
The FEMA boss who blamed the recent incidents of flooding in the FCT on human activities like indiscriminate building on water ways, refuse dumping and removal and blocking of manholes led to cloging of the drains which is supposed to channel water to the discharge points.
“Since the end of last year’s raining season, FEMA has been carrying out impact assessment of the entire FCT and noticed some noticed infrastructural gaps,like inadequate box culverts and other infractions especially in Lokogoma and Galadimawa districts.
It therefore commends the FCDA for prompt replacement of some of the box culverts with River bridges “.
On farming this season, he urged farmers to desist from farming on flood plains and to always consult relevant agencies on the types of crops to plant and when to plant to avoid loss of crops,which could lead to food insecurity.
Idriss appealed to residents to own up to their environment to ensure that nobody violates the masterplan by building on water ways, dumping of refuse or any activity that could hinder free flow of storm water.
He urged residents to heed to the early warning and follow FEMA on its social media handles or its website ; www.fema.abj.gov.ng for more information.
He advised residents to make good use of the and toll free 112 emergency number for prompt response to any emergency.
The Director General, West African Health Organization (WAHO), Prof. Staley Okolo, joins twenty-five individuals and eleven organizations to be conferred with the 2019/2020 National Productivity Order of Merit Award.
The Minister of Labour and Employment Dr. Chris Ngige said, the award is to usher in the activities lined up to observe the 19th National Productivity Day and Conferment of the National Productivity Order of Merit Award NPOM, the Federal Government said it is ready to recognise higher productivity and excellence in service of individuals and organisations and their efforts to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy.
Ngige said that given the cardinal role of productivity in the development of any nation, it was imperative that the citizenry be consistently reminded of the need for developing a productive mindset that will ensure the productivity growth of all the sectors of the economy.
He said that the Award among other things, aims at stimulating productivity consciousness and reward innovation, creativity and hard work among Nigerians.
“It is also to recognise and reward best practices in productivity, quality and innovation,” he said.
Ngige disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari would on Thursday May 12, confer the awards NPOM Award to deserving individuals and organisations that have worked hard for the economic growth of the country in commemoration of the 19th NPD Day and NPOM Award for 2019 and 2020.
Meanwhile, Okolo in 2018, left all his role to answer to President Buhari ’s call to national service when he was appointed to head WAHO as one of Nigeria’s Statutory Appointees to ECOWAS.
The DG WAHO is a multiple award-winning clinical leader and has in his current assignment led WAHO with intelligence, integrity and international acclaim.
He has championed several financial governance initiatives and positioned WAHO globally as West Africa’s regional health institution, with prestigious roles as one of the advisers of the London 2021 G7 summit and a member of the Commonwealth Advisory Committee on Health.
With President Buhari as the ECOWAS COVID-19 Champion, WAHO has led the hugely successful West African regional response to the COVID-19 pandemic, providing critically needed medical materials, diagnostic tests, personal protection equipment, training, risk communication resources and financial assistance to ECOWAS Member States.
Okolo spearheaded all the initiatives, supported by Nigeria’s Government which provided logistics.
He successfully negotiated the ECOWAS harmonised agreements on regional travel during the pandemic and is currently pursuing across the region during pandemics and is currently driving the agenda for local production of vaccines in the region.
Some of the awardees include the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu and the Secretary to the Federal Government, Mr Boss Mustapha. Others are the immediate past Director General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chike Ihekweazu, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Akin Aboyomi, industrialist Abdusamad Rabiu and billionaire businessman, Mike Adenuga jnr, among others.
Ngige also noted that NPOM post humous awards would be conferred on late Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh who died of the Ebola virus while quarantining Ebola patient, Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian in a medical facility in Lagos.
Others are the late Mr. Babatunde Lawal who until his death was the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Affairs Office in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Some organisations shortlisted for the award are the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Erisco Foods Limited, Financial Derivatives Limited, Lagos, Crown Flour Mills Lagos and Tummy Tummy Foods Industry Limited.
The Director-General, National Productivity Centre (NPC) Mr. Kasim Akor, commended the Minister for his continual support to the Centre. He also commended President Buhari for taking the issue of productivity consciousness as apt for economic growth.
The 2019/2020 National Productivity Day and NPOM Award ceremonies could not hold in the stated years due to the COVID-19 pandemic which brought both economic and social activities to a halt globally.
On Wednesday, President Muhammadu Buhari issued a directive requiring all ministers running for any electoral office in 2023 to quit by Monday, May 16th.
The directive was announced to the affected cabinet members at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday at a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by the President.
At the end of the FEC meeting, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed confirmed it to State House journalists.
Lai however said he did not have the mandate to talk on the fate of other political appointees who are also vying for elective positions but are not members of the cabinet.
Only the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who he affirmed was an elected official.
Among the affected ministers are Rotimi Amaechi, Ogbonnaya Onu, Emeka Nwajiuba, Chris Ngige, Abubakar Malami and Timipre Sylva.
They are by this directive expected to resign their ministerial positions since they have already picked up their expression of interest and nomination forms for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
…Aliyu Flags Off Construction Of 10,000 Public Toilets
Dr Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has stated that around one in every three people in the nation’s capital, or around 37 percent of the population, engages in open defecation (ODF), and that the problem must be addressed.
She dropped this hint when she kicked began the construction of 10,000 public restrooms in the Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday, while also urging FCT RUWASSA and other stakeholders to step up their efforts to make the FCT open defecation-free.
The minister stated at the groundbreaking event that Nigeria began a five-year campaign in 2014 to abolish open defecation across the country by installing millions of toilets and changing the behavior of millions of Nigerians.
The minister said; “On November 9, 2021, the FCT Administration launched an action plan targeted at ending open defecation by 2025. The plan involves providing equitable access to water, sanitation and hygiene services and strengthening community-led approaches to total sanitation”.
She reiterated that the optimal benefits that accrue from adequate water supply cannot be achieved without a corresponding improvement in sanitation and hygiene practices, stressing that access to adequate potable water and improved sanitation and hygiene practices, play important roles in defining the human capital development of a nation.
The minister maintained that the FCT Administration would continue to support and encourage private sector collaboration and participation in the provision of public conveniences in the territory in line with the commitment to work with the private sector to create jobs, while improving the people’s living standards
Aliyu commended the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, UNICEF, WaterAid, Lixil Corporation, USAID, JICA and other Development Partners for supporting and collaborating with the FCT Administration to end open defecation before the year 2025.
In his remarks, the FCTA Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olusade Adesola, who was represented by a director in his office, Mr. Prospect Ibe, said the FCT Administration has drawn up a road map to end open defecation in the territory by the year 2025, in line with national target and vision.
He also added that the road map lays out a comprehensive series of transitions that the Administration consider critical to the achievement of the vision for water and sanitation, stressing that the Administration would accelerate the deployment of infrastructure and technology that will support universal access to safe water and proper sanitation across the territory in line with the Abuja Master Plan.
On his part, the Executive Director FCT Rural Water Supply and Sanitation, Dr. Mohammed Dan-Hassan, noted that clean and safe toilets would ensure fundamental human dignity for millions of residents, adding that open defecation spreads disease, threatens the security of women and girls, and contributes to malnutrition.
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has vowed to sustained the removal removal of shanties, batchers, built by scavengers popularly known as ‘baban bola’ in Kubwa Bwari Area Council, Abuja until sanity returns to that area.
The Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection, and Enforcement to FCT Minister Comrade Ikharo Attah along side CSP Solomon Adebayo, both lead the Joint Security Team during the enforcement.
He lamented that the team had come to address a security issue in the area near the Kubwa train station, where people are attacked as from 6p.m.
According to Attah “We came here to actually address security problems, we came here with the full support and the directive of the FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Musa Bello and the Commissioner of Police Sunday Babaje to actually tackle the issue of miscreants and babanbola that reck havoc on persons in FCT, this is the connecting area between Kubwa and Biazhin and there is so much cases of report here from this rail corridor and rail station that many person cannot even pass after 6pm, you dare not pass this area after 6pm, many persons have been robbed and stabbed with knife and other dangerous weapons and dispossesses them of their belongings here.
“Machines cannot get to that stretch so we had to set the shanties and batchers on fire.
“From what we gathered some drugs that are being sold around here, were found and were being handled by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) personnel.
“I can’t really quantify the number of shanties but my desires is to sack the shanties and free this area of all criminal elements .
“The residents were jubilating even though they were scared to show their faces to journalists. They were so happy because most of those boys scale the fence of the estate around here and rob them without being challenged”.
Speaking on the sustainability of the exercise, Attah hinted that: “We are going to come back and we will keep coming and keep coming until they give up on this location.
“We came here last year it was densely populated by batchers and what we see today is about 40% of what we removed last year . If they come again we will be waiting for them. What is important is sustainability and when government keeps doing the job and the Minister and Commissioner of Police has given us the mandate to go after bababola in Abuja. Most of the things we recovered are daggers, attack knives, light weapons etc.
“They even extend their batchers close to the train tracks”.
A resident in the are who doesn’t want his name mentioned for fear of being attacked commended the FCTA for a job well done.
He said, “This is a very strong spot and no man’s land because they take anything that can make them high. They take hard drugs and sell hard drugs.
“Once they take drugs they don’t respect anyone.
“This is very dangerous, we do our business during the day we close before 6pm because of the insecurity around here . We would have apppreciate the government to allow people who are doing genuine business to stay here.
“The way they live here nobody would be happy or be on their side”.
Mark Ulogwu, who was a victim of this miscreants was very happy the shanties were destroyed.
He said, “I have been living here since 1989, I am very happy about the destruction of this shanties. In this town this is the kind of place criminals hide. The FCT need to come back to keep checking the place because am sure once they move out in the next two or three months, they will come back to this place.
“Am sure if they are doing their businesses quietly I don’t think the government would have sacked them, I believe they came based on things that have happened around here, I was personally attacked on this spot and the okada man abandoned me. I was robbed, they collected all my valuables and I was beaten seriously.
“In order to ensure they don’t come back , the administration can put fence like babwire or something to stop them from coming back”.
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has warned schools in the territory on Tuesday to stop extorting money from students and teachers through unauthorized projects., urging them to avoid working with the Parents Teachers Association (PTA).
Saying, it’s illegal for schools to hide behind special initiatives in order to place undue difficulties on parents and guardians by collecting illegal fees.
FCTA Secretary for Education Secretariat, Dahir El-Katuzu, made me this during a school resumption inspection at Kubwa Government Secondary School.
FCTA has a standard that must be upheld in all schools and any school that breaks the regulations will be sanctioned, El-Katuzu hinted.
The Secretary noted that School resumption inspection had been sustained by the secreatriat, as a measure to keep both teachers, pupils and students in proper check.
According to him, the Secretariat will continue to demonstrate the value the it attaches to Education.
Meanwhile, the PTA Chairman of Government Science Secondary School, Pyakasa-Maitama, Chidi Oparauwokè, pledged that the Association will remain committed to the policies of the administration, while promoting the ideals of education.
Similarly, the Principal, Government Secondary School, Kubwa, Musa Zuru said his school has recorded almost 80% attendance within the first two days of resumption.
Zuru, who noted that his school has a set of standard that can’t be compromised.
The Schools inspected include, GSS Pyakasa-Maitama, and in Kubwa, the Government Junior Secondary school, Phase III, Kubwa, GSS Kubwa and a private school, Unity High school were visited.
