The Nation Newspaper

Category: Abuja Review

  • Pain as JOHESU strike lingers

    Patients groan as the industrial action by the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) at University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Gwagwalada lasts, report OLUGBENGA ADANIKIN and IBRAHIM AZEEZ 

    Medical services at University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Gwagwalada have been grounded following the indefinite strike action by the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) in the health institution.

    Women, children and the elderly suffered severely due to the strike action. Members of JOHESU went from ward to ward and department to department to ensure the strike was complied with. Meanwhile patients groaned in pain.

    Health workers, during the protest, blamed the Federal Government for not honouring its agreements with the labour union members on the several pacts signed with the union in September 2017.

    Speaking after a supervisory tour of the hospital, JOHESU Chapter Chairman, UATH, Steven Orichas said six months after entering into an agreement between the union and the federal government on the adjustment of Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) and increment of retirement age to 65 years, the government has done nothing till date.

    Orichas noted that members of the union are angry and tired of the irresponsiveness of the federal government, even after the union called off an initial strike.

    He added that the indefinite strike action in the facility was to ensure the workers fully comply with the instruction as directed by the union’s national body.

    According to him, the union had earlier issued a 21 days’ notice of industrial action to remind the government of its commitment, after which another 30 days’ ultimatum was issued on March 5, 2018 before the commencement of the indefinite strike on

    Orichas alleged that members of the Nigerian Medical Association that were part of that suit for the CONHESS 10 adjustment and payment of arrears have been paid illegally by the Ministry of Health and ignored those who got court judgement in their favour from the court regarding the payment.

    “The state right now to comply on an indefinite action is 100 per cent compliant. We have just gone round with members of JOHESU in UATH, we discovered that our people have complied 100 per cent.

    “This is because our people are angry and tired and the issues we are asking for are not new, this things as been on for to two three years. Because of this demands we embarked on an industrial action sometime last year that ended in September.

    “At the September meeting there was an agreement between us and the FG represented by the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Health. We had hoped that because of the agreement they have signed with the union, they were going to follow through and we decided to suspend the strike and return to work.

    “It is disheartening to note that after six months of the suspension of our last strike and still counting, the federal Government has not done anything tangible over the pending issues, especially on the flagship issue of CONHESS adjustment that is used by other health workers and payment of arrears of CONHESS 10 skipping.

    “Permit me to add that we have two CONHESS salary scales in the health sector, one for medical doctors and one for other health workers which includes; the nurse laboratory scientists, radiologist among others. In 2014 the FG adjusted the salary structure for the medical structures and we asked them to do same for others and also increase the retirement age from60 to 65 years. That had been the issue over the years,” he said.

    When asked about the accusation by the NMA that JOHESU is not registered and operating illegally, the chairman said, “I want to ask NMA to show me their Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) registration and registration with the Trade Union and tell us who is truly registered. Until they are able to prove to us that they are a registered body they have no moral rights to call JOHESU and illegal body.

    He appealed to the general public, traditional leaders and opinion leaders to prevail on FG to honour the memorandum of terms of settlement it voluntarily entered into with its union.

     

  • Free eye care for 800 inmates

    The Women Optometrists in Nigeria (WIN) has completed its annual round of eye care checks on prison inmates in the FCT command.

    During the visit to Suleja Prison, the president of the association, Dr.  Adesuwa Ogli appreciated the Controller of Prisons, Nwakuche for his open door policy which has aided them to optimally extend their social responsibility to the inmates under his command.

    Dr Ogli further advised that routine eye checks are necessary for a healthy body.

    According to a statement issued by the Prisons service FCT command spokesman, Chukwuedo Humphrey, the Controller of Prisons FCT command Nwakuche, while thanking the team of doctors for their professionalism, encouraged other NGOs and multinationals to extend their social responsibility to the prisons.

    In the visits to the prisons, the optometrists carried out checkups on over 750 male inmates of kuje prison and over 30 female inmates of Suleja prison.

    They also provided eyeglasses and drugs for inmates who are in need of them.

     

  • ’55% FCT vehicles aren’t roadworthy’

    Transportation Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration Kayode Opeifa has said that 55 per cent of vehicles on FCT roads are not roadworthy.

    Opeifa made this known when he released motor vehicles and driver’s licence statistics for the FCT for the first quarter of 2018.

    He said of the vehicles inspected at the Abuja Computerized Vehicles Centres, between January and April 6, only 45 per cent passed the test: “In order to ensure that vehicles plying the territory roads are road worthy, the secretariat has therefore directed the commencement of ‘Operation Crocodile’ to rid Abuja streets of unworthy vehicles.”

    He urged motorists who have not made their vehicles available for inspection to do so.

    “Also, within the period under review, 3,085 vehicles, 260 motorcycles, 406 tricycles, 281 unpainted taxis, were impounded for various traffic offences.

    This is against 2,885 vehicles, 183 motorcycles, 350 tricycles and 271 unpainted taxis for the same period in 2017,” he added.

    He said 13,757 new vehicles were registered while 48,083 vehicle licences were renewed.

    He said that 355 vehicles abandoned, accidented, and burnt were evacuated during rescue operations.

    Opeifa noted that 18,067 drivers’ licences were processed between January and March, 2018 as against 16,668 processed in the same period in 2017.

  • FCTA trains staff in computer basics

    The Department of Human Resource Management (HRM) in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has conducted an in-house training of no fewer than 25 administrative staff in basic computer knowledge.

    Speaking on the significance of the training, Assistant Director, Manpower Development, Mr. Rotimi Ajayi said that it was necessary to further build staff capacity to perform their tasks better.

    Ajayi who was represented by Head of ICT in the Transportation Secretariat, Mr. Ernest Ajorgbor said, “This programme is designed for the administrative staff in order to get them introduced to the latest skills of the Microsoft packages and to let them understand the essence of the computer. Some of them have not used computer before now and they are eager to learn. This is particularly important because the FCT Administration may be introducing a paperless office in the near future, so we have to get our staff prepared for that task.

    On whether the training was impactful, Ajayi said: “Day two of the programme has been rewarding. The first day, we had computer appreciation programme, where we taught them on how to use the computer. Some of them did not even know how to put it on and off before; while others had little computer skills and could do something without actually knowing what they were doing.

    “Some of them are so skillful using their phones, which has android application packages similar to the new computer packages we are introducing them to. So we are trying to migrate those skills they have about the mobile phones to the computer, and they are making a lot of progress.

    “It is an in-house training to abreast the staff with the new skills because most of these new application packages are been introduced on a yearly basis so there is need for us to train and retrain the workforce on the skills, and the FCTA, in this trial stage, is training 25 of them.

    But will they be given personal laptops to continue practicing after the three days? Ajayi explained that the FCT Administration would have loved to do that but the paucity of funds wouldn’t allow that to happen, at least not now; expressing hope that with improved financial capability, the Administration could look into that, adding that such laudable initiatives were brought up due to the FCT Minister’s prudent financial management.

    Noting the high percentage of computer literacy among the FCTA staff, Ajayi however noted that about 37 percent of the staff were not computer literate, even as he stated that the training would also eliminate time wastage in treatment of files due to lack of secretaries within the system as certain officials would be able to type their memos themselves.

    Some of the beneficiaries we spoke to expressed delight and gratitude to the Administration for giving them the opportunity to have the latest skills in computer, calling on the management to extend the same to their colleagues.

    Ayam Stephen Mario said: “the training has gone a long way in helping us improve in the discharge of our responsibilities in our various offices. There are certain things we did not know before, but now we know them.

    “For instance, I have typed, printed and done a few other things on the computer before, but I have just known how to create a folder and save in it during this training and this will make me manage files better. I have also learnt that within a folder, I can create many folders, so it is a good thing for us to be here.

    Ayam, who works with the disciplinary unit of the Human Resource Management department, appealed to the Administration to give them personal computers to enable them improve faster and master the skills.

    “We thank the management for organising this kind of training for us,” he said. “There is the need for them to give us a personal computer. We need a personal computer so that we will continue practicing even when we are home because some of us do not have access to any in our offices.”

    Another beneficiary, Ofuna Thomas also said that the experience was very helpful to them. he said: “Work in the registry and we are supposed to have all files documented so that anytime we are looking for a file, we will not only go to the in-coming and out-going registers, but we can also do that with  the use of a computer.

    “The knowledge we are gaining here can help us use the computer to know not just location of a file but the date it came in and went out, including which officer is handling it.”

    Ofuna who also thanked the FCTA management for the training, asked for more, both for him and other staff.

     

  • Buhari’s hat in the ring

    It was a good development last week Monday that President Muhammadu Buhari decided to end the suspense that hung over Nigeria in the past few months. He chose the National Executive Committee meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held in Abuja that Monday to declare his intention to run for the 2019 presidential election.

    That declaration has definitely kickstarted other underground and open activities by other interested parties who are aiming to also win the 2019 presidential election.

    As a reason for declaring his intention last week Monday, the President said, ”I declared before leaving home because Nigerians were talking too much about whether I would run or not.

    “So, I felt I should break the ice. We have many things to focus on, like security, agriculture, economy, anti-corruption, and many others. We needed to concentrate on them, and politics should not be a distraction.

    “The majority of Nigerians appreciate what we are doing, and that is why I am re-contesting.” he said

    The President decided to take  the bull by the horn and ignore the advice of some former leaders including former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

    They felt that Buhari should not seek reelection in order to allow younger Nigerians with fresher ideas to rule the country.

    While these leaders and others Nigerians kicked against Buhari’s emergence in 2019, it was reported that Buhari’s declaration to seek reelection was welcomed by many Nigerians across the country, especially in the North.

    Welcoming the President’s decision, Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, said, ”We are fully in support of his decision and its part of democratic culture, traditionally the president has the right of first refusal of the candidature of their party, so its not something that is unusual or unwarranted or unconstitutional he has done the right thing, he is going to contest and we are solidly behind him.

    “He is not under any obligation to consult governors or anybody, he has been under tremendous pressure to make that pronouncement so we should heave a sigh of relief since he has finally announced his intention to contest.

    “We will give him the kind of support we gave him in 2015,” the governor stated

    Assuring that the declaration will not distract government, the governor said, “Certainly it is not distracting government, it will even calm down governance so that people will concentrate on the real act of governance and deliver the dividends of democracy.

    “Certainly, he is the single kinetic president in Nigeria’s political life till date,” he said

    Apart from youths in Kano State jubilating Buhari’s declaration, the state government has also welcomed the decision by President Buhari to re-contest election in 2019.

    A statement by the Commissioner for Information, Youth and Culture in the state, Malam Muhammad Garba, had maintained that the second term tenure of President Buhari will ensure the consolidation of the achievements recorded in nearly three years of the administration in the area of economic growth, security, fight against corruption, transparency in government .

    He also noted that Nigeria has gotten out of recession, higher level of transparency in government has ensured foreign investments, the administration’s zero tolerance for corruption coupled with its holistic approach to fighting insurgency has boosted the country’s image in the international community.

    As the strongest support base of the President, he said that the good people and the administration of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje in Kano state will ensure the success of Buhari at the polls to consolidate the gains so far made.

    Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, in a statement by his media aide Kingsley Fanwo, said, “I am a staunch supporter of Mr. President and I am proud to be associated with such a great leader and personality.

    “We thank Mr. President for listening to the voices of Nigerians who are satisfied with his performance. Kogi people were the first to organise rallies in different towns and cities to call on Mr. President to seek re-election.

    “As the leader of the state, I wish to assure Mr. President that my people are solidly behind his policies of economic recovery, security and the fight against corruption. Kogi will deliver to Mr President, more votes than the state gave in 2015.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari has not lost his magic touch. He is a trusted leader who the masses want as their President beyond 2019. But it is also instructive for us to know that corruption will begin to fight back with renewed vigor to stop the march of the masses. We shall triumph.

    “Today’s declaration of Mr President for second term has further reinvigorated our belief that he will continue to make sacrifices for the greatness of our nation.” he stated

    Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, in a statement by his Media/Publicity Coordinator, Jide Orintunsin, said “It is heart-warming that Mr. President today told members of the NEC of his intention to seek re-election. This is the brightest moment for our country. It’s a moment that has rekindled the hope of our people.

    “A moment that has reaffirmed that all the good works, the good initiatives of the President that saw us out of economic recession the country was plunged into by mismanagement of past administration will now be sustained to take us to the desired enviable position among the comity of nations.

    “The President has exhibited high sense of good leadership. He has shown that he listens to the yearnings of millions of Nigerians who called on him to continue the good work he started since 2015.

    “The onus is now on all good and well-meaning Nigerians to rally round our President and ensure that the reactionary forces of the opposition and agents of doom are not allowed to dash the much cherish hope we all have in the emerging Nigeria by doing the needful during the next general election.

    “We cannot afford to go back to the dark days of extravagance and impunity. President Buhari has changed the game. He has brought sanity to governance. The war against insurgency is nearing logical conclusion and our economy is improving.

    “Posterity will not forgive us as a people if we allow this golden opportunity to slip off our hands. Mr. President has declared. We have to do the needful as a people by supporting him.” he said

    Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, in a statement by his media aide, Sam Onwuemeodo, said “The declaration of the President to go for a second tenure would also go a long way to reduce the noise of the opposition and take care of the idiosyncrasies of certain elements in the system.

    “Those who had wanted to blackmail him out of going for another term can now find other meaningful things to keep themselves busy.

    “The President would largely garner more votes in 2019 than he had done in 2015 because most Nigerians, including people of the Southeast have seen that he meant well for the nation and the citizenry.

    “The APC has no apology to make because it has done wonderfully well, considering the magnitude of the rot it met on ground in 2015.

    “The antenna of the opposition in the country will finally be lowered when the campaigns begin and the party will be showing Nigerians its achievements in the states under its control and at the Federal level.

    “When a political party had admitted that the government it ran was a huge failure and then apologised, such scenario goes with restitution and not with reward.” he added

    Now that the momentum is gathering towards 2019 elections, it is really hoped that Nigerians will really get value for money for the remaining one year of the current administration.

    The coming political campaigns, either by the ruling party or other interested parties, should not be hindrance to socio-economic development of the nation for the next twelve months.

    It is the expectations of many well-meaning Nigerians that substantial part of the change promised by the current administration would have been achieved by middle of next year.

     

  • Fed Govt clears obstacles to gold mining

    The Federal Government has cracked down on meddlesome officers as well as illegal miners, paving the way for unfettered mining in the country, JIDE BABALOLA reports

    Two thousand new jobs, eight thousand secondary employment, a brand new school and a decent structure to replace a wobbling health centre all constitute a fraction of the bounties that the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) is unlocking for a community in Gwagwalada Local Government Area of Abuja.

    Under the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, the Malaysian-style ERGP Focus Labs involve bringing potential and existing investors,  both  foreign and Nigerian, who may be interested in investing in any of the three areas that government is focusing on, to attend the closed -door sessions.

    President Muhammadu Buhari declared the ERGP Focus Labs open at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential villa two weeks ago and the first major project to be unlocked was the Baba-Tsauni Mines Project, a major step towards actualising plans to boost the mining sector’s current 0.4% to an annual $27billion (about N 9.7 trillion) contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by2025.

    The Focus Lab sessions resolve various problems that had remained intractable for years within a few sessions as they grant investors access in one location, to all the officials of government whose support, or approvals, they might need to enable them commit to an investment decision. Briefly put, the focus labs will involve stakeholders from the public and private sectors working together in a single environment to think out practical and workable solutions for delivering the kind of results Nigeria needs.

    “The central objective of the labs will be to bring in private capital to finance projects across the country.

    “Our aim is, simply put, to raise the level of productivity in Nigeria; we want more things to be grown in Nigeria, we want more things to be made in Nigeria, we want more opportunities created for Nigerians to be able to work – that is what the focus labs are all about,” Minister Udoma had said.

    After years of preliminary groundwork involving expenditures of millions of dollars, Wiesbaden, Germany based Julius Berger International officials led by Mr. Achim Becker and Mr. Jide Olukeye, the CEO of Iron Ore Mining Limited who are leading the consortium working on Baba-Tsauni Minning projecthad met optimistic officials of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) led by Mr. Segun Awolowo. All of them had optimistic projections towards actualising government’s Zero Oil Plan whereby non-oil exports can fund the national budget.

    However, some government officials’ duplicitous dealings with illegal miners and the manipulations that complicate the theoretical respect for sanctity of titles had continued to hold back the project’ s take-off as well as huge additional taxes for government and more developmental projects for its host community in Gwagwalada area.

    For a long while, a ‘mining mafia’ backed by Asian patrons of illegal mining and a handful of civil servants were able to truncate government’s vision and JBI’s plans to invest some $200 million mining machineries in the project. However, only a few sessions of the ERGP Focus Labs got the challenges under comprehensive analysis, with a final resolution that implies good news for the IOM consortium, the host community and the Federal Government.

    Finally, the Federal Government’s ERGP and its ‘Roadmap for the Growth and Development of the Nigerian Mining Industry’ are coming close towards yielding tremendous dividends as the Baba-Tsauni Lead, Zinc, Silver and Gold Mine has now overcome obstacles to its take-off. The Mines Police’ new determination to get illegal miners as well as their tax-evading Chinese and Lebanese backers out of Baba-Tsauni implies a firm end for pre-existing intrigues.

     

  • Orphans carnival coming

    The president and founder of Laugh Now, Now Family, a radio programme on 105.7 FM, King Tunde Folorunsho has told the press of an upcoming carnival organised for orphans on April 27 at the National Stadium Abuja.

    The festival, the first of its kind, will be held in collaboration with ASOHON.

    Folorunsho said Laugh Now, Now Family, was set up by young and passionate Nigerians whose interest is to empower, promote inclusiveness, and civic engagement create an avenue to cheer up orphans.

    He said one of their objectives is to organise quarterly orphan talent hunt carnivals across the states of Nigeria to create, promote, development opportunities and support for the orphans respectively.

    And this is because, he said, “with the help of ASOHON, we have taken a tour round many orphanage homes and has found out the standard of living there is terrible; many orphans in some orphanage homes have neither good health care nor hope for a sound education”.

    The president said in each orphanage home there are orphans raging from 50 in number to 300 and among them, you find infants of three months old and above.

    He said considering how hard things are in this country, imagine how those infants are being cared for given the price of diapers and baby milk in the market- none of the children feeds well.

    The founder of the programme King Tunde said it is in the light of this that they passionately invite all stakeholder organisations, organisations of the United Nations here in Nigeria, individuals to come and join in this movement towards securing a bright and better future for the orphans.

    Also speaking at the press briefing, Rev Mrs Rachel Alejeh who is a member of the ASOHON, said it is important for Nigerians to come out and ensure that these children’s life are put strait.

    Stating this, she added that these orphans, if not properly guided, can end up being a problem to the society.

    She said that running an orphanage home is not her making but by the grace of God and with the help of good people of Nigeria because if the children are not cared for, they could wander through the wrong road thereby becoming problematic to the country such as joining bad gangs, armed robbery, prostitution, etc. She urged Nigerians not to tire of helping the orphans because their reward is sure.

     

  • Bello urges herders, farmers to live in peace

    Following the increasing spate of farmers-herders clashes in some parts of the country, FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has called on farmers and herdsmen in the nation’s capital to continue living in peace by showing understanding and love for one another.

    Bello made this call while speaking to representatives of farmers, herders, traditional rulers and vigilance groups, among others at the palaces of the Ona of Abaji and Esu of Kwali, in the two Area Councils.

    The minister’s representative, the Federal Capital Territory Administration Secretary for Social Development Secretariat, Oladimeji Ali-Hassan, who doubles as chairman of a committee for the prevention of herders-farmers clashes in the FCT, said Bello was being proactive about maintaining peace in Abuja.

    “The FCT Minister sent us here because of the collision and crisis between herders and farmers. Farmers and herders have lived together in peace and harmony for many years, but recent events have necessitated this advocacy and sensitization, so this is intended to forestall any crisis involving the two groups.

    “We are here so that we can tap from the wisdom of our respected traditional rulers and other stakeholders in sustaining the prevailing peace we currently enjoy in the FCT, especially between the nomads and the farmers”.

    He stated this and added: “We may know the beginning of a crisis, but we can never predict its ending. It is when there is peace that we can indulge in all human endeavours, including rearing of cattle and farming. We therefore appeal to both the farmers and the herders to continue to embrace peace across the FCT.”

    Responding, Ona of Abaji, HRH Adamu Yunusa expressed gratitude to the President and FCT Minister for setting up the committee, noting that there was peace in the Territory, even as he pledged that they were determined to resolving any conflict within their domain.

    However, the royal father advised the Federal Government and the FCTA to work towards dedicating grazing land to herders and farm land to farmers, separating their activities in order to let peace reign.

    He added that because farming was mechanised, in addition to general human development, land became a scarce commodity, even as he urged that grazing land should be factored into development initiatives of governments.

    On his part, the Esu of Kwali, HRH Shaban Nizzazo who also hailed the president and minister for the initiative pledged to work closely with the government to ensure attainment of the goal of the committee.

    He however warned that its work should not go the way of other committees, but yields the expected result.

    Other stakeholders who spoke representatives of the Fulani community, the chiefs and others. Almost unanimously, all the stakeholders agreed on one fact –that land was getting more and more scarce, as it was not enough for farming and grazing activities.

    While the Fulani representatives asked government to reserve grazing land, and also restrict others from going into water bodies, where cattle drink from to avoid clashes, the farmers decried a situation where their lands where been taken over by the governments without any recourse to them.

    Some Fulani herders, while disclosing that those who kill were not part of those who had lived with the farmers for many years, requested that cattle routes be respected, places where cattle brink be preserved and that the Fulani be respected as human beings, adding that the trouble makers were strangers.

    Another speaker who identified himself simply as Haruna, Maiyangwa, revealed that they were three categories of Fulani, “those who have been with us for many years that we do not have problem with, the others who come around in trailers, as well as the other type which graze throughout the night. It is the last two groups that we have problem with”.

    He queried: “how can you wake up, go to your farmland and see a beacon on it, or even a fence. It is not good at all. We want government to look into it. Let them not allocate land without first letting with us.”

    District head of Yangoji who liked farming to education of the farmers, called that farmers should not b denied access to their farms, and warned: “if nothing is done, worse than Benue crisis will occur in the FCT.”

    The vigilance group leader in Kwali who put the blame on both farmers and herder decried a situation where children were the ones now leading cattle instead of the elderly, as it was the case in the past.

    He also berated the herders for abandoning the old approach of seeking peaceful resolution with farmers whenever farmlands were encroached in the past, even as decried that cases of rustling of cattle were also part of the problem.

    A major highlight of the events was a drama presentation by FCT cultural troupe, depicting how farmers and herders should live in peace, recalling the good old days when the herders gave farmers on the farm and in the houses nunu (milk) and farmers, in return, gave the herders food and both intermarried and lived together in peace and harmony.

    The FCT ministerial committee on community theatre project for herders and farmers clash will continue its advocacy to the remaining four area councils within this month.

  • Rooting for Buhari

    It is no longer news that President Muhammadu Buhari’s opposition to unconditional tenure elongation for the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) caused a stir in the ruling party.

    At the National Executive Committee meeting of the party held on the 27th of March, 2018, the President had bared his mind on the need to follow due process.

    The President had declared “I am delighted to once again welcome you to this National Executive Committee Meeting of our great party. As we usually do, I hope we will take the opportunity of this gathering to resolve outstanding issues and consolidate our plans towards making APC the strongest defender of the interests of our people.

    “ In particular, I think it is important for me to speak quickly on the contentious issue of the tenure of our National and State Executive Officers. As we all know, a motion was moved at the last National Executive Committee meeting of February 27, 2018, to the effect that when the tenure of the current executives expire in June this year, they should be allowed to continue for one year.

    “This motion was duly carried by a majority of members present at the last NEC Meeting, even though some of our party members have since spoken up very vehemently against it. Others have even taken the matter to court.

    “On my own part, I have taken some time to review and seek advice on the resolution. And what I found is that it contravenes both our party Constitution and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. While the APC constitution in Article 17(1) and 13.2 (b) limit the tenure of elected officers to four years, renewable once by another election, the 1999 constitution of Nigeria (as amended) in section 223 also prescribes periodic elections for party executives at regular intervals which must not exceed four years.

    “Furthermore, Article 31 of our great party constitution provides that any principal officer wishing to re-contest, or contest for another post, must resign from his current post, at least, one month before the election.

    “In this circumstance, what is expected of us, is to conduct fresh elections once the tenure of the current executives approaches its end. A caretaker committee cannot remedy this situation and cannot validly act in place of elected officers. Furthermore, I think if we deviate from the constitutional provisions, we might be endangering the fortunes of our party.

    “If the tenure of our party executives can be legally faulted, then, it means that any nomination and primary election that they will conduct can also be faulted.

    “This is not to talk of divisions that will arise and is already arising within the party when some of our members feel that they are being denied the right to aspire to executive positions or that internal democracy is not at play within the party.

    “I am, therefore, of the firm view that it is better to follow strictly the dictates of our party and national constitutions, rather than put APC and its activities at grave risk. Fortunately, we have already approved a timetable for the holding of congresses and elections. I think these should be allowed to go forward and all efforts should now be geared towards making them a great success.” he stated

    But rather than agreeing immediately with the President’s desire for the constitution of the party to be strictly followed, the outgoing NWC decided to set up a technical committee headed by Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, to consider the President’s position.

    For their various reasons, some of the governors were not happy with the President’s position.

    They wanted the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun led NWC be given tenure elongation.

    The division among the governors was very obvious last week Tuesday before, during and after the APC governors meeting with the President at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.

    Before the meeting started, the governors briefly met while standing  on one side of the hall.

    Despite speaking to one another in low tone, it was obvious from their body language that the matter was causing a major disagreement among them.

    The governors’ meeting was cut short when the President’s arrival was announced in the hall.

    Although journalists were asked to leave the hall and they couldn’t see what actually transpired at the closed doors meeting, but they needed no witch doctor to know what happened.

    It was clear that all was not well.seeing the governors’ countenances  when they came out after the meeting ended,

    All the governors approached by journalists declined to comment on the outcome of the meeting with the President.

    While one of them confirmed that they have been instructed not to speak to journalists on the matter, some of them disclosed that the meeting among the governors will continue in Abuja that Tuesday night.

    Within 24 hours, the governors returned to the Presidential Villa last Wednesday and disclosed that all issues have been resolved and that there was no crisis in the party.

    The governors, which included Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum and Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari, Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Gamduje and Plateau State Governor, SimonLalong, said that the constitution of the party will be followed just like the President wanted.

    Yari said “Gentlemen of the press, you know yesterday we left you in the dark after the meeting and today we have seen so many captions that there is disagreement between the governors over the issue of party Chairman or about the party leadership.

    “No. We had a meeting with Mr. President yesterday (Tuesday), and we extended the meeting tonight and we followed up with the consultations with the President now.

    “We consulted and all the 24 governors of the APC are on the same page with Mr. President that we are going to respect our party constitution, we are going to respect the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. So therefore, we collectively agreed that we will have congresses at all levels – Local – State and National.

    “And the committee set up by the National Secretariat of our party headed by governor of Plateau State, is presenting its report later today. The governors are also meeting with the working committee today so that we come up with convention committee names as well as timetable of the election.

    “So, there is no deadlock in our meeting, we have progressed and very soon you will have the names of the convention committee members as well as the timetable.” he said

    Okorocha also added “I just want to let you know that there is no crisis in the APC at all. And we want to use this opportunity to advise the media operatives to stop spreading rumors of crisis in APC. There is no single crisis in APC.

    “The issue was one of people who believe that we did not have enough time to organize a party congress and run election. Some people felt that it was a good idea but the most important thing is that, if we do that we will be contravening both our party constitution and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That is the major issue that we have that they call crisis. We do not have crisis.

    “This morning we met with Mr. President to fine-tune issues, one regarding the congress and we have resolved that the congresses at all levels and the Chairman of the elongation committee, is also fine-tuning the arrangement in the same line. To this effect, the convention committee will be set out, it will be announced.

    “But let me correct one impression, the issue of congress and convention does not mean that the previous people who have served the party have done badly. And it does not mean that they cannot come back or that they cannot re-contest, that is not it.

    “We are simply saying that their tenure has ended and those who wish to re-contest can re-contest and can be elected into our party structure. So we are all one as family and we are set to go for 2019 elections in victory.” he said

    In a twist of events, the Lalong Technical committee set up by the NWC, while submitting its report last Friday, also supported the President’s position.

    Lalong said “This report has solved most of the problems that we were thinking was within the APC, that is to tell you that there is democracy in the party. We also looked at the passion and the commitment of the President towards keeping the party as one and at the end of the day, we made far-reaching recommendations.

    “We noticed that there were different interests, which is quite usual when you have a party like this, that is progressive, Already, we have received notices of NEC meeting for Monday which is also in line with our recommendations and we want to assure you that at the end of the day, APC is coming back to life,´´ he said.

    With this development, the Monday NEC meeting of the party in Abuja expected to decide on the date and time table for congresses and convention of the party towards paving way for a new set of leaders at all levels.

    It is really good to hear that the party has moved beyond the crisis.

    That is very key not only if the party want to remain the ruling party at the centre in 2019, also if it wants to remain dominant at the State and local government levels across the country.

     

  • Protest aftermath: Govt to create jobs in disturbed community

    After the protest over a demolished market in Gosa, a community off the Abuja Airport Expressway, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is considering creating jobs to mop up idle youths in the community.

    Late last month, residents of the community blocked the airport expressway to express their anger at the destruction of their market.

    Since then, the authorities of the FCTA, community leaders and security personnel have been meeting to forestall a repeat of such a demonstration in such a prominent area of the territory.

    The FCTA is also considering relocating the Gosa Market to a more convenient area further inside the community.

    These actions were part of the resolutions of a meeting between the FCT Minister, his officials, Gosa community leaders and heads of security agencies in the Territory.

    The meeting was necessitated by the search for a lasting solution to the recent crisis that engulfed the area last Saturday and Monday.

    Addressing the media at the end of a follow-up tour of affected areas, Bello disclosed that the Traditional Ruler of the Garki Chiefdom, Alh. Usman Ngakupi, under whom the expressway communities fall, has been requested to liaise with the village heads of affected communities to select able bodies youths for recruitment. Accordingly, the selected youths would serve as marshals for the purposes of environmental protection and safeguarding of the road corridors against abuses.

    The minister in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Cosmas Uzodinma, said, “I am inclined to consider upgrade of Communities in the area as well as giving them Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) for their houses to enable them have bankable documents. But if government is pushed to the wall, we would have no option but to relocate the communities.”

    Subsequently the Minister revealed other resolutions of the meeting to include that “there will be no more activities beyond the community boundaries. Trading within the expressway corridors as well as the pedestrian bridges has been prohibited.”

    Accordingly, the administration within months, would open up spaces behind the various communities for the purposes of playgrounds, markets, community centres etc.

    Bello directed the Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) Mr. Umar Gambo Jibrin, an engineer, to clear the new ground for the relocated Gosa market before Friday as no market would be allowed to hold in the former place any longer.

    FCT Minister conveyed his sympathies to motorists whose vehicles sustained various levels of damages during the crisis which resulted from the clean-up exercise embarked in and around the market by FCTA Development Control officials. He expressed concern over the trauma that innocent travellers were put through during the incident.

    Malam Bello warned mischief makers not test the will of the Administration and cautioned that the administration will never again condone such acts of brigandage. He corrected insinuations in some segments of the media that the measure was sudden while recalling his various interactions with the Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council as well as other major stakeholders including joint visits to the area since October last year.

    Addressing the gathering, the Coordinator of Abuja Metropolitan Management Councils, (AMMC),  Umar Shuaibu, noted that the Gosa Market is situated at the Wawa District, Zone E, of Abuja, and was allocated since 2006. During the period, the Coordinator noted, AMMC was to relocate the market lying 500 meter away from the Airport Expressway and sitting on people’s plots to a more convenient place.

    Shuaibu stressed that due to uncontrolled expansion, pedestrian paths and service lanes became part of the market. It became a nuisance to road users as the place became inundated by commercial vehicles. Refuse dumps began to mount and the road began to witness cases of recklessness on the use of the roads.  It was for this reason that a new site was earmarked which had a capacity of 1500 traders and parking space for 500 cars as against the present one that was estimated at 500 traders but has since spilled beyond its bounds.    In his submission at the meeting, the Director, Department of State Securities, Malam Ado Muazu noted that road blockage on the slightest provocation has become a trend among the youths of the area. He stressed that this must stop and cannot be negotiated. The DSS boss recalled that the same thing happened when a community on the same road had an issue with the airport authorities. The youths, he noted, took the laws into their own hands and blocked the road.  He said that the DSS authorities has met with people and has obtained assurances that this would not happen again.

    The Chairman, Abuja Municipal Area Council, Malam Abdulahi Adamu Candido, at the meeting, conveyed his apologies to the government, residents and victims of the fracas.  He thanked the FCT Minister for the far-reaching measures being adopted to stem the degeneration of the Airport road and to provide alternatives for the people. “This has been our prayer for some time now,” he noted.