The Nation Newspaper

Category: Abuja Review

  • ‘We’ll not demolish as others did’

    ‘We’ll not demolish as others did’

    There is an assurance that the authorities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) want to distance themselves, as far as possible, from their predecessors who frequently pulled down houses and structures, GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports

    Whatever the claims justifying the deployment of the bulldozers, it is now clear that the administration of Muhammad Bello, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), will not follow the path of Nasir el-Rufai, a former minister of the territory and well-known demolisher.

    El-Rufai, in his days in the FCT, was quite controversial in the manner his administration rolled out the bulldozers and tore down homes and sundry structures in the nation’s capital.

    Bello said his administration will rather develop than destroy what has been built.

    He also blamed multiple allocation of land in FCT on past administrations.

    The minister said this while addressing journalists as part of the activities marking two years in office of the present administration in Abuja. He said his administration would rather upgrade slums in Abuja than demolish them.

    Bello said, “In the past you saw 2,3,4,5 people contesting a piece of land. I have been under tremendous pressure to allocate land but because of the past mistakes of the past, whereby land allocated to A was also allocated to B or more, [we have to be careful]. Then there will be litigation which is not good. I am working towards allocation of land where there are new layouts”.

    On demolition, he assured FCT residents that his administration won’t demolish anyhow, rather he would upgrade the slums, put infrastructure in place.

    “The reality is that Abuja is growing. I will not destroy places anyhow. We have been trying to strengthen the system.

    “Rather than demolish, why don’t we upgrade. Rather than demolish slums, why don’t you upgrade them? Give them modern infrastructure. Bulldozing people’s places in the past hasn’t been effective”.

    The Minister said, in order to develop the human capacity, the administration trained and retrained over 12,000 staff.

    In the same vein, the ability of the Nigeria Police to earn and retain the confidence of the international community in the discharge of their duties is a clear testimony of their resilience and dedication to the service of not only the nation but entire global community.

    The Minister said that despite limited resources, the police particularly in FCT, has been able curtail threats of criminality and other illegalities to ensure the safety of lives and properties.

    Bello assured that the FCT Administration will continue to provide all necessary support to the Nigeria Police to ensure that the relative peace and tranquillity being enjoyed in the FCT is sustained.

    He said, “We have seen the benefits and I will continue to support you as partners in progress to ensure that we keep the Federal Capital Territory safe for the citizens, safe for the government and of course safe for the diplomatic community and all those that come from far and wide to transact business and other activities within the city.”

    “As long as crimes happen and we are able to solve them within the shortest possible time, it brings credibility to the force and to the Administration and above all, it gives confidence to the diplomatic community, to our business partners and anybody that uses Abuja as a place for work or leisure. That is why for us, security is very important,” the FCT Minister said.

    Bello also praised the FCT Police command for their ability to resolve a number of kidnap cases that occurred especially in the satellite towns, saying they were able to crack these cases, despite difficult terrains and limited accessibility.

    The minister specifically recalled an incident in Kuje area where the Command, with very close cooperation with other security agencies took care of the problem of kidnapping, adding, “Within a very short period of time, 10 kidnapped persons were rescued, all alive, without payment of any ransom.”

    “Recently, we had challenges in the border communities between FCT and Niger State and Gwagwalada Area Council where something happened and a joint team, including your men and officers took care of the situation and the community even directly came to me to extend their appreciation. So, I want to also extend my appreciation to you and by extension, the Inspector General of Police for this,” he said.

     

  • Minister to end multiple taxations

    The Chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Abdullahi Candido has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise to the ward level.

    Candido pleaded that a lot of his constituents cannot afford to pay their way to the CVR locations, thereby missing out on the exercise. He made the call during the flag-off of the nationwide exercise by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission Professor Mahmud Yakubu.

    He said,” There are many people within AMAC who cannot afford to come to the Local Government office to get registered. Bringing it closer to them will ensure no one is disenfranchised.”

    The INEC chair gave the clearest indication that the commission will eventually take the registration exercise to the wards or polling units to avoid disenfranchising Nigerians who want to be a part of the process. he Chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Abdullahi Candido has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise to the ward level.

    Candido pleaded that a lot of his constituents cannot afford to pay their way to the CVR locations, thereby missing out on the exercise. He made the call during the flag-off of the nationwide exercise by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission Professor Mahmud Yakubu.

    He said,” There are many people within AMAC who cannot afford to come to the Local Government office to get registered. Bringing it closer to them will ensure no one is disenfranchised.”

    The INEC chair gave the clearest indication that the commission will eventually take the registration exercise to the wards or polling units to avoid disenfranchising Nigerians who want to be a part of the process.

  • Stepping into SGF’s shoes

    It is no longer news that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal was suspended a fortnight ago over allegations of violations of the law and due process in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East (PINE).

    While the main focus of this write-up is not to dwell on how Lawal has fared before the Presidential Investigative Panel headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, it is to look at how the person who stepped into his shoes has handled some of Lawal’s responsibilities in his absence, especially in the Villa.

    When in the Villa, one of the very conspicuous role Lawal had been playing during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings is to ensure decorum in the Council Chamber prior to commencement of the meeting.

    This role he played in the Council Chamber could be likened to that of a class monitor or representative in a typical school classroom in the country.

    While in the saddle as the SGF, Lawal had ensured orderliness in the Council Chamber.

    Normally, when Ministers arrive the Council Chamber before the meeting commences, they go round to exchange plesantaries with each other.

    In the process, some of them gather in small groups discussing among themselves.

    Most often the discussions centered on the latest issues in the polity. At times, such discussions could get louder and warrant the intervention of Lawal.

    Lawal, most cases will rise to his feet and urge for calmness and decorum when the hall was getting rowdy.

    “Please settle down, settle down, the President is on his way.” Lawal will be heard on the microphone pleading with the cabinet members. He will also not hesitate to call the names of any Minister, who was still loitering around the Council Chamber after his earlier appeals.

    He will ask such Minister to take his or her seat and settle down in preparation for the President’s arrival that will signal commencement of the meeting.

    All these were clearly absent prior to the commencement of FEC meeting last week Wednesday.

    The cabinet members who were around for that meeting had a field day doing their things before Vice President Yemi Osinbajo arrived in the hall to chair the meeting.

    Either as a sign of respect for her seniors and the politicians in the Council Chamber or because of her qualities as a core civil servant, the Permanent Secretary overseeing the Office of the SGF, Dr. Habiba Muda Lawal, who stepped into SGF’s shoes pending the outcome of the on-going investigation, was not very conspicuous prior to the commencement of the meeting.

    Despite sharing the same surname with the suspended SGF, the Permanent Secretary remained relatively at the background throughout the period before commencement of the FEC meeting.

    The Permanent Secretary, who was one of the early arrivals at the Council Chamber, also did not occupy the seat the suspended SGF normally sits on.

    Over the years, the sitting arrangement from the right of the President’s seat is the Vice President’s seat, followed by the seat of the SGF, followed by the seat of the Chief of Staff to the President, and then the seat of the Head of the Federal Civil Service, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita.

    But that morning, the two seats between the Vice President and Head of the Federal Civil Service were empty as SGF was still on suspension while the Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari was said to be out of the country on errand for the President.

    So many journalists who were looking out to see the Permanent Secretary overseeing the Office of the SGF occupy the the SGF’s seat in the Council Chamber were dissapointed.

    The Permanent Secretary overseeing the SGF could also have remained at the background and avoided the SGF’s seat in the Council Chamber that morning in order not to be seen overshadowing her superior, the Head of the Federal Civil Service.

    All Permanent Secretaries, directors and other staff in the civil service are under the Head of Federal Civil Service.

    So, when the Permanent Secretary overseeing the SGF, Habiba Lawal arrived around 10:37 a. m. with the Permanent Secretary Cabinet Affairs Office, Dr. R. P. Ugo for the meeting slated for 11a. m., she sat on the seat directly behind that of the Head of the Federal Civil Service.

    On her arrival in the hall around 10:49 a. m., the Head of Federal Civil Service, Oyo-Ita, after dropping her bag on her table, turned back to exchange plesantaries with Dr. Habiba Lawal.

    The Permanent Secretary of State House, Jalil Arabi, also approached Dr. Habiba Lawal and exchanged pleasantries with her.

    When Vice President Yemi Osinbajo arrived the Council Chamber around 10:56a.m. and settled down on his seat, Dr. Habiba Lawal and Dr. Ugo, approached the Vice President to greet him.

    They returned to their back seats till Osinbajo called for the rendition of the National anthem around 11:02a.m and journalists were asked to leave the hall for the meeting to commence.

    While there is no doubt that Dr. Habiba Lawal would have performed other functions expected of the SGF at the closed door meeting, her presence was not felt like the suspended SGF prior to the commencement of the meeting.

    Will this change as she attends the Federal Executive Council meeting tomorrow, if the meeting is not cancelled?

    Will she start playing the active role Babachir David Lawal was known for before FEC meetings commence?

    Answers to all these will become clearer as the weeks go by.

    Also how long she will carry on in this new assignment will depend on whether Babachir David Lawal will be cleared of the allegations and resume soon, or a replacement for the position is announced to take over.

  • FCTA tackles Nyanya gridlock

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is taking steps to bring the notorious gridlock on Nyanya-Karu-Jikwoyi-Karshi Road to an end. The gridlock, known to keep commuters stranded for hours, is the worst in the FCT.

    FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Bello made the revelation when he inaugurated a ministerial task force to decongest traffic along the Abuja-Nyanya- Karu-Jikwoyi-Karshi Road as well as evacuate accumulated refuse from the area.

    Bello said that it is unacceptable that a dual carriageway well-constructed to the highest engineering standards has become a long stretch of refuse dump.

    Chief Press Secretary to the Minister, Cosmas Uzodinma made this known in a press statement in which the minister said, “For the first time in my life, I have seen a place inhabited by very vibrant people, very affluent, yet it is one aspect of Abuja where I see that people will collect their refuse and drop on the road median. I have never seen that anywhere in the world and definitely you all agree with me that this is not acceptable and should not be part of the Abuja of our dream.”

    He also added, “The goal of the initiative is to work out a sustainable action that will improve both the aesthetics and traffic situation along that axis and one that would be owned by the people after the task force might have completed its work.

    Uzodinma added, “The Minister expressed confidence that given the caliber of the Chairman of the task force, and its membership, he was sure that by the time the team was done with its assignment in the next six months, the city would be the better for it.

    “In his acceptance speech, the Chairman of the Ministerial Task Force on Traffic Decongestion on Abuja-Nyanya-Jikwoyi-Karshi Road, Maj. Gen Emmanuel Nienge (rtd), said the task force will complete its assignment within the allotted timeframe as it has already hit the ground running and holding series of preliminary meetings with members and other stakeholders.

    “While soliciting for the cooperation of the stakeholders and the general public, the Chairman said the Task Force will carry out adequate sensitization to inform members of the public on their activities.”

  • Council chief seeks voter registration at wards

    The Chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Abdullahi Candido has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise to the ward level.

    Candido pleaded that a lot of his constituents cannot afford to pay their way to the CVR locations, thereby missing out on the exercise. He made the call during the flag-off of the nationwide exercise by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission Professor Mahmud Yakubu.

    He said,” There are many people within AMAC who cannot afford to come to the Local Government office to get registered. Bringing it closer to them will ensure no one is disenfranchised.”

    The INEC chair gave the clearest indication that the commission will eventually take the registration exercise to the wards or polling units to avoid disenfranchising Nigerians who want to be a part of the process.

  • FCT to maintain horticultural dam

    The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Muhammed Bello has instructed the FCT Water Board to maintain the horticultural dam on Asokoro, Abuja.

    The Pedan dam located in Asokoro was constructed to ensure that raw water is made available all year round for horticultural activities.

    FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye made the call when he paid an unscheduled visit to the site on behalf of the Minister Mallam Muhammed Bello.

    Deputy Director / Chief Press Secretary to the minister, Muhammad Sule who made it known in a press statememt added.

    “The Pendan Dam has been constructed by the FCT Administration for flood and erosion control while the raw water in the Dam is used all year round for horticultural activities.

    “The Dam usually supplies raw water for the watering of plants at the IBB Golf Course, Presidential Villa and the Abuja Plant Nursery as well as other horticultural activities in and around the Federal Capital City.

    “Malam Bello emphasised that the continuous maintenance would improve the services the Dam is rendering and elongates its lifespan.

    “He reiterated that the Pedan Dam is a very important asset of Abuja that must be protected as aquatic activities can also be improved around the city via that facility.

    “Taking the Minister and his entourage round the Dam, the FCT Director of Water Board, Mr. Hudu Bello, said the facility was constructed in line with the Abuja Master Plan to arrest water flood and channel same for horticultural activities in the City, thereby preserving the treated water from the Lower Usuma Dam meant for human consumption.

     

  • Minister directs regular dam maintenance

    The FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has directed the FCT Water Board to regularly maintain the Pedan Dam in the highbrow area of Asokoro District, Abuja to ensure that raw water is made available all year round.

    The Minister gave this directive when he and the FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye paid an unscheduled visit to the site.

    The Pendan Dam has been constructed by the FCT Administration for flood and erosion control while the raw water in the Dam is used all year round for horticultural activities.

    The Dam usually supplies raw water for the watering of plants at the IBB Golf Course, Presidential Villa and the Abuja Plant Nursery as well as other horticultural activities in and around the Federal Capital City.

    Malam Bello emphasized that the continuous maintenance would improve the services the Dam is rendering and elongates its lifespan.

    He reiterated that the Pedan Dam is a very important asset of Abuja that must be protected as aquatic activities can also be improved around the city via that facility.

    Taking the Minister and his entourage round the Dam, the FCT Director of Water Board, Mr. Hudu Bello, said the facility was constructed in line with the Abuja Master Plan to arrest water flood and channel same for horticultural activities in the City, thereby preserving the treated water from the Lower Usuma Dam meant for human consumption.

    The Director revealed that the Pedan Dam has a total volume of 5.8million cubic meter of water at peak period of raining season, which is transferred periodically to the Plant Nursery, IBB Golf Course as well as the Presidential Villa.

  • Two decades of thirst

    Two decades of thirst

    They have neither school nor health facility, but should this community in the nation’s capital also continue to lack water?

    To residents of Rugan Hardo community, a rural settlement in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), denial of drinking water and basic health care means denial of life. For 20 years, they and their cows have drunk from the same stream.

    A visit to the settlement tells a sad story of a typical village like many others in Abuja that lack access to basic infrastructure. Water, they say is life, but this predominantly Fulani community is clearly short of the precious liquid.

    Majority of homes in the Rugan Hardo community, numbering hundreds were built with red mud. Village Chief, Hardo Mohammed whose house seemed to be the only structure built with cement bricks begged for government presence in the community, especially in the area of potable water, health and provision of schools.

    “Our biggest challenge here is water. The well here dries up. The nearest to having water is a stream but it is the same stream that our cattle drink from. So if we don’t go to the stream very early enough, like 5am, we won’t be able to access water.

    “We all know that it is not hygienic that our cattle drink from the same stream and we also drink from same stream. So we are begging the government to make a way for us to have access to clean and drinkable water. It will go a long way for us because water is life.”

     

    Need for school

    In this computer age where children of the elites make use of sophisticated gadgets for learning, the community still lacks access to education and academic facilities. The nearest school is some kilometers away from home. Their wards trek from the community daily to Gwarinpa, a suburb, which is about 45 minutes’ drive away from the settlement.

    “We have so many children in this community who need to go to school but we do not have schools here. We cannot even afford to pay teachers to have them come over to teach our children and you know it is inappropriate for our children to be wandering around because we all

    know that education is important. So if government can come to our aid, we will be excited and we will appreciate it.”

    Interestingly, this community is only a few kilometers away from the new train terminal in Idu, Karmo.

     

    Malaria Invasion

    Interaction with the community showed that aside from other water-borne diseases, malaria has been a major scourge. There are no primary health care centres around. The closest is Kuchingoro PHC which was recently commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari, except for Gwarinpa General Hospital which is located around Gwarinpa Estate.

     

    Intervention

    However, intervention came to the community in the form of preventive measures to educate the rural settlers and orientate their pregnant women on what to do in the case of malaria infections. Teams from the Centre for Communication Programs Nigeria (CCPN) visited Hardo community to freely distribute anti malaria safety nets and interact with them.

    CCPN Senior Programme Manager, Yemi Abodurin said the visit was part of moves to celebrate the World Malaria Day and the group’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the residents of FCT, and they choose the Fulani community considering their poor access to medical care.

    “Every 25th of April, the world celebrates the World Malaria Day. One unique way for us as an organization to do our CSR is to visit a community and talk to them about malaria prevention, treatment and care and that’s one of the reason we chose this Fulani settlement.” He said, “We enlightened the people on causes of malaria and what they need to do to prevent them and if they are down with fever, they should take ACT for test,” adding that “For the pregnant women, we encouraged them to take IPTP, a preventive drug against malaria.”

    Expressing his gratitude, Hardo commended CCPN for their intervention and sacrifice to help the rural community. “I give glory to God for the opportunity and for the fact that I keep calling for the need to have hospital facilities and mosquito nets. Mosquitoes are a big problem to us and a serious challenge.

    “I understand that prevention is better than cure. We don’t want to wait until we are knocked down by malaria before we start taking preventive measure. Now we have safety measures and we want to utilise it. I appreciate you for coming here to distribute the safety nets free of charge and to safeguard lives of my people.”

    However, he added that, “Prior to now, just a few of us have been able to get mosquito nets because it is a rural community. We basically sleep like that and when we fall sick, we go to the hospital but now that we have the opportunity of having mosquito nets, we intend to make best use of it by sleeping under it.”

    It is expected that officials of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Abuja Water Board and other relevant agencies will rise to their responsibility to end continuous hardship of the community and put an end to poor access to potable water in rural communities in the territory.

  • Clinton Bridge to be launched soon

    As the Abuja Airport reopens, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration has promised to ease traffic flow on that axis by completing and commissioning the Airport Road and the Bill Clinton Bridge soon.

    The trumpet overhead bridge links the Bill Clinton Drive with the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Expressway (Airport Road) and Gwagwalada-Giri.

    FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello in company of the FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye, who paid an unscheduled visit to the project site, said that the opening of the strategic trumpet bridge would further reduce traffic bottlenecks along that route.

    The Minister assured that efforts would be re-doubled to ensure that the trumpet bridge with its loops and tangents are completed in good time and opened to the motoring public within a very short period.

    He said, “We have seen the progress of work and we will continue to provide you all the needed support and funds. Of course the Airport is going to be opened very shortly. So, it’s very important that you work towards your timeline, particularly the mid May timeline so that at least it can ease traffic flow.”

    A statement issued by the Deputy Director / Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, the minister said: “The Bill Clinton Bridge on the Airport expressway is a very important project of the FCT Administration. It is meant to carry traffic in and out of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.  With the increased flow of traffic and movement, it’s very important for us to make sure that this very critical bridge is completed”.

    ”But overall, we are very happy with your work and I think this goes also to show that you are very important citizens of Abuja. You have basically constructed a significant part of the city and we look forward to when we will all come and just cut the tape to commission this project,” he stressed.

    Bello stated that when this administration came in, it was basically a hanging bridge but within the last few months, with proper funding and supervision, the contractors came back to site and they have done a very wonderful job.

    ”From your timeline, I understand a portion of the bridge will be operational within the next few weeks and subsequently within the next two or three months, the entire section will be completed including all the streetlights, road signage as well as all the drainage points and we will have a very beautiful bridge linking the city with the Airport,” he noted.

    He reiterated, “I’m so pleased with this and this is what we will continue to do in many sections of the city, trying to complete on-going infrastructure, so that we will truly get the benefit of being a mega city where everybody will move around without too much hindrance.”

    The Acting Director of the FCDA Engineering Services Department, Engr. Shehu Ahmad who took the Minister and his entourage round the project site revealed that the project which was awarded on May 7, 2009, and work commencement on May 13, 2009 is 95 per cent complete.

    The Director disclosed that the project comprises of the rehabilitation of the existing dual carriageways and its expansion to 10-lane carriageways inclusive of the service lanes on both sides.

  • From the Villa: Probing the kitchen cabinet

    Last Wednesday was definitely not a day the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal and the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ayo Oke, will forget in a hurry.

    Like a bombshell, the news of their suspension spread like wildfire. That afternoon it went viral on social media in response to the press statement by the Special Adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, which announced the suspension.

    While Lawal was suspended over alleged fraudulent practices in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East (PINE), Oke was suspended over the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, to which the NIA had made a claim.

    The allegations leveled against Lawal included the Senate’s Ad-hoc Committee on Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North East, headed by Senator Shehu Sani. alleging breach of Nigeria’s law in handling contracts awarded by the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE).

    It claimed that one of Lawal’s firms was awarded over N200 million contract to clear an ‘invasive plant specie’ in Yobe State.

    Lawal was accused by the committee of putting himself in a position of conflict of interests.

    Besides Lawal denying the allegations, a press statement by Hamidu David Lawal, who is the Managing Director of one of the firms under probe, Rholavision Engineering Ltd., which the SGF was connected to, had claimed that Lawal resigned as director of the firm and relinquished his shareholding in the firm as soon as he was appointed Secretary to the Government of the Federation in August 2015.

    Apart from the statement also noting that the PINE contract came in 2016, a year after Lawal resigned from the company, it disagreed with the claim that over N200 million was paid to the firm.

    It explained that the firm only got N7.01 million contract for Consultancy Services from PINE.

    Lawal, who had severally claimed that he was not given fair hearing by the committee, was directed to appear before the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, alongside the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, for investigation by the Executive arm of government.

    That panel later wrote a letter to the Senate, clearing the duo of all allegations.

    But still worried that the Presidency had kept mute as Lawal refused to appear before the Senate Committee to clear his name, its Chairman, Senator Shehu Sani, had accused the Presidency of fighting corruption with double standard.

    According to him, while the Presidency was fighting corruption with insecticide in other arms of government, it was fighting corruption with deodorant in the executive arm of government.

    This matter was part of the issues that recently caused rift between the Executive and the Legislative arms of government, with the legislature threatening to stop screening of National Electoral Commissioners as its resolutions were not been respected by the Executive.

    But in a twist of events and to prove that it is not fighting corruption with deodorant in the Executive arm,  President Buhari last Wednesday named Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to chair another committee to investigate allegations against Lawal and the money linked to Oke.

    Even though some Nigerians have reservations about the ability of the executive to probe itself without any bais, others still think that the new probe is only intended to give Lawal and Oke soft landing.

    Responding to the suspension, the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, Muhammedu Nalado described  it as demonstration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to anti-corruption fight.

    On the other hand, Senator Ahmed Makarfi -led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while calling for setting up of independent commission of inquiry to probe the matter, described the suspension as a ruse to deceive Nigerians.

    But the drama that played out in the Presidential Villa last Wednesday did not show that the government was handling the probe with kid gloves.

    Lawal, who normally crack jokes whenever he comes into contact with journalists in the Villa, was visibly shaken by the development.

    Apart from parrying all the questions from journalists who laid ambush for him before coming out from the Vice President’s office shortly after the suspension was announced, Lawal did not find the journalists’ presence exciting that afternoon.

    He did everything possible to quickly get away from the journalists’ ambush even though he managed to crack some jokes with them as he walked out from the Vice President’s office.

    But the newly launched Sagem MorphoAccess security gateway did not help matter.

    He was momentarily stucked with the scanner that refused to open for him to go out.

    The security personnel on duty had to ask him to step back a bit from the glass door for the machine to properly assess information in his identity card in order for the door to open.

    While the delay lasted with the machine, journalists did not stop bombarding him with questions one after the other, which Lawal also did not fail to parry.

    After the glass door opened and he got through it, he was further delayed at the entrance, as he had to wait outside for some time for his driver to drive his SUV forward.

    While waiting outside, journalists still did not spare him of questions concerning his suspension. He only got away when his driver brought his car to the entrance.

    But before he entered the vehicle, he had to muscle his way through journalists standing in his front. The black SUV hurriedly drove out of the Villa as soon as he entered.

    While Lawal was able to withstand and interact with State House correspondents, the case of the gentle and easy going Oke was different when he arrived the Presidential Villa few minutes after Lawal left.

    He could not withstand any contact with the journalists. The lobby and Vice President’s office area had to be cleared of journalists for him to gain access to the Vice President’s office. No journalist was allowed to hang around for the duration of the meeting.

    Only time will tell whether any of them will be left off the hook as the Osinbajo led committee is expected to submit report next week.