The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has announced a plan to set up an emergency management committee in each of the six area councils to immediately cater for vistims of insurgency.
Director Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Emergency Agency, Alhaji Abbas Idriss explained that officials of the local emergency would be the first responders.
Public Relations Officer, FCT Emergency Agency Josephine Mudasiru revealed this in a statement.
The statement quoted Idriss as saying that the first responders at the recent bomb blasts would have been officials of the local emergency agency if they had been set up by then.
She also stated,”Referring to the recent bomb blast in Kuje Area Council, the Director said that if the LEMCs had been in place they would have been the first people on the scene before the arrival of FEMA and other stakeholders.
“Alhaji Abbas Idris reiterated the importance of the local Emergency Committee in risk reduction; pointing out the fact that LEMCs are resident at the scene of disasters, they respond promptly thereby reducing the number of casualties against waiting for assistance from the city.
Operators of unregistered schools break the law, endanger pupils’ future, do not pay tax and are proving difficult to stop, reports JIDE BABALOLA
They are located in remote settings, run by half-baked teachers and cater to an endless string of helpless pupils. That is the picture of illegal schools in Federal Capital Territory (FCT). And there are over 1,000 of them, according to figures exclusively released to The Nation.
Operators of these fake facilities claim their activities are within their rights to self-sustenance.
“It is true that the authorities have been bothering us, trying to close our schools but we have a right to sustain our only means of livelihood,” one of them who sought anonymity told The Nation.
From a negligible number when the FCT was created, they have grown like a malignant cancer, giving Education Secretariat’s Department of Quality Assurance a headache.
The Director of Quality Assurance, Mr. Ayuba Dudam said almost all such schools being operated in shanty areas have sub-standard teachers, including some found to be unable to spell ‘kettle’ and other simple English Language words.
•Mr Dudam
“They are so many,” Dudam said. “That is our headache in the FCT. The reason is this – so many people have the erroneous belief that the easiest business to run is a school. This is wrong because running a school is a highly technical and expensive undertaking. The regulations and standards required are very high and you must provide all necessary requirements.
“But because Abuja is such a cosmopolitan environment with people coming from all over the country into the city and its surrounding areas every day, so many want to quickly get into some business and several easily drift into having a school as a business. They believe that you can just start a school in your backyard or garage; some even start from their sitting rooms and they call it a school.
“When you go to them, especially in those remote areas far from the city, and you declare that they are sealed, they go away. But by the next day or a few weeks thereafter, they are back in business,” he said.
Altogether, there are 456 duly-registered and accredited basic and senior schools in the FCT. A basic school has nursery, primary and junior secondary components. The ones with secondary classes 1, 2 and 3 are senior secondary schools.
Just recently, the DQA brought in education experts for the assessment and accreditation of schools. The Accreditation Exercise precedes recommendation of schools for ministerial approval.
The Department of Quality Assurance has a statutory mandate of inspecting, evaluating and monitoring of all schools in the Federal Capital Territory, irrespective of whether they are basic schools or secondary schools, public or private schools. It also registers and accredit such schools, using an explicitly spelt out Guidelines which prospective school proprietors procure for N5, 000, along with the ‘Minimum Standards’ list which outlines the minimum standard for the establishment of schools anywhere in Nigeria
Part of what makes it difficult for some prospective schools to scale through the latest Accreditation Exercise is the high calibre of educationists involved in the screening process. There were three university professors and highly-experienced officials from the National Universities Commission, National Council for Colleges of Educations and other government education agencies. Their strict assessment covers the adequacy of infrastructures, quality of staffing, the standard of the curriculum and arrangements for extra-curricular and co-curricular activities.
According to Dudam: “We also assess the affective domains. The relationship of that school to the immediate community and other factors are also considered before recommendations are made. Each of these areas must be scored and a school must pass up to a certain standard, in order to qualify to be granted accreditation. You may get 70 percent in the area of having buildings, workshops and so on but if you get only 30 percent in the area of staffing, you have failed,” he explained.
It is exactly these set of hurdles that the owners of several unaccredited schools see as being more of pre-determined obstacles that prevent them from transiting into being ‘legal’ schools.
“The cost of land procurement, construction and payment for the kind of teachers they insist upon is difficult to meet,” a female ‘proprietor’ of one of the FCT’s unaccredited schools said while emphasising that economic challenges, prevailing poverty in the outskirts of Abuja and other challenges necessitate that their business should be allowed to continue.
Mr. Ayuba Dudam argued that the DQA cannot make such compromise.
“It is not just a matter of ‘garbage in, garbage out’ due to the reluctance of such schools to follow standard curriculum; it is just like having quack hospitals and it is deadly.
“Firstly, the right types of infrastructure are not there; the right kind of staff is never there, and; the curriculum is not correct. So, whatever they are doing there is wrong because over time, it is more like destruction instead of construction. Children ought to be taught but instead, they are being cheated,” he said.
Dire as the long-term effect of such schools are, to children’s long-term intellectual development, the FCT Education secretariat’s Department of Quality Assurance is handicapped by two major impediments. While it has a high number of well-qualified staff for the inspection of schools, it barely has vehicles to visit outlying areas outside the city. The rugged rural terrains farther from Abuja appear to be safe havens for operators of fake schools who charge daily or weekly payments to ‘teach’ children of poor parents who are mostly far from being literate enough to realize the difference between right and wrong-headed education.
Also, the DQA lacks adequately effective legal muscle to back its regulatory mandate. Hence, illegal schools that have been closed several times keep coming back. It is no big surprise that whenever the authorities close the shanty schools, their defiant owners agree for a while, only to continue shortly afterwards, knowing that the department supervising them has to take its attention elsewhere, even while contending with severe logistic impediments that include very scanty financial allocations and lack of vehicles needed for inspection tours.
But Dudam who emphasised that officials of DQA in all the department’s seven zonal offices are quietly monitoring operators of hundreds of shanty schools, says all that is now about to change this month as innovative enforcement measures are about to begin. He says that shortage of resources and the need to stop the garbage ‘education’ being fed to children in the outskirts of Abuja city now necessitate measures that include pulling down structures being used for such illegal and sub-standard ‘teaching’
“Having looked left and right and found no way out and not wanting to be a toothless bulldog, we therefore decided that we should do more with the School Closures Committee that was approved by the immediate past minister of the FCT. It comprises all stakeholders/agencies in education in the FCT, the legal department, police, Development Control Department and others are involved.
“So, we decided to look inwards towards finding a lasting solution to this problem by using the Development Control department’s authority. The Department of Development Control is the organ of the FCT Administration that is saddled with the responsibility of monitoring and ensuring compliance with all development guidelines, largely, the Abuja Master Plan and the FCT Regional Development Plan as conceived by the founding fathers before 1979.
“They are part of our Schools Closure Committee and they have authority for effective enforcement of development control (including demolition of all illegal structures
Another opportunity has presented itself for Senate President Senator Bukola Saraki to make amends and respect President Muhammadu Buhari’s wish and that of their party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Towards bringing the desired change and moving the nation forward, President Buhari has submitted the first batch of 21 names of ministerial nominees to the Senate.
The screening of the first batch of nominees is expected to begin at the red-carpet chamber headed by Saraki today.
Two previous wishes of the party did not see the light of day in the 8th Senate.
The first was the ‘James Bond’ style adopted by Saraki to emerge the Senate President in June against the wish of his party.
His party then had wanted Senator Ahmed Lawan to emerge the Senate President.
But with the support of the senators of the opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the wish of APC was truncated in June in the Senate, which paved way for PDP to also produce the Deputy Senate President in the person of Ike Ekweremadu.
As if that was not enough, the second wish of the APC was also blocked after Saraki emerged the Senate President.
The APC’s candidates for the principal offices in the Senate did not get the positions.
The Senate, under Saraki, rather settled for other candidates different from the wish of his party.
Reflecting on practices under Saraki’s predecessor, Senator David Mark of the PDP, he did not fail at anytime to protect the interest of his party in such past elections and appointments.
Some ministerial nominees, who were seen as less qualified for the job in some quarters, eventually got the Senate confirmation then.
With due respect to the immediate past Minister of Women Affairs, Zainab Maina, the roles she had previously played in the PDP mainly paved the way for her to be a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In the past two weeks, Saraki, no doubt, has been romancing with the number one and number two citizens of this country.
His presence has been more felt in the last fourteen days in the Presidential Villa than all the past months of his tenure as Senate President.
Nigerians, for the first time, had the honour of seeing Saraki attend an official function of Nigeria’s 55th independence anniversary celebration at the Presidential Villa on 1st of October.
On the same day, he visited the seat of power the second time by having a private meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in his office after the ceremony.
To mend the fences further, Saraki for the first time also led principal officers of the Senate along with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and House leadership for a meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa last Wednesday night.
It is hoped that all these new moves will be in the short and long term interest of the party in power and the nation.
A test case for Saraki to prove his new love for his party is the screening of ministerial nominees scheduled to start today.
Supporting his party will not necessarily mean working against the progress of his country.
Given that the nominees are qualified for the ministerial job, the ball is now in Saraki’s court to ensure level playing ground for all the nominees and also prevent unnecessary politics on the floor of the Senate to discredit anyone of them.
The focus should be on whether they have what it takes to bring about the desired CHANGE of the APC for the development and benefit of Nigerians.
Saraki cannot afford to fail his party and the nation this time around.
After expressing their disappointment over the absence of an indigenous ministerial nominee for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), some youths have requested President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that a qualified and committed person is appointed to run the Territory.
The youths under the auspices of Original Inhabitants Youths Empowerment Organisation appealed to President Buhari to choose a truly committed, detribalised and focused Minister of the FCT who will implement the recommendations of various committees set up to address the grievances of the indigenous people.
Their President, Isaac David said, “Appointments into political offices at national level are regulated by the 1999 Constitution section 14 and by the Federal Character Establishment Act of 1997. The Act requires that appointments into political and other offices should be given to candidates who are indigenous to the FCT and the States of Nigeria.”
The FCT indigenes said they have for long expected a leader they can trust and who can make promises and keep them, a man who will build bridges of trust and mutual understanding across the country.
Also the chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Micah Jiba appealed to President Buhari to consider indigenes of Abuja when appointing his Ministers that will form his cabinet.
Jiba who also is the President of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) made this known following the expectations of Nigerians that his cabinet would be formed in October, since he has submitted some names to the National Assembly.
He said, “We believe that President Buhari is truly for everybody, because he has been tested and trusted as a former Head of States and presently the President of Nigeria. So, I believe that he has everybody in mind and he will carry all of us along, because we the indigenes of Abuja want to contribute our quota in his administration.
“After Katsina and Daura, the next place he can call his home is Abuja and I believe that he has the original inhabitants of the FCT at heart and he will not allow the people to be marginalised in his administration, making sure that he considers the FCT indigenes his ministerial appointments.
“Indigenes of the FCT see the emergence of President Buhari as a divine intervention from God to save the indigenes from the prolonged marginalisation. I believe that President Muhammadu Buhari will live up to the expectations of Nigerians and make everyone experience the good things that have eluded this country for a very long time.
“Nigerians should continue to pray for this administration, so that God will make it to succeed and end the insurgency that is threatening the peace and unity of this country. Also, in doing that, we all should be vigilant and look out for any suspicious movement within our environments and report it to the appropriate security agencies,” he said.
Assisting Caring Empowering (ACE) Charity in collaboration with the Transcorp Hilton is set to build a temporary camp for displaced people in Abuja.
The camp which will have all modern facilities will be situated in Kabusa and accommodate 250 internally displaced families.
It will be managed by the charity organisation.
Founder of ACE Charity Kiki James explained that the camp will be made out of old containers and surrounded by a fence.
“We want to set up a proper Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp like that of Syria, in Kabusa. Hopefully it should be ready before the year runs out; our donor agencies are already sending the containers. Transcorp Hilton does a lot in terms of providing most of the things we need. The camp is going to be equipped with a skills acquisition centre, school, clinic and warehouses to keep the relief materials donated by our donor agencies,” she said.
Public Relations Manager Transcorp Hilton Abuja, Mr Shola Adeyemo explained the ACE charity partnership is the longest that they have had with any charity organisation and this is because of the honesty that they saw in them.
He said that Transcorp will assist ACE in maintaining the camp by helping in hygiene management and staff.
The near empty national treasury that almost grounded the administration of President Buhari on assumption of office was one of the major factors that propelled him to go after looters in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Not only did he take the campaign to recover the loots to the international community, but he expressly solicited the support of the world leaders towards repatriation of the stolen funds.
Such repatriation of the stolen fund will not end the case as Buhari also threatened to further prosecute anybody found wanting.
But his appeal for assistance from the global community appeared not to be achieving the desired result until about a fothnight ago.
Worried by the seemingly slow support of the international community towards the stolen fund recovery, President Buhari tasked the world leaders to do more on the stolen fund while speaking a fortnight ago at the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in the United States (US).
“In particular, I call upon the global community to urgently redouble efforts towards strengthening the mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for proceeds of corruption and ensuring the return of stolen funds and assets to their countries of origin,” he told the world leaders.
Barely four days after appealing to the world leaders to do more on the stolen funds at UNGA, some of the countries moved against some ministers in ex-President Jonathan’s administration.
Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke was arrested alongside her brothers by the British authorities in London.
As directors of Hadley Petroleum Solutions Limited, they are facing trial for alleged bribery and money laundering in London.
Glad with the new development, President Buhari last Tuesday commended Britain and Switzerland for their efforts to assist Nigeria in recovering stolen funds.
While receiving the new British High Commissioner, Mr. Paul Arkwright in Abuja, Buhari said: “Switzerland and Britain have been very helpful indeed in the recovery of our assets. But we must build on what we have started.
“It is also important to send a signal to the elite that it is no longer business as usual. I personally appreciate the efforts of Prime Minister David Cameron on this issue.
“He has honoured his commitments to us. He promised to support our government to build a strong and dynamic economy and he has been faithful to his words,” he added
Following the bomb blast that claimed the lives of 15 innocent residents of Kuje area council and Nyanya in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), some residents of Kuje area council have called on the federal government to ban the wearing of the long hijab by Muslim women.
When Abuja Review visited the scene of the bomb blast at Kuje, it was discovered that the area has opened for business with security personnel keeping an eye on the area.
Some residents who spoke with our reporter said that most of the young ladies used for suicide attacks wear long hijab.
One of the residents, John Ibrahim who spoke with Abuja Review said that the explosion came as a surprise to the residents because of the peace that has been in the FCT and some other parts of the country.
According to Ibrahim since it is seemed that the terrorists have completely engaged young girls in the suicide bombing mission, and most of them wear the long hijabs, it would be difficult to to identify any one that is a threat to the people.
“I believe that the only way to successfully fight this insurgency, apart from the military checkpoints and other stop and check operations, is for the government to put a ban on the wearing of the long hijab that is worn by most Muslim ladies.
“Like in Kuje, before the bomb blast, I used to see young ladies wearing long Ijabs, but I did not believe that young girls will be used for bomb blast in Kuje. The government should tackle this insecurity from the unexpected levels, which is banning this long hijabs in Nigeria for the main time, pending the end of insurgency,” he said.
Another resident, Ms. Joy Ephraim, a trader close to the scene of the bomb blast in Kuje, also said that if the hijabs is not banned, it will be difficult for the people to assist the government in the fight against insurgency.
“Imagine a young lady wearing vest of explosives inside a long hijab, and she passes by your side, there is no way you will be able to know what the person is wearing inside the hijab. But if the person is wearing simple clothes, it will be easy for you to notice and call the attention of security agencies.
“The government should know that this is no longer a religious affair, but the affairs of everybody. If this insurgency should be tackled effectively, it should start from the smallest aspect, irrespective of religious affiliation. Like checking the clothes people are wearing and bags people are carrying. With this, there will be peace and security in Nigeria,” she said.
China has donated sewing machines, clippers and generators to Internally Displayed Persons in Abuja.
The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Gu Xiaojie said that the gesture would improve the lives of the IDPS.
Xiaojie, who spoke to reporters at the IDPs camp in new Kuchingoro, Abuja, added that China would train the IDPs in tailoring, fashion designing, hair dressing and repairs of generating sets.
“The skills acquisition will go a long way to assist the IDPs. The programme will benefit them immensely,” he said.
He said that his country would continue to support Nigeria in its fights against insurgency while condoling with the victims of the recent Kuje and Nyanya bomb blast in Abuja.
“China will continue to support Nigeria in attaining peace and stability. Our hearts are with them. We hope those injured will recover quickly,” he said.
He added that with the help of other super powers, Nigeria would overcome the challenges of terrorism.
“This issue of terrorism will be firmly resolved with collaborative efforts of the global village,” he said.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked all aspirants to the chairmanship position of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) to desist from working against the interest of the party, saying it has no preferred candidate for the election.
Chairman of the party in the AMAC, Abbas Baba who gave the warning while receiving a letter of intent to contest the chairmanship election the former Deputy Chairman of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Danlami Umar Zuru, also said that all the aspirants must be prepared to work together to ensure that the party emerged victorious in the elections.
He said while the party appreciates the contribution of all the aspirants to building the party in the Area Council, they should bear in mind that only one of them will emerge candidate of the party at the end of the day, pointing out that they must be prepared to work for whoever emerged victorious at the party primary.
Making his intention known Danlami Umar Zulu said he has the ability and the credibility to take over the leadership position in AMAC, stressing that people are yearning for change.
“This time around, we are yearning for change. What I thought is to submit myself to the people of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC). I feel the pain of the masses, especially in the areas of youth empowerment, education, and agriculture. “We are talking about credibility and ability to deliver. I have the driving force, experience and the grassroots support. I am a loyal party man. So, it can’t be difficult for me to succeed,” he said. While expressing optimism that the APC would win the coming council poll in the Area Council, he said “What progress has the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) made which will not give us confidence to achieve victory? What have they achieved since 1999 to date at the grassroots? The PDP has not achieved anything. Of course, you can show me one. “If you can, then show me that achievement. People are very tired. Just as they yearn for change at national level, they are yearning for change in AMAC. By the grace of God, we will deliver. The PDP will win the election by the grace of God”. The chairmanship aspirant who said that APC members and delegates to give him opportunity to serve as chairman in AMAC, added that he has always carried out successfully all the assignment given to hi by the national leaders of the party. “I believe that leadership is about good representation, protecting your people, looking for the welfare and wellbeing of people, making peace among your people and your ability to blend in, in other to understand the problems of your people.”
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on residents to be vigilant and support the government in its fight against insurgency.
This call was made by the State Secretary of the party, Hon. Abdulahi Candido who condemned the bomb attack at Nyanya and Kuje area of the FCT in which over 15 people died and more than 40 injured.
Candido said there is need to forestall such attacks.
Candido who is also an aspirant for the chairmanship of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) said every resident should be vigilant and look out for any suspicious movements in their environments and report to the appropriate security agencies.
“The attacks at Nyanya and Kuje were unexpected, especially now that we were about celebrating peace in the FCT. This is not good for our country and I will advise those behind this dastardly act to repent and embrace peace in this country. There is the need for all of us to live in peace and unity and move this country to greater height together.
“Those perpetrating this evil acts should know that killing of fellow human beings will never do any good to anyone. It is high time they embraced peace and accept that Nigerians want to live in peace as a united nation. President Muhammadu Buhari has the sincere desire to build this country and carry everyone along, so everyone should support him to do it.
“I want to advice every group or individual to condemn such dastardly acts whereby innocent lives are destroyed because of selfish interest. We all should be vigilant and know that security of lives and property should not be left for the government alone, we should try to do our best by ensuring that we always look out for suspicious movements and make reports where necessary.
“My prayer is that we should not witness such dastardly acts again in the FCT and entire Nigeria, that is why as Nigerians, we should always contribute our quota in assisting the government in the aspect of security. So, that the issue of insecurity will be a thing of the past,” he said.
