The Nation Newspaper

Category: Northern Report

  • Fed Govt hails ITF jobs plan

    The Federal Government has applauded the efforts of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) in producing a template for job creation.

    Minister of Trade and Investment Dr. Olusegun Aganga gave the commendation on a  visit to ITF headquarters Jos.

    The minister said: “The National Skill Gap Survey Plan of ITF is a positive initiative that is capable of solving the unemployment crisis facing the country.

    Continuing, Dr. Aganga said, “For the first time in the country, ITF through the ministry, is coming up with a National Skills Gap Survey in the country in other to meet up with the Skills gap in each sector of the economy of the country.

    “The survey is aim at identifying those various vacant gaps that required competent skill personnels needed which an institution like ITF is in the best position of training them to work”

    He maintained that, various academic institutions like the Universities and the Polytechnic will have to include the Survey plan in to their school Curriculum which means that Jobs will be created in future.

    He lament that, “there are so many graduates out there, and so many vacancies out there but lack of skills has been the problem”

    The minister disclosed that Dangote Group of Companies is building an Integrated Petro-chemical Plant in Lagos which, after completion, will end the country’s importation of petroleum products.

    Also, he added, the country will become an exporter of the products.

    Aganga said that the country needs about 5,000 petro-chemical engineers in the country to work in that industry.

     

  • Community begs for facilities

    One of the reasons for daily influx of people into Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is to enhance their well-being. While a few have seemingly realised their dreams, others are still hoping and praying that one day, all will be well.

    The FCT is made up of six satellite towns which have become the abode for many. Byazhin Across is a community in Kubwa Council Area in the FCT. It is thickly populated suburb.

    Located at the ends of Kubwa, Byazhin Across is a fast-growing community as many people move into it on daily basis. Residents of this community are mainly those who cannot afford the expensive accommodation in other areas of Kubwa.

    Unfortunately, the infrastructural development of the community does not commensurate with its dense population. Byazhin Across community represents squalor and underdevelopment. It is a community that lacks social amenities such as pipe-borne water, regular electricity and tarred roads.

    Every household owns an electricity generating set to avoid living in the dark. The residents also provide water for themselves through sinking of boreholes. Those who could not afford boreholes make use of a local river to serve their water needs. Some residents who spoke to Abuja Review recounted the awful experiences they have been going through in Byazhin Across.

    Mrs. Happiness lives in a self-contain with her husband and three children. She told our correspondent that she pays N80, 000 as rent per year. She complained about lack of power supply and absense of pipe-borne water.

    She said: “We just had electricity few weeks ago. If you look around, you will still see new electric poles, but the problem is we hardly get electricity. It comes like two hours in two days.”

    Mrs. Happiness also stated that the area is prone to security breach as properties get stolen whenever people are not around. She, however, urged the incoming government to come to the community’s aid by providing basic amenities such as electricity and pipe borne water.

    Another resident, Mr. Christopher, who hails from Cross River State expressed displeasure over what he called lack of necessities of life in the community. “I stay in a single room apartment here in Byazhin Across, and one of the major challenges for me is poor road network. From here to the express road costs N150 to and from. Towards the evening, it costs between N200 and N250 most times. The dust from the road affects my health a lot and there is hardly electricity supply to the community to enable us to do our jobs.

    “I have a small generator but when there is fuel scarcity, I abandon my work and jobs until when it’s available,” he said.

    He also said he rely solely on borehole and purchase water from cart pushers popularly called ‘Mai Ruwa’ at N250 per cart. Mr. Christopher calls on the incoming government to effect a gradual change on all the social needs of the community.

    “I believe so much in the ability of the incoming government because I know they have our interest at heart. I would want them to bring the change into this community by gradually meeting our needs and I think constant electricity is a major need,” he said.

    Mr. Turheeb lives in a one bedroom flat and pays N130, 000 per year. He said their major challenges are water and electricity. He stated that electricity is rationed and when it’s his turn, he rarely gets electricity.

    “Light is a major challenge and it is one day on one day off. Sometimes when it is our turn, we do not get it,” he said.

    Another resident, Mrs. Joseph, a petty trader, complained about the road and poor electricity supply. She noted that the road is often unusable during the rainy season.

    “During rainy season, our road is very bad. There is no gutter, even people don’t like coming to this area because of the bad nature of the road when rain falls. We don’t have light and we buy water from borehole operators. A 25 litre gallon is N15 and 20 litre paint bucket is N10. It is expensive and I want government to do something about it; we are really suffering here,” she said.

    Residents of Byazhin Across are hoping that the Federal Government will heed to their call and reduce the hardship they go through by providing the much-needed social amenities that will help in developing their community.

  • Once upon Kaduna Trade Fair

    Once upon Kaduna Trade Fair

    The Kaduna Trade Fair which started as a cherished meeting point for international exhibitors has faded into a local market patronised by even fewer and fewer home traders. ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE tells why

    The glory days seem over. Once, a resident held up an article to friends and announced with every sense of accomplishment that he bought it at the prestigious Kaduna International Trade Fair. In those days, top-of-the-line exhibitors from across the world converged on the city, displayed their articles and left with lots of cash in their pockets, leaving behind their equally satisfied hosts.

    Not anymore. The fair has shrunk to an afterthought, patrons dwindling faster than watchers can keep track of. Even local exhibitors seem to have other things on their minds than the 35-year-old fair.

    For several years, the fair was held at the Murtala Square in the heart of the city. In time the complex became smaller and smaller as more countries and firms participated. This created the need to move to another site.

    The Nation gathered that the Kaduna International Trade Fair was solely financed at inception by a famous business tycoon, Alhaji Bawa Garba, popularly known as ABG. To make it a success, the tycoon reportedly invited over 95 German, British and American companies to participate.

    Dr. Garba’s pioneering efforts and the fair’s huge success attracted more companies and state governments across the country annually.

    To facilitate the hosting of the All African Trade Fair, the Federal Government invested over US $30m to build the permanent site for the fair.

    So much has changed over time, and all for the wrong reasons. The state-of-the-art facilities at the fair site located along the Kaduna/Zaria expressway are now underutilised as many of the pavilions have become the habitat of reptiles. Even during the regular fair over the years, many of the pavilions are no longer put to use, leading to decay of many of them.

    The handover of the complex to the Kaduna Chamber of Commerce was aimed at putting it to maximum use, but this has yet to be the case. Apart from regular political rallies and conferences which take place at the ultra-modern conference centre  inside the trade fair ground, over 75 per cent of the pavilions are  unused all year round.

    •Fulani fresh milk sellers at the fair
    •Fulani fresh milk sellers at the fair

    The fair also has stopped attracting many foreign participants. Since the All African Trade fair, America and British companies have not participated in the fair while majority of those who now take part are drawn from the local markets within Kaduna and to some extent, Kano State.

    A veteran journalist, Alhaji Tajudeen Tijjani Ajibade, who covered the Kaduna fair for several years for the Kaduna-based New Nigerian newspaper told The Nation that the fair at 36 has moved from being an international meeting point to a mere local market. He said, for a very long time, the fair had participants coming from not less than 23 foreign countries, including their embassies. This, he said, was the case until the late 1990s when Nigeria started experiencing economic challenges.

    “Throughout that time,” he said, “foreign countries used to bring in equipment that could be used for industrialisation and development of Nigeria and African continent as a whole. For those seven days, the whole Kaduna would be shut down for the trade fair, but suddenly things started going down, due to economic problem that Nigeria was facing.”

    The major turning point in fortunes of the fair began in 2000 with the sharia crisis which which occurred barely a few weeks to the commencement of the fair that year. The crisis reduced the number of participants at the fair drastically and the number kept decreasing over the years. However, The Nation observed that, despite the reduction in the number of foreign participants, the fair was not doing badly until the current security challenges occasioned by the Boko Haram insurgents began.

    When The Nation visited the Trade Fair ground along Kaduna-Zaria Express Way, during the just concluded 36th edition of the fair, it was observed that apart from the absence of foreign exhibitors, some prominent local companies were equally absent. This was why some keen observers described the 36th fair as a mere Kaduna Central Market relocated to Rigachikun.

    •An exhibition stand at the fair
    •An exhibition stand at the fair

    A regular visitor to the fair told The Nation that “The last time I came to Kaduna International Trade Fair was seven years ago and so I was completely unprepared for the transformation I am seen today, First there is hardly anything international about it now. Except if I am supposed to consider the shed I saw, that was owned by some tired looking foreigners who seemed to be wondering what on earth they were doing at such a sleepy fair as “international” participation.

    “Secondly, this place is more than seventy percent empty especially when one compares it with the mammoth crowds we used to see in those pre-boko haram days. Thirdly, even state governments which have permanent stands at the fair ground don’t bother to show up anymore. There were several state government pavilions that seemed as though they hadn’t been opened in a year. I remember when people would travel all the way from Yola, Gusau, Maiduguri, just so they could shop at the fair. Now many people who live right next door to the Trade Fair complex won’t bother to walk in unless you are going to pay them. This decline in fortunes of Nigeria’s oldest and once biggest trade fair is the starkest depiction of the current state of the economy of Northern Nigeria. The sad thing is the security situation that may have caused this decline hasn’t changed much.”

    Senator Walid Jibrin, one of the leaders of the Kaduna Chamber of Commerce attributed the low turnout of participants at the 36th edition of the fair to political tension in the country, saying political gladiators as well as the electorate envisaged election crises which eventually turned out to be a victory for all as elections were believed to be generally peaceful.

    However, in his goodwill message, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, said government through his ministry was putting in efforts, aimed at reforming the Nigerian investment climate and improving the country’s doing-business ranking, adding that the ministry has also embarked on a multi-focus trade strategy to tackle various challenges to domestic, regional and international trade in line with their peculiarities. He added that government has been in touch with the Kaduna Chamber’s programmes and other initiatives because of its embrace of the nation’s transformation agenda, promising that government would always prepared to welcome constructive proposals submitted by the chamber especially is such proposals were based on experience and expert knowledge of commercial and industrial practice.

    President of the Chambers Dr. Abdul Alimi Bello told our correspondent that the fair would not have been held due to the tension before the general elections, but the chamber decided to hold it in April to send a signal to the international participants that all is well with Nigeria.

    He said he was glad that elections which Nigerians and the world at large were apprehensive on has come and gone peacefully. He however called on incoming administration at all levels of governance, to invest heavily in macro-economy, quickly added that they should take as a priority how to make the business environment conducive. Alimi argued that, the turnout of the fair is a reflection of the nation’s economy, saying if the new government is able to get things right in terms of economy, it will affect every sector of the economy, including participation in the Kaduna International Trade Fair.

    As the fair ended last Sunday, participants were hopeful that the General Muhammadu Buhari-led government would revive the comatose industries for a better fair next year.

  • Computer skills behind bars

    Computer skills behind bars

    What started as a bitter reality behind the prison bars is ending on joyous note. No fewer than 53 inmates of Kuje Prisons have aquired computer skills to prepare them for post-jail life. GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports

    How everything now looks so different! When they were pronounced guilty and sentenced to various jail terms, glum faces captured their gloom.

    Now, they are smiling and looking forward to a fruitful life after serving their terms.

    That is the story of 53 inmates of  Kuje Prisons, Abuja who have celebrated their graduation from a computer course and were duly presented with their certificates.

    The skills will serve them well in reintegrating into the society following their release.

    The Controller-General of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), Peter Ependu, at the graduation ceremony organised by Global Skill Acquisition Initiative, in collaboration with the NPS, advised the inmates not to see their stay in prison as the end of the world.

    Ependu urged them to see the situation as a stepping stone.

    The Controller-General, who was represented by the Controller of Prison in charge of Welfare, Akin Ekijere, said: “You all know that before now it was punishment in the prisons. The intention then was that prisoners should be brought and locked up, subjected to all forms of ill-treatment. But the new approach is what we call reformation. And the key purpose is to identify the ability and talent of an individual inmate and then be able to address the ability. We are playing the expected roll that we are supposed to play.

    “The three “Rs” in our slogan is reformation, rehabilitation and re-integration. These are very strategic in this administration. The CGP has had cause to express concern over the welfare of inmates, especially their progress. I emphasised the need for what we call community correction. The police have what we call community policing. On our part, we have community correction. Whatever correction that takes place within the institution without relevant or appropriate collaboration with the community cannot be meaningful. It is sad enough that you and I know that anybody that enters the prison, the society do not want to know if the person was initially guilty or not, but for the fact that you have stepped into the prison, they have a different notion about you.

    “You are rejected by the society as if there is no hope again. They say you are not good again. But honestly, with this concept of community correction, it is important to appreciate the kind of collaboration we are receiving. The after care programme also helps the inmates to do well after serving their jail terms.

    “To the graduating inmates, imprisonment is just a stepping stone. It does not reduce your capability, personality, your intellect is still intact. So, why allow people to make you feel inferior.

    “So, I like the challenge. Whatever situation I find myself I believe that God Almighty knows that I am there. So, I take complete control of the situation. Do not allow imprisonment to run you down. I see your faces as people that are committed to succeed in life. Take this situation as a challenge. We appreciate the National Open University of Nigeria for this platform.”

    Chamberlin Obianigwe, a convict and one of the best graduating students told Abuja Review that he had been in Kuje Prison for seven years and that few months

    from now, he will be gaining his freedom.

    The elated Obianigwe said: “I have been here for about seven years as a convict and I will be leaving in few months’ time. I am so glad and happy. When this unfortunate journey started seven years ago, I though it was the end of my life and that the world had come to an end for me. But when the education programmes came into Kuje Prison, I embraced all trainings academically and otherwise to see that I do not relent while I am here. So, I am so happy.

    “The advise I have for other inmates is that when you are in prison, you should not limit yourself to just the problem that brought you here but to engage themselves in every activity that is going on in the prison, pending when God will grant you freedom.

    “When I leave the prison in few months’ time, I will be very happy to re-unite with my wife, daughter, mother and the rest of members of my family for they have been supporting me all this while and they always visit me.”

    Another inmate who was the class governor of the 53 students, David Dung said the notion that some people outside the four corners of prison walls have is that

    prisoners are finished.

    Dung went further: “But God, in His infinite mercy says no to the thoughts of men.”

    The National Coordinator of Global Skill Acquisition Initiative, Ogbaje Ojogbedua said: “The purpose of the programme was to empower the youth in Nigeria, especially the less privileged ones to be self-reliant and self employed. We brought the programme to the prison to empower the inmates to be self-reliant. They came into the prison and one day they will go back to the society. So, we have to reform and re-integrate them through the collaboration with the NPS to give them the hope and future.

    “They are about 53 that are graduating. The issue of stigmatisation and discrimination should not be there. Government cannot do it all alone; it needs every necessary collaboration with the private organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The Federal Government should also try its best by going into collaboration with private organisations and NGOs.”

  • 173 dump PDP for APC

    The former senatorial aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the 2011 general elections, Dr. Aboki Zhawa has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Zhawa made public his defection at his Rubochi Ward in Kuje Area Council.

    Zhawa, a retired Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum, Education and Head of Service, who crossed over to APC with 173 of his loyalists and supporters, was received by the former Speaker of Kuje Area Council, Alhaji Abdullahi A. Galadima and APC ward chairman in the area, Mr. Dogo Nana Bamaiyi, at a brief ceremony held at the party’s office in the area.

    Notable among those that defected were former councillorship candidate of the PDP in the area, Luka Danjuma Yemison, former PDP elder, Mr. Galadima Tatari Gbako, Mukaila Ibrahim Zhawa and PDP elders in the area.

    The former senatorial aspirant said he and some of his loyalists dumped his party in order to move the country forward.

    He said he was compelled to come into the APC fold with his supporters after he realised that indigenous people of the territory have been schemed out of important positions under the ruling PDP.

    He said, “We are in a world of reality. I have told people severally that we are not born for a party. The party is born for us, as we are not slaves.

    “So my [defection] to APC with my supporters is a matter of interest,” he said.

    He noted that natives of the territory were giving much recognition during the military administrator of the former FCT Minister, General Maman Vatsa, which he said area councils and some ministries were created to carry the natives along.

    According to him, many indigenous people of the territory were carried along under the military administration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, adding that the military administration of Buhari was transparent.

    He berated the FCT admini-stration’s land swap policy, saying the PDP-led government has failed to resettled natives whose farm lands and house have been taken away from them over the years without compensation.

    “The natives have scattered all over the places. We do not even know our places again. As nobody is planning anything for the natives. We are just like lost ship. With the coming of Buhari, natives of the FCT shall regain their status, which is why I decided to join the APC with my supporters” he said.

    Responding, chairman of the APC in FCT, Alhaji Usman Abdulmalik said the party was elated by the effort of the former senatorial candidate for his wise decision to dump the PDP to join the APC.

    He said the party would carry him and his supporters along in every decisions of the party in order to ensure that APC delivers dividends of democracy to people in the FCT.

  • A lift for the needy

    A lift for the needy

    •Sani addressing the physically challenged persons
    •Sani addressing the physically challenged persons

    The physically challenged in Kaduna Central Senatorial zone of Kaduna State have got a lift courtesy of Comrade Shehu Sani who has been elected to represent the zone at the Senate.

    Human rights activist Sani has been touring the district to thank the electorate whose votes took him to the National Assembly.

    One of his latest gestures on the tour was the donation of wheelchairs to physically challenged residents. The effort impressed the recipients, who said that Sani may have reversed the notion that politicians forget those who voted for them as quickly as the ballots are cast.

    Even though Sani was yet to assume duty as the representative of his people in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, he gave out the wheelchairs to the needy, saying it was not too early to start appreciating the beneficiaries who were part of the voters who believed in him.

    The Senator-elect had earlier paid a thank-you visit to several other communities in the zone shortly after his election, promising to represent them effectively and bring back the fortunes of the erstwhile industrialised Kaduna Central Senatorial zone.

    But, Sani said, his visit and donation to the destitute is a demonstration of his concern for the less privileged, adding that the destitute are the lowest cadre of the poor and downtrodden.

    Presenting the wheelchairs at the popular beggars colony along Kano Road, Kaduna, the Senator-elect said, “The destitute are the poorest of the poor, therefore they deserve special attention by the government and the entire citizenry”.

    While promising to pursue the destitute bill before the National Assembly with vigour, Shehu Sani told the destitute that, his seat in the Senate would be judiciously utilised towards eradication of the plights.

    He said, “This presentation is a tip of the iceberg among the good things that will come your way. I have brought these to show that this new regime is a regime that will fulfil promises made.

    “You all know that we are yet to be sworn in, but, we are doing this because you are the ones suffering most among the poor. In fact, you deserve help even from the poor who are not destitute.

    “This is the reason I cannot afford to wait until we are sworn in before I come to your aid. Be rest assured that I will represent you well in the Senate and more of good things will come your way,” Sani said.

    Meanwhile, beneficiaries who had earlier organised a special prayer for the Senator-elect ahead of his arrival at the beggars colony said, like ‘Oliver Twist’ they will continue to ask him for more.

    One of them, Alhassan Haruna, a physically challenged person, said, “We have supported political office seekers in the past. They made numerous promises, but once they get to the office, they forget us. But, this time, we voted Shehu Sani and he has shown that he didn’t forget us. This is a signal that when he’s sworn-in, he will never forget us.

    The destitute however urged Shehu Sani to assist them with a vehicle to convey the sick and their pregnant women ýto hospital when the need arises.

     

  • Give us FCT ministerial slot

    The President of the National Gade Youth Assembly (NGYA) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Comrade Baba Sani, has appealed to the incoming administration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to consider appointing a native of the territory as minister of the FCT.

    Sani, who spoke with newsmen in Abuja, said the original inhabitants of the territory have, over the years, not been privileged to be appointed into key positions at the centre.

    According to Sani, since the inception of democracy in 1999, natives of the territory that comprised nine ethnic groups have always been treated like second-class citizens in their ancestral home.

    He urged the president-elect to shun those urging him to appoint Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as a minister of the FCT, saying there are qualified natives of the territory that can handle such position if given the opportunity.

    “The national Gade Youth Assembly also urges the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari to shun those urging him to appoint Rabiu Kwankwaso, as FCT minister. Besides, such move is repugnant to national justice, equity and good conscience,” he said.

    The group further urged the incoming administration to set up a committee that would look into some uncompleted /abandoned projects, especially at the satellite towns, which he said has direct bearing on the lives of residents of the territory.

    “We also plead with the president-elect to cancel the land swap policy introduced by the outgoing FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, because it has robbed the original inhabitants of their ancestral homes, inheritance and democratic rights,” he added.

  • One thing Mr. President should do before May 29

    Consigning the blood thirsty insurgents to history is one thing President Goodluck Jonathan should achieve before quitting the stage on May 29.

    Thousandsof innocent souls have been lost due to the insurgency in some parts of Nigeria, which were mainly carried out by the Islamic sect Boko Haram.

    Not only have many Nigerians also been maimed and orphaned as a result of the deadly onslaught of the sect over the years, a great number of them have been rendered homeless and life may never be the same again for them, even when the insurgency ends.

    Apart from the lives that were lost, maiming and destruction of properties by the sect, a substantial part of Nigeria’s annual budget that would have been used for development was appropriated towards procuring military hardware needed to fight the insurgents.

    It is also on record that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan is said to be achieving giant strides against Boko Haram in the past one month over and above what was achieved in the past years of the war.

    Besides reclaiming almost all  lost territories from the insurgents, over 300 women and children in Sambisa Forest were said to have been freed from the clutches of Boko Haram in the past two weeks.

    While attributing the recent successes to the acquisition of necessary equipment for the war against the insurgents, President Jonathan has even opposed the deployment of international forces against Boko Haram.

    He had rather called on the international community to assist with rebuilding the areas destroyed by the sect over the years.

    The President was so confident now against the sect that he even vowed on Thursday last week that he would handover a Nigeria free from Boko Haram to the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari on May 29.

    No doubt, Nigerians will be happy if the President can really achieve that on or before the handover date.

    But they will be happier if President Jonathan can go further to unveil the ‘real’ sponsors and financiers of Boko Haram before he leaves office on May 29.

    Even if there won’t be time for his administration to prosecute the sponsors to logical conclusion, the incoming administration will pick up the cases from where he stopped.

    As a Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, many Nigerians won’t believe that President Jonathan has not had access to security information over the years pointing to the real sponsors and financiers of the insurgents.

    Not a few numbers of the terrorists were arrested by security agencies in the past five years and, as expected, valuable information on the ‘real’ sponsors should have been gathered by the government.

    To wash his hands of the blood of innocent souls shed by the insurgents, President Jonathan should ensure that there are no cover-ups on the sponsors. He should also ensure that urgent steps are being taken to expose and bring them to book, even if that is the last thing he will do before leaving office to start his statesmanship role.

    To expose and prosecute the sponsors is very important as it will reduce the possibility of Nigeria and Nigerians experiencing such insurgency in the future.

    Again, it will give the incoming administration a clean slate to begin work without the evil sponsors and financiers walking free in the society.

    To remain silent and conceal the real identity of the sponsors will not be the best for Nigeria.

    And if what has happened over the years were manipulations by some persons in the system for financial or other gains, the President should move against them as there is still time to act before leaving office.

     

    Massive turnout excites Jonathan

     

    President Goodluck Jonathan was, on last Saturday of April, stunned with the turnout of people for the last and fifth Presidential Prayer Breakfast at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

    The turnout was complete opposite of the attendance at the Palm Sunday Service in the Aso Villa Chapel on March 29, 2015.

    The Palm Sunday Service, which was a day after the Presidential elections was held across the country, had very few people in attendance.

    Even though President Jonathan was yet to concede defeat to the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, many of the worshipers, who stayed away probably saw the handwriting on the wall as the results of the election were trickling in from across the country.

    Attendance during that Sunday service, besides the choir, did not exceed the first three rows on both sides of the hall while workers and few security aides and media men occupied the rows behind.

    In spite that the Chapel was always filled beyond capacity anytime President Jonathan was worshiping there, he however, kept calm in his usual style and didn’t show whether he was surprised with the low turnout at the Palm Sunday Service.

    President Jonathan, who was getting used to the thinning crowd after he conceded defeat, couldn’t hide his surprise when he saw the massive crowd at the prayer breakfast in the State House.

    Hear him: “Today, I expected a very low turnout because, in most cases, when government is going, the number of people that attend service here reduces. You will notice that even the number of people that have been coming to the chapel becomes less and less.

    “But when I came in, I noticed that the hall is filled up. So, I have to sincerely thank all of you.”

     

    Mohammed’s uncommon gesture to church

     

    It is no longer news that  a quiet and godly place known as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Jubilee Resort and Leadership Centre has been inaugurated and is ready for use in Abuja.

    The edifice, located within the premises of the National Christian Centre Abuja, has four suspended floors and a basement, 53 standard double and single bedrooms, two presidential suites, 1,000-capacity conference hall with two-wing galleries, board room, restaurant, two units of elevator, 500 KVA standby power generating set, 500 KVA transformer, 60,000-litre capacity underground water tank with 25.5 distribution pumps, laundry rooms and parking lots.

    But what is amazing in the construction of the project is the role played by a Muslim Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed.

    Not minding that he was not a Christian, he gave his all to the project that made the CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor to single him out among other donors.

    He said: “This dream would have just remained a dream without good people, great Christians with great hearts. Many promised to support us, but unfortunately, not many paid, a few responded to our requests. In your presence, your Excellency, we want to recognise them, we want to be able to give them a little plaque representing how we feel about what they have done.

    “It all began with the FCT Ministry led by the Hon. Minister, Bala Mohammed. Thank you for being the starting point for us. Also the Minister of State standing by you to support us.”

  • 14,000 IDPs to benefit from medical outreach

    The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Primary Health Care Development Board (PHCDB) has said that about 14,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in seven camps in the territory would benefit from the free medical outreach being organised by the board.

    The Executive Secretary of PHCDB, Dr Rilwanu Muhammad, made this known in during the inauguration of the April 2015 National Immunisation-plus Days organised to mark the Africa Vaccination Week (AVW) and the World Malaria Day.

    Mohammed said the Africa Vaccination Week, whose theme was “Vaccination, a Gift of Life”, had been scheduled for between April 24 and 30, saying the main goal of the event was to help in strengthening immunisation systems through advocacy, education and outreach services.

    He said the event will commemorate the week and seven of the camps located in three area councils which are Abaji, Kuje, and Bwari had been selected to have health camps for the duration of the Africa Vaccination Week.

    “Arrangement to ensure the availability of the relevant services and supplies to meet the demand created for the interventions have been made. This is to ensure that the health care needs of this group are met,” he said.

    He, therefore, urged the displaced persons, especially women and children, to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the event to access medical care.

    Speaking during the inauguration, the Executive Secretary of National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) Dr Ado Mohammed, explained

    that Nigeria had not recorded any new case of the polio virus in the past nine months.

    Mohammed, who was represented by the Advocacy and Communication Officer of the agency, Dr Adamu Nuhu, also said that it was necessary to reach out to the IDPs through advocacy, adding that the exercise will increase access to the under-served population that are hard to reach and the mobile population in the country.

    Also speaking on the World Malaria Day, Mohammed said malaria had devastated the people’s health and livelihood, but that the agency has made huge gains in the fight against the disease.

    He said new drugs had been made available for the treatment of the disease, promising that the vaccine against malaria will soon be made available.

  • Residents rue fuel scarcity

    Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have accused the Federal Government and marketers of petroleum products of being responsible for the biting fuel scarcity in the territory.

    The residents, who lamented the prolonged fuel scarcity, said the situation has worsened with commercial drivers increasing transport fares by 100 per cent because thousands of vehicles are queuing up for fuel at the filling stations.

    Samuel Donatus, a motorist, said he spent two days at the NNPC filling station along Kubwa-Zuba Expressway where over 2,000 cars were on the queue for fuel, with no hope of getting the product.

    “I have no fuel in my car and I have been sleeping at this filling station for the past two days. I eat and sleep here. I do not know when it is going to get to my turn when they eventually start selling the fuel and I cannot afford black market where one litre is sold at between N200 and N250.

    “The truth is that this fuel crisis is really a punishment on us. Imagine the suffering we are all going through because of the forthcoming handover. This is not fair. We should not be going through this challenges; we deserve better from the outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan administration,” he said.

    Gloria Udo, a civil servant lamented that the prolonged fuel crisis has taken a negative turn on the residents because motorists that were considerate during the beginning of the fuel crisis have been forced to increase their fares.

    “From Kubwa village to town, I paid N200 instead of N100. The worst part of it all is that it is difficult to get the vehicles to board to town. Nobody knows what is going on and how long this fuel problem will last.

    “We are really suffering in the FCT. Things are getting harder by the day. When the fuel problem began, we thought that it will be just for a moment, but now, it has lasted up to two months and nothing has been done about it. We are suffering and smiling at the same time in this city,” she said.