The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Abuja Environmental Protection Board

  • Court seals off Abuja Banex plaza

     

    The popular Banex Plaza located in Wuse 2, Abuja, was on Friday sealed off on the alleged order of a magistrate court.

    Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) had gone to court asking for the vacation of the premises by Banex Plaza tenants.

    Mr Chibuike Nzedinma, Chairman, Banex Plaza Wuse 2 Tenants Association, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the closure was uncalled for.

    Nzedinma said that the board failed to officially notify them about the said court order.

    “Some weeks back, the AEPB told us that they were going to use the plaza as a mobile court.

    “But we could not see any mobile court on the said date, I personally went round to check but could not see, surprisingly, today (Friday) they sealed off some of our shops,” he said.

    The chairman, who sued for calm, said they would seek redress in court for such an order to be vacated.

    Also, Mrs. Nkoli Unachukwu, a tenant, said that such closure was detrimental to economic development of the country.

    Unachukwu said that they had lost millions of Naira due to the closure.

    She called on the Federal Government to intervene to prevent shut down of business in the plaza.

    AEPB had allegedly demanded to use the premises for mobile court.

     

  • Gosa dumpsite road for expansion

    In a bid to ensure free movement of trucks in and out of Gosa dumpsite, Permanent Secretary of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Sir Chinyeaka Ohaa has indicated that FCT Administration would soon expand the dumpsite road to make for easy truck movement in the dumpsite area.

    The Permanent Secretary disclosed this during an inspection tour of Gosa dump site and WUPA Sewage Treatment Plant along Airport Road.

    Ohaa, who expressed satisfaction with the state of the dumpsite, in a statement issued by his press Secretary, Tony Odey, further revealed that the visit would afford him the opportunity to have first-hand information on the state of the dumpsite and make swift intervention where necessary.

    He said, “I am very much pleased with what I have seen here so far. No doubt, we are doing tremendous work and we hope to surpass whatever feat we have achieved.

    “We will ensure we expand the road in order to ensure free movement of trucks going into the dumpsite.”

    According to the Permanent Secretary, the FCT administration would continue to work assiduously to ensure that all the critical infrastructures are in functional state.

    He also revealed that in order to sustain the tremendous feats, the administration has recorded across all sectors, he would ensure the culture of succession plan is instituted.

    The Permanent Secretary was accompanied by Cordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) Malam Shuaibu Umar and Director, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), Mrs. Omolola Olanipekun and other management staff.

  • NLC pickets agencies, multinationals over anti-labour practices

    NLC pickets agencies, multinationals over anti-labour practices

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Friday picketed the Abuja corporate headquarters of telecommunication giant, MTN Nigeria and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) over anti-Labour practices, accusing the two organizations of subjecting workers to slave Labour.

    President of the NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba who led the picketing said it was part of activities marking the international day for decent work, set aside by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to advance Issues of decent work, issues of occupational health and safety, better conditions of service, and minimum wage Wabba said every worker is entitled to better working conditions, accusing the telecommunication company of regularly renewing employment contract with its workers as a way of shying away from the respiratory similitude of paying gratuity and pension to them.

    At the AEPB, Wabba said: “We have identified two organisation’s, Abuja Environmental Protection Board where casualization has been on and workers have been denied the rights to unionise among other issues.

    Secondly is the notorious MTN which all of us are aware of. Every three months they sack the workers and give them a new contract. This is not acceptable, our laws do not accept that, and those workers need to be liberated.

    “We need to tell them that they need to respect international labour laws, they need to also respect our own labour laws but importantly, they must respect human and trade union rights.

    “Workers have dignity, workers are not slaves and therefore, all workers must be treated with the workers best of attention. Injury to one is an injury to all. Injury to the workers at MTN and AEPB is an injury to all Nigerian workers. Issues of minimum wage must be attended to within minimum time, we are running out of time”

  • ‘Waste to be converted to energy’

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has expressed willingness to turn the heaps of waste in the territory into energy that could be utilised by governments, corporate bodies and individuals in Abuja.

    This position was made known at the presentation of a feasibility study by by a renewable power generation firm to the management team of Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB).

    Addressing the meeting, CEO of Galacom, Mr. Caputo Maurizion disclosed that the presentation was in conformity with the Minister’s directive that a feasibility study be conducted to determine its workability in the FCT.

    The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello welcomed the proposal, saying, “The Administration will kill two birds with one stone”.  He said he hoped that the initiative would ensure stable power supply in addition to solving the issue of waste which blocks drainages in the territory, leading to flooding.

    He said, “Nigeria’s renewable energy potential was huge”, the CEO added that there was already more than enough waste in the Federal Capital City alone that could be transformed into “green and clean energy devoid of environmental devastation” that could serve the whole city and environs.

    Explaining that the plant was a modular plant new technology, which uses ecogasgenerator to generate energy, he revealed that it would cost the Administration 4.7 million Euros for the one of 7.2MW, while that of 72MW costs 40 million Euros, adding they are pre-assembled in Italy. These figures, he said is for transportation and installation of the plants

    He also hinted that it was not good investment to buy generator sets to power street lights in the city because of the escalating cost of diesel which they rely on , as well as their health hazards.

    The Italian-Nigerian also suggested reliable means of funding the project to the Minister, saying that the FCTA could to take advantage of special intervention fund laying phalough at the CBN, and a similar facility with the EU, with only the condition that it would be offered green bond. He promised to help introduce the FCTA to the EU to access the funds and prosecute this laudable project for the benefit of all Nigerians.

    Representative of the Director, AEPB and Head, Environmental Health and Safety, Mrs. Kate Ogbonna who expressed gratitude for the presentation, added that the FCT Minister would be properly briefed after which, he would take a final decision on next line of action.