The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Abuja

  • Sheraton Abuja sends staff for training

    THE Institute of Hospitality, United Kingdom(Nigeria branch), has advised workers in the hospitality industry to ensure  a strict and high level of hygiene to prevent the spread of Ebola or put their guests at risk.

    In a release, titled “Interim Guidance about Ebola Virus Infection for Hotel”,and signed by the  honourary chairman of the institute, Mrs. Kehinde Daniel, the institute advised workers in the hospitality industry to, among other precautionary measures, wear impermeable disposable gloves, while cleaning the guest rooms and lavatories; wipe down lavatory surfaces and frequently touched surfaces in the guest room, such as armrests, seat backs, tray tables, light and air controls, and adjacent walls and windows with an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered cleaner/disinfectant that has been tested and approved for use; and  do not use compressed air which might spread infectious material through the air.

    If a seat cover or carpet is obviously soiled with blood or body fluids, it should be removed and discarded by the methods used for biohazardous material;  throw used gloves away according to the company’s recommended infection control precautions when cleaning is done or if they become soiled or damaged during cleaning; Clean hands with soap and water (or waterless alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap is not available) immediately after gloves are removed.

  • Bomb scare in Abuja

    Residents of Nyanya, Abuja, scampered for safety on Thursday when they saw a car parked in the middle of the road with alleged explosive device.

    An eyewitness, who spoke to The Nation, said the car in question was a Peugeot 406 parked in the area.

    The eyewitness, who pleaded anonymity, said the incident occurred around noon and people fled in different directions over fear of possible explosion.

    “Actually the car was parked in the middle of the road. When I saw people running, I ran too. It was after I asked somebody that I was told that the car developed fault and the driver has gone to call his mechanic. Security operatives later searched the car and discovered that what was inside it were not explosives but welding materials,” the eyewitness stated.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Fire razes NFF’s Abuja office

    Fire razes NFF’s Abuja office

    •AFCON, U-17 World Cup trophies rescued
    •Maigari, NFF Accountant rule out sabotage
    •No money was burnt, says Accountant-General

    The Glasshouse Secretariat of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) yesterday was gutted by fire. The fire, which started at about 9.30 am, started from the third floor office of the accountant.

    The inferno, which destroyed all the documents in the accountant’s office, extended to the office of the General Secretary, also destroying most of the documents in the office and all the offices on the left wing of the building.

    The General Secretary Musa Amadu, who was  on ground to salvage some of the documents in his office, said they were able to rescue most of the trophies that the  national teams most especially the African Nations Cup (AFCON) won by the Super Eagles last year in South Africa.

    He said: “It is an unfortunate incident.The fire started as early as 9.30am, and before the fire service men could come, the damage had been done. But we thank God no life was lost, we were able salvage the AFCON trophy that the Super Eagles won last year, the U-17 World Cup that we won in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year among others.

    “ I think the fire may have started from a power surge that happened at about that time. We tried as much as we could, but it is quite unfortunate.

    “As I have assured you, we are going to reassess those things that were burnt, and those missing. But we want to assure Nigerians that the jobs of the Federation workers would not be affected in any way, we would continue our normal duties until we get to the root of the whole thing. I once again assure all Nigerians that we would get over all these” he said.

    In his reaction on arrival at the Secretariat at about 11.45 am, NFF President Aminu Maigari gave thanks to God that no life was lost.  “We are grateful to God Almighty that no life was lost in the fire incident. We are optimistic that we would get over this incident, and I am sure  the security agencies would step in immediately to investigate what  happened. But, it is rather unfortunate. We are grateful to Almighty God that no life was lost”.

    On the immediate decision that the Board of the Federation would take, Musa said:“It is not a matter of immediate decision, it is for us to sit down as a Board and invite the security agencies to come and see things themselves and investigate it further for us to know the next step to take to see that the Federation’s activities return back to normal.

    “But, we as a board, we have to sit down and know the steps to be taken”.

    He insisted that the incident would not affect the Super Eagles as they prepare to take on their Congolese and South African counterparts in the  AFCON 2015 qualifier

    The Falconets are doing well, and they are poised to continue to do the country proud, the Super Eagles are beginning their AFCON trophy defense next month. We here are supporting them morally, financially and with prayers. We are optimistic that this would not affect them in any way”.

    Maigari appealed to  the board members to come together to salvage the ugly situation that is facing the Federation now, for the interest of the game and the country.

    Maigari  ruled out sabotage in the incident, saying it is purely an act of God. “I don’t want to blame anybody for  this. Let us take it as an act of God until the security agencies complete their job. I think that would facilitate our action”.

    Also, the NFF’s Accountant, Andelkin Christopher, ruled out any sabotage whatsoever, saying it is all a matter of co-incidence.

    “Look at it from this angle, the fire started from my office. I just resumed in the office only last three weeks. In the actual sense, no one has access to my office unless the cleaners and no one puts on any of the appliances until I come to the office. So, the incident would have to be properly investigated before we jump to conclusions”.

    The leader of the Fire Service Agency, Julius.O. Opetunsin, said  the cause of the inferno cannot be determined now, until  a full investigation has been carried out on the incident. “You cannot determine the cause of the fire now, until a full investigation has been completed.

    “This would be after sometime, because we cannot just jump to conclusions now. What I can tell you is that we were able to put off the fire which started at the left wing of the building. Due to our quick response, we were able to salvage a lot of things”.

    This, he said, was as a result of their quick response to the NFF’s distress call.

    “I got the call at exactly 9.58 am. I dispatched my men at Games village, Asokoro and another back up to the building. They got here at 10.15am, and before then, we had officials from the Federal fire service that were already on ground. It was a combined force between the FCT fire services and the federal fire services.”

    He said if the NFF needs any investigation, they would have to write to the FCT Minister who would order it. He did not fail to blame the deficiency in the building being responsible for the inability to salvage the situation before the arrival of the firemen.

    “It is quite unfortunate that in a building like this, there are no fire extinguishers and hose reels. If there were hose reels here, the staff would have been able to salvage the fire before our arrival. It is just for them to roll it out and combat the fire in whatever offices  affected,” he said.

    The representative of the Accountant General of the Federation, who is also a Deputy Director, claimed that nothing serious happened.

    His words: “We came to assess the situation here (NFF Secretariat) as we have been sent by the Accountant General of the Federation. I could see that nothing serious happened here. I was told that no life was lost and no money was lost too, so nothing happened.”

  • Photo: Accident on Abuja Airport road

    Photo: Accident on Abuja Airport road

    Lone accident on Abuja Airport Road on Tuesday
    Lone accident on Abuja Airport Road on Tuesday
  • PHOTO: Interfaith conference in Abuja

    PHOTO: Interfaith conference in Abuja

  • Addressing Abuja’s infrastructure challenge

    Addressing Abuja’s infrastructure challenge

    Truly, before any settlement, town or community could be termed developed, such must have a surfeit of infrastructural facilities in place. Putting the same issue in different words, a city devoid of infrastructure is like a king without a crown. This explains why experts have identified infrastructure deficit as a major constraint to Nigeria’s development. So, to address this problem, successive governments had introduced various policies aimed at bridging the gap.

    That is the case with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where the administration of Senator Bala Mohammed has been working assiduously since 2010 to provide basic infrastructure for the territory. These projects have in turn created employment opportunities for thousands of Nigerians.

    The world over, infrastructure projects are by their nature, social investments, especially in developing climes like ours. That is why the World Bank’s estimate that African governments face infrastructure investment deficit of $93billion annually calls for serious concern from all and sundry.

    To resolve this issue, some stakeholders  have canvassed for a speedy passage of  the “Development  Planning and Project Continuity  Bill” currently before the National Assembly,  which would make it mandatory for every government in Nigeria to continue the implementation of projects initiated by the past administration(s).

    When passed into law, the Bill would also make development planning compulsory for all tiers of government in Nigeria as a means of creating coherence and measurable targets in developmental initiatives by all governments, to facilitate the expeditious achievement of the goals set out by government.

    In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Bala Mohammed-led administration has been working round-the-clock to provide roads, bridges, sewages, potable water, housing, schools and hospitals for both indigenes and residents of the nation’s capital city. In this regard, the entire FCT has been divided into districts, which have also been grouped into development phases to wit: Phases 1 to 4. These are to make provision of these essential facilities easier, orderly and faster.

    Phase 1 has all the districts with the exception of Guzape fully developed with infrastructure. The districts include: Asokoro (Cadastral Zone A04); Central Business (Cadastral A04); Garki 1 District (Cadastral Zone A03), Guzape Cadastral Zone A09); Maitama District (Cadastral Zone A05 and AO6); Wuse District (Cadastral Zone AO3) and Wuse 11 District (Cadastral Zone AO3).

    Similarly, Phase 2, which has most of the districts developed include: Durumi, Utako, Jabi, Wuye, Kado, Mabuchi, Katampe (& Katampe Ext), Jahi, Dakibiya, Kaura, Duboyi, Gaduwa and Dutse.

    Phase 3 has Gwarimpa, Galadima, Dakwo, Lokogoma, Wumba, Saraji, Kabusa, Okanji, Pyakasa, Nbora and Karma.

    While phase 4 district, which is still being developed include: Karsana, Sabon gida, Idu, Idogwari, Kaba, Kajini, Ketti, Shertti Cheche, Waru-Pouma, Gwari, Bude, Chafe, Jaite, Mamusa, Burum and Purfun.

    Above all, there are suburban districts. These are districts that are not within the Federal Capital City (FCC), but because of their proximity to the FCC, have attracted some development, with thousands of those who work in the FCC residing there. These include: Kubwa, Gwagawalada, Karu, Jikwoyi, Lugbe, Chika, Kuchigworo, Mpape and Dei-Dei.

    Apart from tackling the problematic issue of land racketeering, the Abuja Light rail and the Abuja-Kaduna railway projects (Lots 1A and 3) embarked upon by the incumbent FCT administration is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2015, which will transport a total of 700,000 passengers daily. While these projects are equally expected to create thousands of business opportunities, plans for mono-rail project have reached an advanced stage.

    Provision of engineering infrastructure worth N61,194,747,645.00 through Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for Katampe District is currently on-going, while that of Kagini 1 District is estimated at N52,609,879,284.47 and Maitama Extension District expected to gulp N23,650,000,000. These massive projects will provide 70,000 kilometres of road network of diverse categories, including bridges, culverts, drainage systems, water, sewage, electricity and communication facilities.

    To actualize this vision, the FCTA has entered into series of agreements with Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC), an agency of the federal government set up to boost investment in infrastructure by the private sector through PPP.

    It is a well known fact that the concept of PPP in the provision of social infrastructure is all about leveraging  the capacity and the skill, nay efficiency of the private sector to enhance delivery of social services such as education, health, shelter and security.

    A lot has equally been achieved in the area of provision of potable water with the recent commissioning of completed work on Tanks 1 and 6 with 40,000 cubic centimeters storage capacity; reconstruction and expansion of the country’s most modern 10-lane multiple carriage super-highways: the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (Airport Road) expressway; the Outer Northern (Murtala Mohammed) Expressway otherwise known as the Zuba/Kubwa/City Centre highway as well as the dualization of the Nyanya-Abuja Expressway.

    In the same vein, several major inter-changes at AYA; Banex-Jahi/Mabushi link; Gwarimpa 11 Junction-Kado/Life Camp Junction; Karmo/Utako have been completed and commissioned by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    To extend development to satellite towns, the administration, following the approval of the president, has re-established the FCT Satellite Towns Development Agency (STDA). With this agency as handmaiden, the administration has extended its Midas touch to the satellite towns.

    Strenuous efforts of the administration has led to the attraction of over $20billion investments in Abuja; and in a drive to make the city the preferred investment destination in Africa, a 37-storey World Trade Centre, estimated at $1.2billion is being built at the Bakassi Market under PPP arrangement with Churchgate Group.

    The most audacious policy of the FCT administration is the land swap policy premised at ceding lands to private investors in lieu of provision of critical infrastructure for Abuja city centre and adjoining districts and satellite towns. Now doubt, if the current efforts are sustained, Abuja will certainly become one of the most developed capital cities in the world in the foreseeable future.

     

    • Ochela is an Abuja-based media consultant.

     

  • FEDERAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING

    FEDERAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING

    Vice President Namadi Sambo, Secretary to the Federal Government Anyim Pius Anyim, Head of Civil Service Bukar Goni Aji and Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. John Arogbofa during the Federal Executive Council Meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja Wednesday. PHOTO AKIN OLADOKUN.
    Vice President Namadi Sambo, Secretary to the Federal Government Anyim Pius Anyim, Head of Civil Service Bukar Goni Aji and Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. John Arogbofa during the Federal Executive Council Meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja Wednesday. PHOTO AKIN OLADOKUN.

    FEDERAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING

  • Emirates begins Abuja-Dubai daily flights

    Emirates  has connected Abuja to its network. It is Emirates 26th destination in Africa and its 144th worldwide.

    Emirates flight EK785 has landed at Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport marking the start of the airline’s daily service to its second destination in Nigeria. Services to Lagos were launched over 10 years ago.

    “This new daily flight provides a convenient point to point service for our customers between Abuja and Dubai, and it will meet and further stimulate a vibrant market demand between the two cities. It will also serve our customers in Nigeria and around the network with additional connectivity and daily frequency. Our leisure and business passengers from Nigeria can now better connect to the Middle East, Europe, the United States and Asia via our hub in Dubai. Customers in Abuja can experience our A380 flagship aircraft to 29 destinations around the world, including popular ones like Beijing, Hong Kong, Mumbai, New York, Jeddah and London,” said Adil Al Ghaith, Emirates vice president, Commercial Operations, Northern and Western Africa.

    “With a fast growing economy, Nigeria is a key market for Emirates. We started operations to Nigeria on January 2, 2004, with four flights a week from Dubai to Lagos. Since then, our operations have steadily grown with increases in both frequency and capacity between Lagos and Dubai. Today, we fly twice daily to Lagos and now we have added Abuja, giving us a total of more than 12,200 seats a week, which will further stimulate business and leisure travel, as well as trade,” he added.

    Emirates’ Dubai-Abuja route is served by an Airbus A340-300, which offers 267 seats in a three-class configuration – 12 First Class, 42 Business Class and 213 Economy Class seats. Customers on the route experience Emirates’ award-winning hospitality – from multi-national cabin crew and gourmet cuisine to the ice entertainment system, which offers hundreds of channels of audio and visual entertainment. Customers also enjoy Emirates’ generous baggage allowance of 30kg in Economy Class, 40kg in Business and 50kg in First.

    Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of the airline, offers over 180 tonnes of cargo capacity weekly on the route. The main imports into Abuja are expected to be machinery, chemicals, transport equipment and manufactured goods, while exports include leather, vegetables and foodstuffs. The additional cargo capacity on the new service will see a further strengthening of the bilateral trade between Nigeria and the UAE.

  • Photo: Fund dinner for victims of terrorism

    Photo: Fund dinner for victims of terrorism

  • Transferring Abuja’s governance narrative to Washington

    Transferring Abuja’s governance narrative to Washington

    What is innovative about this contract is that all the activities of changing the narrative about governance in Nigeria are to be done from K Street in Washington

    With several years of aggressive cultivation of the Nigerian diaspora by the executive and legislative branches of the federal government, it is reasonable for value-added Nigerians in the United States to feel unsettled by the recent announcement in Abuja of a multimillion-dollar contract to a Washington public relations or lobby agency.

    The federal government’s decision to hire a Washington-based lobby group to burnish its image from Washington to the rest of the globe must have meant a major loss to local professional public relations firms, lobby agencies, and savvy advocacy groups, the type that have been beating the drum of President Jonathan’s re-election bid, even when the president remains reluctant to announce his entry into the race. For a meagre sum of 275 million naira per annum, Levick Strategic Communications has been hired to lead other subcontractors to assist in promoting “transparency, democracy, and the rule of law throughout Nigeria.” More specifically, Levick is to assist Nigerian government’s efforts to mobilise international support in fighting Boko Haram as part of the greater global war on terror.

    What is innovative about this contract is that all the activities of changing the narrative about governance in Nigeria are to be done from K Street in Washington. The public relations game changer for Nigeria is not working just to spread good messages about Nigeria’s governance in the Western hemisphere but also to spread new narratives about governance in the country to citizens at home. From now on, strategising about consolidating and enhancing the culture of democracy in Nigeria will be determined and directed by sophisticated lobbyists in Washington. And this company will also be responsible for conveying messages of Nigeria’s commitment to democracy and the rule of law to all the corners of the world.

    Nigerians in diaspora in the United States must wonder what led a government with which the Nigerian Diaspora Association has a robust relationship of cordiality to jump over them to give such a juicy contract to foreigners. Public communication professionals among them (and they are legion) must marvel why the loss of homeland PR firms in Lagos and Abuja has not been allowed to become the gain of Nigerian public professionals in diaspora. Those Nigerians abroad who are not savvy about the workings of power are likely to feel betrayed or cheated by a federal government that had organised conferences and seminars in Atlanta, New York, Washington, and other U.S. cities on how to create synergy between the country and its diaspora.

    On their own part, Nigerians at home must be astonished by this contract, especially the objective of assisting the government to promote transparency, democracy, and the rule of law throughout Nigeria. Is the local media narrative not already doing that and very aggressively too? Without doubt, some segments of the media created and operated solely to do panegyric journalism has done so much of that and very well too. But there are other media houses across the country that are mordantly critical of threats to transparency, democracy, and the rule of law in the country. Similarly, top public relations firms within the country must be puzzled about new pro-democracy narratives that Washington spin doctors have been hired to create and propagate all over the wide world.

    With respect to the charge to Levick to assist the federal government’s efforts to find and safely return the abducted Chibok girls, those who observed the activities and pronouncements of Malala during her recent visit to Abuja must wonder why the country would need a special contract to do what Malala had chosen to do pro bono for the country. Malala may not be an image manipulator, she is without doubt the world’s most admired symbol of anti-terrorism. She is more likely to assist the government in this respect at no cost to a government that is already too stretched financially to the point of seeking one billion dollar loan from the international community, even if on Shylockean terms. With her pronouncements during a recent visit to Aso Rock, Malala appears to be in the best of positions to talk to the international community about the readiness of the government in Abuja to find and bring the Chibok girls to safety, more so after the government’s announcement that it knows where the girls are and is only working on the best time to emancipate them from their captors.

    It is not clear in media reports when the project to hire K Street’s image makers was conceived. Was it before or after the government discovered where the girls are kept by the terrorists? Given the assurance by the federal government that all its security agencies know the location of the Chibok girls, one part of the project seems to have been accomplished, even before signing the contract with Levick. The second part, bringing the girls home safely, looks less of political advocacy Washington style, than military strategic thinking and attention to tactical details that are needed for the job of liberation of innocent school girls from the den of terrorists. If there is need for special assistance, is it not more reasonable to approach the many countries that have already sent representatives to the country to show their commitment to assist Nigeria in the liberation of the girls and termination of Boko Haram’s terror, especially after the U.S. government has undertaken to train our security forces in strategies and tactics of fighting terrorism?

    The federal government may have found one new friend on account of the contract given to Levick. It certainly has lost many friends at home and abroad. It has made it known to the entire world that it does not believe in the professional know-how of thousands of public relations specialists within Nigeria and among its diasporic communities in the western world. It is an irony that at a time the federal government is committed to transformation of the job market to create jobs at home, it is also creating jobs for public relations workers in the United States, a major aid giver to Nigeria on many fronts.

    It should not surprise anyone if the federal government chooses to hire another lobby group to work on the message of dis-alienating competent Nigerian public relations men and women at home and abroad that its offer of contract to Levick’s Strategic Communications for millions of dollars per annum had insulted and alienated. This should be the time for the government to go into its archives to remind itself of the methods used by late Dora Akunyuli to re-brand Nigeria during the presidency of UmaruYar’Adua.