The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Abuja

  • Park pastors: business or calling?

    Park pastors: business or calling?

    One after another, the passengers boarded. They paid the fare, got their tickets and proceeded to choose their seats on the bus. Apart from the general park buzz, everywhere was quiet. But as soon as the last passenger boarded, a voice rang out from one of the windows.

    “I greet you all in the precious name of Jesus,” said a man clutching a bible. “If you are a child of God shout a big halleluyah!”

    That was how the passengers were treated to a dose of evangelism which ended with prayers for journey mercies.

    But, wait a minute, is this evangelism or plain business?

    In era of problems and daily challenges, one of the options available to the poor and deprived is spiritual solution. It’s an avenue to a world of dreams, beliefs and an escape from the daily troubles of life.

    That, perhaps, is the reason many religious houses are sprouting up across the country.

    This phenomenon has also affected the various motor parks in the country. The Federal Capital territory is not an exception.

    It is common to see buses and cars of different sizes and colours loading passengers and to see traders displaying their wares like recharge cards, petty articles of trade like edibles, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, cigarette, kilishi and other things in Abuja parks.

    They are as ubiquitous as the buses and Agbero boys who help motorists invite and load passengers for a fee.

    The messengers of the gospel at these venues are called motor park pastors because they basically practice their callings at the parks.

    Their purpose, to the knowledge of many, is to pray for commuters embarking on a trip and in the process win souls for God.

    It cannot be denied that most people, if not everybody, need prayers and the Holy Book commanded it in the first book of Thessalonians 5 verses 17, saying “Pray without ceasing.”

    These pastors have cashed in on the fact that the parks are usually populated with people who are heading for one destination or the other.

    In Abuja, some of the transport services are Ideal, AIT, Fairplus, Okunline, Ola Express, Abbey Line, Big Joe, Peace Mass Transit; God is Good, the Young Shall Grow, among others.

    These transport services are found in parks like Utako, el-Rufai bus stop in Kubwa, Nyanya Bridge, Jabi Park, Zuba Park, to mention but a few.

    Passengers at all these parks witness the pastors, especially in the morning.

    The common routine at the park is that once passengers are seated, the pastor stands by the window of the bus or if the bus is still open, he stands at the door with his Holy Bible as his tool and usually begins: “I greet you all in the precious name of Jesus. If you are a child of God shout a big halleluyah!’’

    Everybody shouts the halleluyah and then he smiles in triumph and continues. He leads a session of praise, sermon and then he says, “let us pray.”

    Most of the prayers go like this: “Father God Almighty, I thank you for the life of everyone in this bus and for keeping them alive. We ask for your mercy to prevail upon us and forgive us our sins. As they are travelling today, I bind all blood-sucking demons on the way. Nobody will die from accident in this vehicle today.

    “I cover the driver with the blood of Jesus. I cover the steering with the blood of Jesus. I cover the engine with the blood of Jesus. I cover the tyre with the blood of Jesus. In fact, I cover the road from here to your destinations with the blood of Jesus!

    “You shall not run into armed robbers. Father, nobody in this bus will have accident and I pray that everybody in this bus will make heaven at the end of the day in Jesus name.”

    The prayer ends but it has been observed that some of the pastors don’t end it there. They proceed by saying, “Brothers and sisters, please support the work of God. Nothing is too small.”

    This is the part that some commuters have complained about claiming that a true man of God will not ask for money or offering after prayers.

    According to majority of the commuters who spoke with Abuja Review, when pastors ask for money, it reduces the authenticity of the prayer and it looks like they are paying for the prayers.

    Sandra Kawu, one of the commuters who spoke with Abuja Review in Utako Park said: “I am travelling with Plateau Riders to Jos. I always encounter them in Utako Park. I feel most of them engage in it as a form of business to make ends meet. I have had cause to donate to them or give offering. It is not like I believe in them but as a Christian, you have to support whatever since it is their own business.

    “Sometimes, if you don’t want to give, at the end of the prayers, they will tell you to drop something for their ministry to move forward. I am serious about this.”

    Mercy Ocholi had this to say: “I travel with Benue Travelers. Each time I board bus at the park under Nyanya Bridge, when the bus is filled, they will walk up to the travelers and say, ‘ok, now that the car is filled, we want to pray for journey mercies.’

    Everybody closes their eyes and the pastors will pray. After that, he will say if you have anything to drop for the man of God, please drop and at that moment, you will see people who have good heart dropping money to help the man of God.

    Miss Ocholi further said: “I believe in what the pastors do because it really helps. It is encouraging. There is no problem in that, because even if the pastors don’t come, sometimes after a bus is filled and it’s in motion, one of the passengers willingly leads prayers in order to ask God for a safe trip.

    Ikenna, another passenger said he suspects that the transport service and especially the drivers have a deal with the pastors because of the patience they exercise to allow these pastors finish their business.

    He said: “The driver is always patient enough to wait for the pastors to finish praying. I think the pastors have a deal with the transport service.

    Biodun Tijani said he sees motor park pastors as businessmen.

    His words: “With each Naira note the pastor grabs, he rewards the faithful with a ‘’bless you” and when he is sure no more is coming he wishes us a ‘safe journey’ and moves on to another bus.

    “I think they are a nuisance. Is there anyone of them who doesn’t ask for donations/offerings at the end of their sermon and prayer? They are little more than corporate beggars who just capitalise on people’s fear of traffic accidents and highway robbers. They pray against these incidents just to make you feel better, and put you in a good frame of mind to give them money and then they are off to the next bus.

    “The ministry they represent is unclear and it makes me feel they represent the ministry of their pockets and stomach,” Tijani added.

    In a chat with Abuja Review, the Secretary of the pastors, Pastor Abiola he said that he belongs to an association called Mobile Ministers Evangelical Ministry of Nigeria.

    Pastor Abiola, while explaining that he goes beyond motor parks to minister in churches, schools and sometimes in the hospitals if he is led by the Spirit, debunked the notion that the pastors are out to make profit.

    “It is wrong to say that it is for business purpose. If I want to do it for business’ sake, I will sit back in my office because I have an office opposite NYSC camp in Kubwa. We, the mobile ministers are about 15 in number and our ministry is basically to win souls for Christ.

    Continuing, he said: “We don’t ask and passengers are not compelled to give. Those who give do because they are led by the Spirit to give and it won’t be nice for us to reject.

    Debunking the notion that pastors pay the transport firms for the time taken in praying, Mr. Lekan Ojo of Okunline said that they don’t charge anything. They are just propagating the gospel and I feel it won’t be right to hinder them. Since there is no test we can carry out to ascertain whether these mobile ministers are called or not, there is need to do everything decently in order to avoid harassment and anarchy.

  • Hawkers take over Abuja streets

    Hawkers take over Abuja streets

    There is no food for the lazy man. No one knows this better than residents of Abuja where the cost of living is only suitable for the rich. Many of them took to hawking and have since become a ubiquious sight in the nation’s capital.

    In order to survive, the average residents try their hands on all sorts of businesses-tailoring, transportation, dry-cleaning, car washing, trading, among other things.

    While some traders have shops, some who do not have mount containers, kiosks or even make shades with umbrellas by the roadside, while some others run after a moving vehicle along with their goods.

    These diligent traders, unmindful of the implications of selling by the roadside, go about their businesses without the fear of being crushed by a moving vehicle.

    Worse still, some of them display their goods on the expressway irrespective of the heaps of dirt surrounding them.

    These road hawkers are never scarce in places such as Deidei Junction, Phase 3 Expressway, Second gate, Zuba, etc.

    What is surprising is that even young boys who should either be in school or with their parents at home are seen running after vehicles in motion just to sell their goods.

    They trade varieties of edibles such as gala snack, handkerchief, bottled drinks, fruits, while some others sell car wipers, picture frames, Teddy bears, etc.

    When our correspondent approached one of the young boys who hawks along Phase 3 Kubwa express road, he narrated he kicked-off hawking after the demise of his father 2 years ago.

    The 11 years old boy who schools in one of the primary schools in Kubwa said his business starts immediately after school and closes by 7pm, adding that he hawks other edibles such as fruits and satchet water.

    Asked if he is not scared of being hit by a vehicle, he said: “I get scared sometimes but God is my father and he knows my mummy needs this money to train me and my younger sisters  in school”.

    With smiles on his face, he continued: “I get plenty money from this thing I sell and people dash me money. Whenever I give the money to my mother she blesses me and I am happy.”

    For Mrs. Zitgwai Umar who who sells fruits by Deidei expressway, death is inevitable irrespective of were we are.

    Her words: “Anywhere you are, if God says your time is up, it is up. So if we are selling on the main road, if God says we will die, there is no way to escape from death. You come for it you go for it”.

    The fruit seller who seemed fearless of when death calls, revealed that she has witnessed several accidents on Deidei expressway.

    “I have seen many accidents on this road but what will I do? Are my God? Whenever there is a car accident, I run for my life and still come back because this is the only way I can survive.”

    Also, a road commuter who plies from Zuba to Wuse/Berger, Mr. Simon said that he has witnessed a lot of accidents condemn the lives of so many road hawkers.

    Citing instances, he said: “About three months ago, a trailer that failed break Dankogi, Zuba express road, ran into all these roadside sellers and killed so many of them while some sustained injuries. Again, a car recently hit one of them at deidei junction and from what I saw, I don’t think he would survive it”.

    Mr. Simon observed that road hawkers see using the pedestrial bridge as tiresome and so suggested that government should construct wires exactly the same way they did at NICON junction to prevent these hawkers from wasting their lives in the name of making money.

    For Mr. Shaibu, who sells car parts at Deidei junction, he said it is disheartening for people to sell goods where there are heaps of dirts especially when such goods are edibles.

    He said that those that sell edibles such as suya, tuwo, masa, awara, Gurasa, Denwake and the like usually come out every evening to sell not minding the dirt surrounding them.

    According to shaibu Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) chase these roadside hawkers who litter everywhere with dirt but they still come back because this is their own way of getting their daily bread.

    He however praised the AEPB for a job well done but urged them to do more by providing a waste bin where the refuse will be dumped as it is detrimental to the health.

    He also recommended that government should provide a place, very close to the bus-stop, where the roadside food sellers would sell to hungry passengers, who would rush in to eat, as some of these roadside hawkers are victims of the ongoing demolition in Kubwa.”

  • How to curb indiscipline, by expert

    How to curb indiscipline, by expert

    A SCHOOL proprietress has an answer to indiscipline among pupils: the carrot-and-stick approach. Unity High School (UHS) proprietress Mrs. Olufemi Akanni, at the 10th anniversary of the school in Abuja, said: “There is a high level of indiscipline in our schools now. I urge teachers to use the carrot and stick approach because that is what teaching entails. No student is too big to be disciplined. Any child who doesn’t want to be disciplined should leave.”

    Mrs. Akanni explained that the approach will create better youths that will build this country and take it to where it ought to be.

    Also speaking, the Director, Guidance and Counseling Unit of the FCT College of Education, Zuba, Dr. Elizabeth Abolarin urged the society to value teachers as she described their profession as greater to none.

    Mrs. Abolarin said: “No other profession is greater than teaching.  Without the teachers, there will be no engineers who will plan, design and manage the construction of buildings, roads, bridges, communication facilities and other mechanical infrastructures.

    Similarly, doctors, scientists, politicians and others will not exist without the teacher and the teaching process.

    She pointed out that teachers mold a child into what he or she will be in the future; as they teach him or her to read, write, to deal with others and to deal with himself or herself.

    While stating some of the challenges encountered in teaching profession, she noted that good hands in the profession are quitting because of low reward.

    “Though teaching has attracted quite a number of young people in recent years, today, many of the most creative and brilliant educators are leaving the profession.  Also, there is increased classroom size and very high students to teacher’s ratio.

    “Great teachers receive far less than they are worth and the economic well-being of the teacher has been broken down by the global and national economic downturns,” she said.

    She, however, advised teachers to provide students with the highest quality of education possible.

  • Lawmakers’ aircraft grounded in Abuja

    Lawmakers’ aircraft grounded in Abuja

    •It’s not true, says FAAN

    A chartered flight scheduled to convey about 12 federal lawmakers from Abuja to Port Harcourt was yesterday grounded at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.

    The lawmakers, some of whom are representing Rivers State were bared from flying due to “instruction from the aviation authority”.

    They were to fly on Manga Airline.

    A source from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said the aircraft was grounded due to political reason. Another source said the action was taken due to poor documentation and issues relating to the passengers’ manifest.

    Two Senators and 10 members of the House of Representatives were traveling on a solidarity visit to Governor Amaechi who was expecting the Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Senator Magnus Abe, representing Rivers Southeast Federal Constituency and Hon. Ogbonna Nwuke representing Omumu/Etche Federal Constituency said the private charter operator suddenly acted on orders from ‘the top’ not to fly the aircraft.

    They described the action as politically motivated.

    Nwuke said: “Some members of the House of Representatives and senators who are from Rivers state traveling to Port Harcourt this morning (yesterday) got a shock of their lives.

    “An aircraft (Manga) that we chattered to take us to Port Harcourt was suddenly grounded and we feel it is politically motivated because the APC people were supposed to come to Rivers and some of us decided to go and listen to what they wanted to say. So, the aircraft that was supposed to take us was suddenly grounded by some orders from above. And we are beginning to wonder why all of this is happening in the country that is in a democracy.

    “The aircraft owners said they have orders from above not to fly anywhere. We had wanted to get in there as quickly as we could and join our governor to receive the visitors.

    “I think that what is going on now has become increasingly undemocratic and increasingly very embarrassing. Freedom of expression and movement is under attack. I don’t think we should encourage a return to the days of the military when people embarked on unilateral actions just like that.

    Senator Abe added that the incident amounted to impunity.

    He explained that every necessary arrangements had been made with the operator before the sudden development.

    He said he had reported the issue to the Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma, who promised to look into it.

    “In fact, we had arranged an aircraft to take us from Abuja to Port Harcourt to enable us join other Rivers people to receive the visiting delegation of Nigerians that are coming to visit the governor today and we received information that the owners of the aircraft had called to say that they had instructions from above not to take off. So, we are stranded here at the Airport, struggling to make other arrangements.

    “I think with what has happened, my fear is that this country may be worse than a banana republic if we don’t do something. Because the people who now think that the laws of Nigeria exist only for them to use it to further what personal purposes they may have, is not for the benefit of all Nigerians equally and that is always a dangerous signal in a democracy.

    “I have called Senator Hope Uzodinma who is the chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, he said he will look into it,” Abe said.

    Asked if the incident had to do with the crises rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, Abe said the development had affinity with their involvement in the new PDP.

    “Of course, it is the reason and people fail to understand that the constitution of this country guarantees freedom of movement, guarantees freedom of association and that people are free to talk to one another.

    “I have said before and want to repeat it here that if we are talking of a national dialogue, you cannot talk of a national dialogue in an atmosphere of intimation. Nigerians must not only be allowed, but indeed, they must be encouraged to talk to one another in the spirit of trying to create a united country,” he added.

    An official of FAAN, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the situation was outside the purview of the authority.

    Though he acknowledged that the aircraft was grounded, he said.

    “Yes, their aircraft was grounded but FAAN has nothing to do with grounding of aircraft,” he said.

    “They were grounded because of documentation and issues relating to manifest of the passengers,” the source said.

    Information from a reliable source also stated that the aircraft was grounded because of political reasons.

    The source added that officials of the All Progressive Party (APC) were aboard the flight to Port Harcourt to attend a political meeting in Rivers State.

    “It seems the aircraft was to transport APC officials to Port Harcourt”

    But in an sms yesterday, the coordinating spokesman of Aviation agencies, Mr Yakubu Dati said :” No plane has been grounded at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport , Abuja today as mischievously being circulated.”

  • Abuja residents urged to ensure good hygiene

    Abuja residents urged to ensure good hygiene

    Residents of Abuja and its environs have been urged to ensure proper hygiene so as not to be infected by Cholera.

    The Secretary FCT Health & Human Services Secretariat Dr. Demola  Onakomaiya said in Abuja  the recent outbreak of cholera in some parts of the country has attracted the attention of the FCT Administration.

    He pointed out that good environmental sanitation habits and simple personal hygiene practices can help reduce incidence of cholera to the barest minimum.

    According to the secretary, cholera is transmitted to human by drinking water contaminated by bacteria which effects the small intestine and causes severe vomiting and diarrhea.

    He further stated that most victims of cholera have limited chances of survival when there is loss of electrolyte due to frequent or excessive passage of watery stool and severe vomiting.

    Dr. Demola advised the residents of the FCT to always keep their environments clean at all times, avoid the consumption of dirty water, contaminated food and other items, which is a certified way to prevent the disease.

    He further advised them to report any suspected case to the nearest FCT hospital as the hospitals are fully equipped and capable of handling any reported case of cholera that may occur in the territory.

     

  • Why Nigeria’s borders are porous

    Why Nigeria’s borders are porous

    Leaky borders and non-compliance with the rules contribute to making it difficult to police Nigeria’s 4,000-km borders with four countries, writes The Economist

    THE drive from Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, to Doula, the biggest city in neighbouring Cameroon, is a 1,320 km (820 mile) rollercoaster ride along dusty highways and muddy jungle tracks replete with bumps, bruises and attempted bribes.

    As Baobab and a friend set off in an ancient Land Rover on a Nigerian national holiday, the roads were almost empty, save for the military checkpoints that have become permanent installations since the resurrection in the past two years of a violent Islamist insurgency, which has claimed hundreds of lives this year alone. Soldiers bunker down in nylon tents or huts with corrugated iron roofs on the roadside. Vests and underpants pinned to a clothesline and a few cooking pots piled on the grass are signs of the new domesticity thrust upon soldiers away from their families for months at a time.

    The journey from Abuja, where tarmac roads are flanked by pristine hedges, to the balmy rainforests on the southeastern border with Cameroon was regularly interrupted by these checkpoints and a feeling that someone was about to request a bribe. Broaching the first barrier in the early hours of the morning, a soldier sporting a ragged stripy jumper was leaning casually on a barricade of sand-bags jutting into the road, an AK-47 slung over his shoulder. He waved the car down.

    How you dey?” he asked, propping his elbow on the window frame. “I dey fine,” Baobab replied. Blood-shot eyes and a leery smile suggested a heavy night. “What do you have for me today?” he asked, peering through the window. “I have a blessing for you.” After a quick calculation he concluded that it was probably not worth messing with the powers above, and he waved us through. We encountered only one serious attempt to extort money at a subsequent checkpoint, and that was quickly resolved by a yoghurt-coated cereal bar.

    A week earlier, a Lagos policeman caught extorting money on camera was sacked. The crime is a familiar one to inhabitants of the metropolis, but this time the passenger recorded the policeman trying to extort $160 from him and uploaded the footage on YouTube. It was a rare victory for the scores of drivers who have been bribed by Nigerian police for imaginary traffic offences.

    Immigration control at Mfum on the border was a damp hovel. Smoke from wood-burning fires cooking stews and Jollof rice clung to the air. Young boys made transactions through the window of our battered jeep, selling bananas and corn-on-the-cob. A handful of men passed through passport control from Cameroon with no papers or identification. “My aunt lives up the road in the next village,” complemented by a subtle slip of cash, was enough to grant passage. Leaky borders are often cited as one of the contributing factors to Nigeria’s insecurity. When the rules are so easily circumvented, it is hard to see how Nigeria will ever be able to control the 4,000-km border it shares with four countries.

    The smooth tarmac road leading to the Cameroonian frontier may lull travellers into a false sense of security. Driving during the rainy season can be a tortuous process. Once over the rickety iron bridge at immigration, a seemingly endless muddy track awaits, worming its way through thick jungle from the border town of Ekok to the next big town, Mamfe, 70km to the east. Deep trenches signal where a new road will, at some point, be built by the Chinese International Water and Electric Board—a project supported by the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the Japanese International Corporation Agency. In the meantime, cars and top-heavy trucks negotiate their way along the crooked track. Many get stuck.

    Slow progress resulted in an overnight stay in Mamfe, infamous for witchcraft. An oppressive Catholic Church looms over the main street, which is bustling with traders in fruit, phone cards and sweets. Restaurants, dimly lit by a single light bulb in some cases, have been cobbled together with wooden planks. A waitress at the hotel directed us to the “best” of the makeshift restaurants for a plate of rice and an eye-watering spicy tomato sauce served by a skinny elderly lady in a floral apron.

    The refurbished road from Mamfe to Bamenda, further east, is a sign of things to come. What was once a two to four day journey now takes a few hours and the smooth tarmac road has halved the cost of transport. But the region’s roads remain a big problem. So much so that during Cameroon’s election last month, the electoral commission, ELECAM, resorted to dropping campaign material by helicopter in parts of the southwest. It probably made little difference to the election’s outcome. The ruling People’s Democratic Movement, headed by President Paul Biya who has led the country since 1982, retained its control of the national assembly, though with a reduced majority. Corruption remains rife and elections lack credibility, but Cameroonians proudly declare that their country is doing better than most of its conflict-ridden neighbours.

    Baobab finally arrived in Douala the following day. Amid the chaotic urban sprawl of honking traffic jams, the quickest, though not always the safest, way to get around is by motorbike. The Marché de Lagos, saturated with people and cheap Chinese goods, resembles its namesake. Women in tight skirts dance energetically to the Nigerian music throbbing through the trendy clubs. “Yaoundé [the capital] sleeps, Douala moves,” say Cameroonians. One way to put their mantra to the test was to request a haircut at 1.30 am. The barman nodded and minutes later a burly Cameroonian dressed in impeccable barber whites arrived, plugging shearers into a socket hanging precariously from the wall by its wires. Baobab’s travelling companion pointed to the neatly shorn head of the barman. The barber nodded solemnly and got to work on his client’s long golden locks

  • ‘House not under pressure to shelve Abuja land scam probe’

    ‘House not under pressure to shelve Abuja land scam probe’

    The House of Representatives has dismissed the insinuation that it is under pressure to shelve its investigation into alleged scam in Abuja land swap deals.

    The investigation ought to have begun yesterday but the Ad Hoc Committee set up to conduct the investigation has assured that it won’t go out of its mandate to look for evidences outside of memoranda presented to it by stakeholders and the public.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Bimbo Daramola (APC, Ekiti), told reporters yesterday at the National Assembly that the investigation was not meant to witch-hunt anybody.

    He said the shift in date was because of the public holidays and the unavailability of Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, who was to declare open the hearing.

    Daramola said: “The postponement was partly due to the Sallah break and the absence of the leadership of the House to inaugurate the investigation and give it due credence.

    “It is not true that the committee or its members are under any pressure, either to shelve the investigation or influence the work the committee. I am not aware of any.

    “It is just that in an assignment of this magnitude, it is not out of place for people to insinuate all kinds of things. But the rumour is not right. I can also say that distrust has been a problem in our body politic, which we have to address.”

    The lawmaker said Nigerians need not entertain any fear about the process and outcome of the investigation as the proceeding would not be conducted behind closed doors.

    “There is nothing clandestine about it. This is not like the fuel subsidy controversy; we are talking about land and this is a tangible thing. I don’t see any reason why people should be afraid.

    “Nobody is playing by any script. All our investigations will be done in the open. We are going there like blind magistrates. We are not going to fish for any information to nail anybody.

    “We will work and make recommendations based on the preponderance of information that will be made available to us.”

     

  • Intermotors for Abuja Motor Show with Chevrolet

    Intermotors for Abuja Motor Show with Chevrolet

    Intermotors, a division of CFAO Motors Nigeria Limited and the sole distributor of Chevrolet brand in Nigeria is set to hit the Abuja Motor Show with a bang.

    First, the N1million promo is extended to the show for buyers of Chevrolet Captiva. Second, there will be a special and exciting price offer for those who want to buy the recently launched 2013 model of the Chevrolet Cruze.

    Third, Nigerians will see for the first time live, a 2014 Chevrolet N300 seven-seater minibus and its cargo van variant. These will be spiced with gift items and special prizes that would excite all visitors to the Chevrolet stand

    According to Mrs Francesca Fabunmi, Head, Intermotors, this year’s Ninth appearance of the Chevrolet brand at the Eagles Square fair ground promises to be one to remember for a long time to come.

    She said: “We have carefully planned our participation in this year’s Abuja Motor Show in such a way that anyone who visits and buys from our pavilion will have reasons to smile more.

    “With Captiva, our customers will be getting more value for their money’s worth, a seven-seater, all leather 2.4L SUV with a N1m discount!

    Part of this special motor show bumper package is the special price offer of the Chevrolet Cruze, a 1.8L , 17-inch Alloy wheel curvy glider with multiple safety features and low fuel consumption capacity.”

    Mrs Fabunmi said Intermotors will be presenting the model of the Cruze during the nine-day event. She also said the Special fair price offer will not be let out of the bag and will serve a surprise package; “all I want to say is that it will be mouth-watering. We have placed N1million give away on Captiva and it will be interesting to see the expressions of surprise on visitors’ faces when they hear first-hand, the price which Cruze will be offered to them at the show. The taste of the pudding is in the eating.”

     

  • New PDP Abuja office sealed off again

    New PDP Abuja office sealed off again

    For the second time, the secretariat of the breakaway faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headed by Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje temporarily located at the Adamawa State Governor’s Lodge in the highbrow Asokoro area of Abuja has been sealed off.

    On September 9, the Police allegedly acting on ‘orders from above’ had sealed off the first secretariat of the faction located on 4, Oyi Crescent, off Ibrahim Babangida Boulevard, Maitama.

    Explaining the reason behind the latest action, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration said the abuse of the Abuja Master Plan occasioned by turning the Lodge into a party office necessitated the closure of the Lodge.

    A statement issued by the Press Secretary to the FCT Minister, Nosike Ogbuenyi said, “The entire Governor’s Lodges in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja are enshrined in the Abuja Master Plan to be for residential purposes but not for political party secretariat as Adamawa State Governor’s Lodge is currently being used.

    “The Governor’s Lodge as it is today is being used as a political party office thereby negating the spirit of urban planning and causing untold hardship on the residents dwelling in that area of the city, as well as inflicting undue pressure on the infrastructure and services therein, contrary to the principles of the Abuja Master Plan.”

    The FCT Administration said it will not rest on its oars until the entire 250 square kilometers of the Federal Capital City is rid of all illegal structures and/or illegal change of Land Use.

    “It may be noted that any change of Land Use is usually accompanied with over-stretching of facilities planned for certain number of people; apart from also causing high volume of traffic with its attendant problems.

    “The Administration wishes to assure that all actions by a person or group of persons that inflicts pains on the residents whether directly or indirectly would not be condoned as government is meant to serve and protect the rights of all. The FCDA will continue to protect the Abuja environment and the sanctity of the Abuja Master Plan in line with the dreams of its founding fathers; believing that such plans were meant to be obeyed and adhered to.”

    In his reaction to the latest development, the National Publicity Secretary of the newPDP, Chukwuemeka Eze said, “We are aware of the seal-off of our office. We are studying the situation and will react appropriately.”

     

  • ICPC seizes 100 houses in Abuja

    The Independent Corrupt Practices and Allied Offences Commission (ICPC) said on Wednesday that it had seized more than 100 houses in Abuja suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of corruption.

    A Commissioner in ICPC, Alhaji Isa Salami, who made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar, said the houses were seized by the commission within the last four months.

    He said the commission was also prosecuting Mr. Sunday Ehindero, a former Inspector-General of Police, for allegedly diverting N16 million belonging to the force to his personal use.

    Salami, who was in Calabar to represent Mr. Ekpo Nta, Chairman of ICPC, at a two-day retreat on the Provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, said the ICPC had published a Law Report which reflected the cases it had prosecuted since 1999.

    He said the commission had also embarked on public education and enlightenment on its activities, adding “we have to encourage the public to buy into the war against corruption so that they own it.

    “So, we must always capture public sympathy and support for our actions. In this drive we visit schools, where young people are to catch them young and advise them against glorifying corruption.

    “ We also visit universities, where we have started a system review so that all corruption-prone processes and procedures are reduced to the barest minimum,” Salami told NAN.

    He assured that similar exercises would be carried out at the seaports and aviation sector, which according to him, are gateways for foreigners to access Nigeria.

    “These areas of our economy affect the foreigners’ first impression about us and indirectly affects foreign direct investment in the country which is critical for the growth of our economy,’’ he said.

    He said the ICPC would concentrate on aspects of the law to examine persons suspected to be living above their means through the assets they had acquired.