The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Abuja

  • Diamond Bank conducts annual performance review

    Diamond Bank has concluded its Annual Performance Review. It said is in line with global best practices where institutions periodically review their human resource to drive their corporate growth agenda.

    In a statement, the bank’s Head, Corporate Communication, Mrs. Ayona Trimnell, said the review is a yearly exercise for the bank as it seeks to recognise and reward members of staff who have excelled.

    She also said the review was hinged on the bank’s Enterprise Assessment Framework called the Balanced Score Card. The framework spells out parameters with which members of staff are measured and these are communicated to staff at the beginning of each financial year.

    “With well over 1,600 new recruits in the last financial year, of which 1,352 are fresh graduates from reputable universities around the country, Diamond Bank is the largest employer of talent in the industry. The bank boasts of a robust personnel engagement strategy that helps it to continually attract and retain the best talent in the industry.

    “This is in fulfillment of its corporate vision of becoming a leading financial institution, with the best people, providing unequalled customer experience and delivering superior shareholder value,” the bank added.

     

     

  • Nigeria to achieve global commitments on HIV/AIDS – Jonathan

    Nigeria to achieve global commitments on HIV/AIDS – Jonathan

    Nigeria’s Comprehensive Response Plan for HIV/AIDS presents a unique opportunity to put her back on track towards achieving global commitments, President Goodluck Jonathan said on Tuesday.

    The President made this statement during the AIDS Watch Africa Champions Breakfast Meeting in Abuja.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the breakfast was on the fifth day of the Abuja +12 Special Summit of the African Union on HIV and AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

    According to the President, Nigeria’s commitment in the past decade was to halt and reverse HIV and AIDS in the country.

    He said that through local and international partners, the nation had succeeded in significantly impacting the disease.

    He, however, noted that the overall gaps in access to HIV and AIDS service still remained a great challenge, particularly for Nigeria, which according to a 2012 report has the world’s second highest burden.

    “Of the estimated 3.4 million people living with HIV in the country, only 491,021 HIV positive persons are accessing Antiretroviral Therapy (ART).

    “Furthermore 1.6 million people are eligible for ART, meaning that an estimated 30 per cent of the HIV populace are in need.’’

    Jonathan said the country regarded the statistics as a wake- up call for rededication.

    He said rededication was the reason behind the development of the President’s Comprehensive Response Plan (PCRP) for HIV and AIDS in Nigeria, which was unveiled on Monday.

     

  • Day of demands for Abuja indigenous people

    Day of demands for Abuja indigenous people

    The indigenous people of the Federal Capital Territory have marked their day. But even as they did so, they made it abundantly clear that mere feasting was not top on the agenda.

    The people who marked the day in Gwagwalada on the platform of the Original Inhabitants Development Association of Abuja (OIDA), saw it as an opprotunity to unburden their minds and let the authorities know what they really want.

    One of their requests was for the Federal Government to democratise governance in the Territory. They asked that the President of the Federation relinquish his powers as Governor of the FCT and the National Assembly also give up the role of the legislature of the Territory.

    The people requested that those powers be given to the original inhabitants and residents of the Territory so that they can freely and directly elect those to govern them.

    OIDA expressed support for the National Assembly’s proposal for election of a mayor of FCT with executive powers.

    The proposal is part of the recommendations by the National Assembly in the ongoing constitution amendment.

    OIDA President, Danladi Jeji  also expressed their support for the Mayoral status of the city.

    Jeji said: “The Senate proposal for an elective mayor, with governorship power, as contained in the constitution review is hereby accepted by OIDA.“

    “But we plead that for the FCT, the democratic institutions of a second tier administration (the state) should be unambiguously entrenched in the constitution when finally amended, “ he said.

    The FCT indigenes had proposed the removal of “an unconstitutional democratic deficit” imposed by the military regimes in their memoranda to the constitution review.

    Jeji commended NASS for respecting the democratic tenets of the rule of law and constitutionality by satisfying the yearnings and aspiration of indigenous people of the FCT.

    He said there was a need for the creation of two additional senatorial districts and four federal constituencies in the FCT in line with what obtains in other states of the federation.

    “Perusing the activities of government vis-a-vis progressive practice globally, it has become abundantly clear that the indigenous communities of FCT have been seriously short-changed.

    “Government has responded to the demands of the Niger Delta for revenue allocation based on the principles of derivation.

    “It established a Niger Delta Ministry and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the FCT indigenes have not been so treated, “ he said.

    He appealed that 20 per cent of all sales accruing from land proceeds within the FCT and 40 per cent of all land allocation to individuals should be given to indigenes.

    “Major streets in the FCT should also as matter of policy be named after indigenous heroes and traditional leaders.“

    Earlier, the General Secretary of ACE, Mr Emma Ezeazu, called on the Federal Government to rectify the development challenges facing the FCT original inhabitants.

    “We are also asking for the establishment of an FCT Original Inhabitants Development Commission.”

    He said the FCT Indigene day is a day to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the nine indigenous tribes of the Federal Capital Territory namely: Amwamwa, Bassa, Egbura, Gade, Ganagana, Gbagyi, Gbari, Gwandara and Koro.

    It is organised to show how peaceful and accommodating we have been to all Nigerians in the centre of unity.”

    “We also want two additional Senatorial districts to be created for the FCT to make it three like other states in Nigeria”

    “That not less than four additional federal constituencies should be created for the FCT to make it six like other states”

    “That eleven additional Area Councils should be created in the FCT”he said

  • Night life in Abuja

    Night life in Abuja

    Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of government, has many attractions. It could be counted among the best three in Africa and the best in sub-Saharan Africa.

    This sprawling capital city possesses a curious blend of African and Western civilizations and it is home to people of divergent ethnic nationalities. It is also fast becoming Nigeria’s power capital by the growing number of political activities that take place almost every other day. In fact, all nationalities of the world are well represented here, because this is where you have all the head offices of diplomat’s, oil companies, and construction companies among others.

    The city is well known for its vibrant night life. At about 4:00 Pm or 5:00 Pm if you take a close scrutiny while returning from work, you are held bound by the traffic jam that characterizes the city and you manage to allow your eyes wander to the sides of the road, that is when you will discover the open spaces converted into relaxation spots called (gardens) scattered all over the place. And if you have an adventurous nature, you will not miss to observe how organised these bu-siness people are: plastic chairs of blue, white, red are well arranged in their fours with a table in their middle, this is where the fun kicks off for the day. You will hear boisterous laughter emanating from different tables in these parks. What is particularly of interest is the fact that the women here are not as noisy compared to what you find in Lagos outdoor entertainment spots. Another thing that is also noticeable about Abuja gardens is the issue of class and the additional efforts made by these women to be classy. After all, these parks serve Abuja residents and visitors the opportunity to unwind after the hustling of the day and nobody wants to appear undesirable.

    For the new visitor you will be amazed by the towering structures of private and government organizations.

    The beauty of this city to some people is most visible at dawn aided by the grace of the rising sun, while to the night crawler, it is a safe haven since it is one of our cities with the lowest crime rates.

    Not surprisingly therefore, a good number of people see Abuja as an irresistible woman in whose arms they would wish to spend eternity for its sheer hospitality and the fact that, she welcomes you with open arms from airport road, Kubwa and Nyanya. Her long arms stretch from Gwarimpa to Utako from there to Asokoro to Maitama to Garki and you get the climax of this city at Wuse 2.

    A visitor friendly metropolis, the first impression visitors get when escaping to Abuja from the ambush of Lagos and Port Harcourt is that of sanity and maximum enjoyment which is guaranteed.   To me, the night crawler enjoys this city most, because at night the sea of street lights cascading through the city brings out that hidden beauty usually associated with a few African cities. It is also by this period (10:00 pm or 11:00 pm) that other forms of entertainment begin to unfold its zeal to pleasure the fun seeker. These forms of entertainment vary according to the orientation and vision of the business owners; they are nightclubs, bars, live band, striptease and cocktails etc.

    Eighty per cent of the night clubs are all clustered in Wuse 2, where you have Terminal 5, Cubana, Aqua, Blakes, Basement, Krystal Lounge, Safari, etc, and some of the clubs can be located in some big hotels like Sheraton, Transcorp Hilton and some hotels in Asokoro. It is at this time (10pm or 11pm) that you really see people’s real character come up, as you can catch these pleasure lovers or fun seekers (as you may call it) wining and dining and then dancing alingo or kukere to the tune blaring from the huge speakers with the DJ’s in the box standing with speakers on his ears and dark shades on his face shaking his head to the tune.

    But recently following spates of terrorists attacks all over the world (in which Nigeria had its fair share) activities slowed these process down and certainly these events (terrorism) sent jitters down the spine of residents and would-be visitors. To worsen matters, the city control unit imposed a curfew that stipulated when to go out or not.

    Though prostitution is prohibited but you could feel its presence and traces. It is usually visible in dark spots of the city or some night clubs. These girls sleep in the day and dress out provocatively in the night and you might stop to ponder “where is this beautiful girl going by now?” Most of them are students of higher institutions who come from all corners of the country to ply their trade in Abuja because of the belief that politicians and foreigners pay more.

    Some are lucky and some are doomed as they do not live to tell the story. Notwithstanding, it is pertinent to know that not all girls are prostitutes, some are responsible ladies who go in group and sometimes alone to unwind, but because of the prohibition of prostitution, some of these ladies (in the past) were usually harassed many a time by hotel securities or security agents, but thanks today we are no longer in that messy condition again, because recently the Federal Government decided to tackle this issue of insecurity by its horn, the city have returned to peace and everywhere is now bubbling again as activities are now in full gear.

    It is said that after rain comes sun shine so the security situation which otherwise bedeviled the city which is located in the north central has been nipped in the bud and once again everything has returned to normal. So sit back, relax and enjoy the city of Abuja.

    •Umoren Umoren writes from Abuja

  • FCTA on grassroots sports talent hunt

    FCTA on grassroots sports talent hunt

    The FCT Administration has launched a sports talent hunt in all 62 wards of the Federal Capital Territory in preparation for the National Youth Games.

    FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed made this disclosure in Abuja while meeting with some senior officials of the FCT Sports Department.

    The Minister said the new programme which is tagged “Know, Understand and Appreciate the Game” is being driven by the Social Development Secretariat under direct supervision of the FCT Minister of State, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, would be used to identify talented youths in preparation for the National Youth Games being contemplated by the National Sports Commission.

    His words: “The programme will compliment the ‘Athletes of Hope,” an inter-collegiate athletics championship that began in the Federal Capital Territory since 2006.”

    Mohammed recalled that at the recently concluded National Sports Festival, held in the last quarter of 2012 in Lagos, a total of 148 athletes represented the Federal Capital Territory and earned the FCT the 12th position out of the 36th states and FCT, adding that the FCT contingent won 7 Gold, 12 Silver and 10 Bronze.

    The Minister remarked that the FCT Administration has been able to upgrade the Basket Court at the Garki Area 10 Sports Complex into a modern synthetic court.

    According to him, other courts at the complex such as Squash Hall, Badminton, Gymnasium and a host of others have either been upgraded or being constructed.

    He revealed that a multipurpose sports hall planned for the complex since 1992 is being revisited with a view of completing it in earnest.

    Senator Mohammed disclosed that the hall when completed would provide for 8 marshal-arts or combats games and 5 team games respectively.

    ”The Games are Boxing, Gymnastics, Judo, Taekwondo, Karate, Kick-boxing, Kung-fu and Wrestling. Others are Badminton, Basketball, Handball, Table Tennis and Volleyball respectively”, he added.

    The Minister noted that for the first time, special funds have been set aside by the six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory for the construction of Sports Centres at their respective headquarters.

  • Jades ups the ante in Abuja

    Jades ups the ante in Abuja

    Within the last couple of years, the Nigerian hospitality industry has witnessed a kind of steady growth with the current atmosphere of peace under a democratic polity.

    With the robust hospitality climate, the drive to acquire a certain per cent of the market share has seen some of the unbranded hospitality outfits coming up with new and innovative services.

    The latest is a new hospitality outfit,Jades Hotels, billed to open today in Wuse Zone 5, Abuja.

    The opening of the 60-room hotel, according to the management of the hotel, would be performed by Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State.

    However, knowing the competitive nature of the hospitality market in Abuja, the hotel general manager, Mr. Varun Sivanandan, said Jades was set to revolutionize the industry with certain innovative signature services.

    The hotel general manager, who was upbeat about the official opening ceremony, said it would offer the hotel the opportunity to showcase its new approach to customer satisfaction and the running of hospitality business.

    Sivanandan, an Indian and graduate in hospitality management with added exposure of managing top rated hospitality outfits in India and Dubai, spoke on his desire to take Jades Hotels to the next level.

    He explained that even though he was new in the Nigerian hospitality industry, he said guests satisfaction was the key thing, anywhere in the world in the hospitality business.

    His words: “I have had experience in a four-star hotel in India and at the international level. I can take Jades to the next level. I am a degree holder in the hospitality.”

    The hotel is a mixture of luxury and business. The hotel’s facilities cut across different categories just to cater for an eclectic market.

    Many believe that the hotels in Abuja are too many, leading to cut-throat competition.

    On this, Sivanandan disagreed. He said: “There is what we call segmentation in hospitality, and competition in the industry is a welcomed development. It is difficult for the customers to get value for money with services in the hotels without competition. The mere fact that you have hotels being in short supply when you have major events in Abuja has to do with hotels being in short supply. Still the market is open. Operators of hotels would always find their on level when it comes to services and tariff. We have a class and we have out target market here in Abuja.”

    According the manager, the hotel intends to build a solid reputation based on personalized service.

    “We serve each of our customers, according to his or her needs. We will not serve the way we serve the other person because you have different personalities. So it is segmented according to the needs of every guest. That is why we go an extra mile to serve you.

    “One of the things we do to give you personalized service is gueridone service, that is, we can prepare a mile with the chef standing in front of you. For example, you ordered for eba, they will just prepare the meal right in front of you. These are part of the innovations we are bringing to the industry.

    “There is a certain level of satisfaction for you to see that the food you are going to eat is not being brought from the back of the house, but it is prepared right in front of you.

    “We also have special delicacies from the different parts of the country. We will also celebrate Nigerian cuisines. We have delicacies like isie ewu, ugba and pepper soup of all kinds. We will also do continental cuisines. We will have specialty dishes from different parts of the world.

    “We are planning to do different theme nights at the pool side areas. In Abuja, we have all types of customers. The theme nights would try to cater for different segments of the market at any given day. One, for example,during India Night, the cuisines and setting for the night would be Indian. The same applies to other nationalities.

    “There are many hotels in Abuja, but there is still space for more. The market is not saturated as some people wrongly believe. Once you are ready to offer something special to the industry, there would be room. That is what we intend to do.

    “We also have a Wifi for our in-house guests. We also have free gym for in-house guests. There is a certain category of massages that is free for in-house guests. We really want to make the difference in Abuja,”he said.

    He vowed that Jades would not be a flash that would fade off a few years after throwing its doors open. This, the hotel intends to achieve through aggressive training of its staff and maintenance of facilities.

    “We are embarking on the training continuously to make our staff understand the need to maintain the facilities.

    The hotel is tastefully designed. It gas extensive facilities for guests like specialty restaurants, bar gymnasium and conference and banqueting facilities. You should know that the hotel the art of relaxation. That informed are going out of our way, to create a new hospitality experience that we are bringing to Abuja.”

     

     

  • FCTA demolishes ALGON building in Abuja

    FCTA demolishes ALGON building in Abuja

    The Development Control Unit of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has demolished a three-storey building at the national headquarters of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) at Eller Crescent, Maitama, Abuja.

    The building, said the District Officer in charge of the area, Isah Aliyu, was being erected on a pathway in a close.

    He said several quit notices had been served on the building, even from the foundation stage, but the owner did not show up at the Development Control Unit to prove the legality or otherwise of the land.

    Aliyu said several attempts to compel the security man, who was found at the site, to receive copies of the papers, were abortive. He reportedly failed to receive them.

     

     

     

     

  • Club Owners parley in Abuja Thursday

    Club Owners parley in Abuja Thursday

    THE Club Owners’ Associations will Thursday at Abuja hold a meeting with Club Chairmen and General Managers of Globacom Premier League for a review of the first stanza of the league and other burning issues.

    The league is on a short break because of the Federation Cup Round of 32 matches across the country, and the association will at the meeting look into salient issues bothering on TV rights, sponsorship, among other things.

    The Secretary of the association, Alloy Chukwuemeka, said the meeting would take place at the Lamonde Hotel, Wuse Zone 2 Abuja.

    Chukwuemeka, who also doubles as the General Manager of ABS of Ilorin, stated that Premier League clubs would then make their true position known regarding some of the decisions made by the League Management Company (LMC) at the meeting held with the Club Owners last month.

  • Gana seeks autonomy for local governments

    Gana seeks autonomy for local governments

    The Federal Government has been advised to make the 419 local government areas that make up the northern part of the country autonomous.

    A former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, gave the advice on Monday at the inauguration of the Northern Local Government Chairmen’s Forum (NLGF) in Abuja.

    Prof. Gana, who in his keynote address as the chairman of the Board of Trustee (BoT) of NLGF, noted that local government is a strategic and vital organ of government, also advised the chairmen not to divert resources allocated to them for the development of their councils.

    He urged the chairmen to develop a tremendous capacity for accountability, stressing that accountability is very important in public office especially at the local government levels.

    “We want to use this opportunity to appreciate the Senate and the House of Representatives, that they are very much on course that the autonomy of local government is well spelt out, well protected, and well constitutionally provided in the constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria. But, please, use that autonomy well, use it for the people of Nigeria,” he said.

    The newly formed forum comprises chairmen of 419 local government areas from the 19 northern states in the country.

    The forum is aimed at fostering unity and peace among the people and engendering the socio-economic development of the region.

  • Golden Eaglets’ camp opens in Abuja

    Golden Eaglets’ camp opens in Abuja

    THE National Under-17 team would begin preparations in earnest for the forthcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates with the screening of new players in Abuja next week.

    The two-week exercise according to Head coach, Manu Garba is to fish out new talented players to augment the team that nearly won the 10th CAN Under-17 Championship in Morocco last March. Already players scouted across the country during the break are expected to report to The NFF/FIFA GOAL Project Site in Abuja on Sunday even as Garba warns that this is not an all comer affairs.

    “It is important that we have a look at some new players for some specific positions because what we want is the best for the country,” said Garba, a Gold medal winner at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea.

    “We are really grateful that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has approved our programme towards the World Cup in the UAE and hopefully we are going to get some good players to beef up the team that came second at the African championship.”

    It would be recalled that Garba had promised to audit the Golden Eaglets in a post-mortem analysis of the African Championship after his wards were trumped 5-4 on penalties by Cote d’Ivoire following a pulsating 1-1 draw in the finale.

    “We are going to fortify the team despite the fact that some of these players secured us the ticket to the World Cup,” noted Garba, “and we are going to look for quality replacements before going for the World Cup in the UAE.”

    Meanwhile, players picked from the screening exercise would undergo the mandatory Magnetic Image Resonance (MRI) Test to ascertain if they are within the stipulated age bracket before the team’s close camping ahead of the World Cup in UAE between October 17 and November 8.