The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Abuja

  • ‘We brought competitiveness to hospitality business’

    The Manager Director, Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments, Abuja, Juergen Odenwald, said the inauguration of the hotel in Nigeria, has brought global competitiveness to hospitality business in the country.

    He stated this at the annual Jumia Travel Award in Lagos, where the Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments, emerged the best hotel in Nigeria for 2019.

    He said the new dimension which the hotel has introduced into the hospitality industry has seen it compare with best hotels in Dubai, New York and United Kingdom.

    While noting that the inauguration of the Abuja branch last year was the first of its series in the country, he said Nigerians should be prepared for new dimension in hospitality management.

    “While we take pride in the physical attributes of the hotels, we will say customer satisfaction is a top priority to us at Wells Charlton Hotels and Apartments.

    “I want to give very special thanks to our chairman, Capt Hosa Okunbo, he is an enigma and not a regular employer.

    “We have made a point with the opening of the hotel in Abuja,  and we are saying, Lagos should get prepared.”

    Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Steve Ayoride represented by the Director, Lagos Council of Arts and Culture, Mrs Saidat Otulana lauded the efforts of  Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in developing and changing the face of tourism in the state.

    She said in the last three and a half years the Lagos State government has continue to invest and develop tourism spots and location in Lagos State.

    The Managing Director, Jumia travels, Omolara Adagundo, said the idea behind the award is create and encourage standards in the Country and influence changes.

    ” We want to encourage people who are doing well and celebrate excellence. At Jumia we will continue to strive and recognise partners” She added.

  • Pope appoints Archbishop Kaigama as Bishop of Abuja

    His Holiness, Pope Francis, has appointed His Grace, Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama as the Archbishop of Abuja.

    Pope Francis, who was represented by Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, His Grace, Archbishop Antonio Guido Filipazzi, made the announcement during the opening ceremony of the first plenary meeting of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), on Monday in Abuja.

    Kaigama would take over from His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan who clocked the retirement age of 75 on January 29, 2019.

    He is currently the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Jos and immediate past President of the CBCN, is a priest of Jukun origin from Taraba State.

    “We congratulate and pray for Archbishop Kaigama. I know that it is not easy for him. But I told him like Abraham, go out of your land in the land God will show you and God will bless you and make you the father of many people,” Filipazzi said.

    Read Also: Catholic Bishop lauds violence-free polls in Edo

    Born on July 31, 1958, Kaigama studied for the priesthood at St. Augustine’s Major Seminary in Jos, and Rome respectively.

    Kaigama was ordained on June 6, 1981, and was appointed Bishop of Jalingo by Pope John Paul II, now Saint Pope John Paul. Kaigama was consecrated as bishop on April 23, 1995.

    In 2000, Kaigama was again appointed by Pope John Paul II to succeed the late Archbishop Gabriel Ganaka as Archbishop of Jos.

  • 44 policemen in auto crash in Abuja

    The Nigeria Police Force has confirmed 44 of its operatives were involved in autocrash on Friday while they were on their way for election duties.

    According to the Police, the accident occurred in Gwagwalada Area Council of Abuja.

    The injured personnel attached to the Operations department of the FCT Police Command were being conveyed in one of the big Police trucks when the accident occurred.

    The police said 36 of them were immediately rushed to Air force Base hospital, six to Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) hospital while two were rushed to Police hospital in Area 1, Garki for treatment.

    33 out of the 44 injured were treated and discharged while 11 are presently on admission at various hospitals in Abuja.

    Some of the personnel injured are: Inspector Luka Hananiya, Sergeant Shettima Solomon, Inspector Maude Yusuf, Sergeant Musa Dahiru and Inspector Mumini Mohammed.

    Speaking after a visit to some of the injured Police officers in the hospital, the Inspector General of Police, Ag. IGP Mohammed Adamu, said: “It is because of the election that we decided to deploy our men to polling units.

    “On their way, a team that was deployed to Gwagwalada had an accident and a lot of them were seriously injured.

    “You can see that we are at the trauma section of the National hospital where some of them are admitted.

    “They have various degrees of injury, ranging from fracture to head injury that requires further investigation which I have ordered that they be taken to other hospital with the necessary equipment to treat them.

    “We are here to make sure that they are given proper treatment to recover.”

    On the kind of welfare package they will be given, Adamu said: “It is not what we are here for now but we have to make sure that they are taken care of and their medical bills paid then, we can talk about their entitlements.”

     Commenting on officers out on the field for various duties, the IGP said: “It is about sacrifice and national assignment. Policing is nothing but a national assignment and what has happened to our policemen here can happen to anybody  but we are encouraged to serve our country the best way we could because no sacrifice is too much for the nation. All we have to do is to make sure that they are properly taken care of.”

    On reports from other states about the gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly elections, the IGP said: “So far, so good. The report has been generally peaceful and everything is going well.

    “As you know in human life, nothing is 100 percent okay. We have pockets of challenges here and there but we made arrangements to take care of them. So everything is going on well.”

  • Disquiet in Abuja church over pastor’s extramarital affair

    THE survival of a popular Abuja church is under threat after a confession made by the presiding pastor that he had a child outside wedlock and had divorced his wife because she was determined to make the incident public.

    The popular pastor had tried to justify his action by saying that his wife was the first to engage in an extramarital affair from which she bore a child. He argued that while he protected his wife from public embarrassment by keeping the matter secret, his wife was not willing to reciprocate the gesture when his turn came.

    He told the congregation that he had to tell them about it as a sign of remorse expected of a man of God who had erred, adding that he should not be condemned but commended for his forthrightness in bringing the matter to their knowledge.

    But many of the church members are said not to be impressed with both the pastor’s confession and the erotic mess in which his family is enmeshed. Many of them are said to be threatening to quit the church, having lost confidence in the man of God.

  • Akpabio withdraws suit against defeat as Ekpenyong applauds

    The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, sitting at the Apo, Abuja Judicial Division on Friday struck out a post-election matter instituted by Senator Godswill Akpabio, following his defeat by former Deputy Governor, Engr. Chris Ekpenyong, in the just- concluded National Assembly election for Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District.

    Akpabio, former Senate Minority leader, defected last August from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state to the All Progressives Congress (APC) under which he sought reelection ticket.

    But he was defeated by Ekpenyong, who polled over 118,000 votes as against his over 83,000 forcing the former governor to run to Abuja court with suit no: FCT\HC\M\2680\19, to seek an order of Mandamus compelling INEC to review the result.

    But the presiding Judge, Justice Valentine Ashi of the FCT High Court dismissed the matter, following application by the Counsel to Akpabio, Mr. Sunday Ameh (SAN), that the case be withdrawn forthwith.

    The senator-elect Ekpenyong commended his kinsman for taking the right decision to pull out from the case, saying “no man can challenge the divine mandate freely endorsed by the people of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District”.

    Read Also: ‘Akpabio’ll reclaim APC’s stolen mandate in A/Ibom Saturday’

    Speaking on the matter on Friday, Ekpenyong urged Akpabio “to demonstrate the good spirit of sportsmanship by willingly accepting defeat in good faith instead of overheating the polity by giving the people false impression of rigging during the contest”.

    He recalled: “In 2007, even when he rigged the elections and won, I, as one of the contestants accepted defeat and congratulated him.

    “In 2011, I had done everything to go for Senate but he tricked me to step down for another person, even when I and the former Minister of Petroleum, Atuekong Don Etiebet, had knelt down to beg then President Goodluck Jonathan, to give him (Akpabio) soft landing to go for a second term.

    “When I did all of these, I was conscious of the fact that there must be one governor at a time and that was his own time as designed by God.

    “So this current mandate for the people of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District has also been ordained by God for me to lead the people of my zone and to show them leadership direction from the Red Chambers in the next four years.

    “We are a highly Republican people. We don’t have what they called Dynasty in other places.

    “In Annang ethnic nationality, leadership must evolve for the dividends of democracy to spread across all the 10 Local Government Areas that constitute the Senatorial District.

    “Therefore, I am assuring the people that I will run for only one term of impactful and purposeful leadership that will ensure every facets of the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District is touched by serious transformation and socio-economic development.”

  • FEAAN holds shows in Abuja, Lagos

    The Female Artists Association of Nigeria (FEAAN) will hold two exhibitions of diverse media in Abuja and Lagos. With the theme, Balance for Better: Women Unite, the art show held yearly to commemorate the International Women’s Day celebrations will open on different days in the two cities. While the Abuja show will open on Thursday, March 7 till 13 at Culture Centre of China and Kulture KIode Art Hub; the Lagos-leg will hold on Friday, March 8 to 13 at Nike Art Gallery.

    Over 30 women are expected to participate in both exhibitions which will feature over 50 works, it was said. According to FEAAN National President, Chinze Ojobo, said the exhibitions will be projecting the talents of women artists while highlighting women issues.

     

  • NNPC to build IPP in Abuja, Kaduna, Kano

    • Firm recovers N771m assets from marketers

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) plans to build more Independent Power Plants (IPP) in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano so as to add 4,0000 megawatts (Mw) of power to stabilise the national grid.

    In addition, it said a fertilizer plant is billed for Brass, Bayelsa State.

    Also, NNPC said it has recovered assets valued at over N771million from marketers who under-paid for petroleum products lifted from the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Kaduna Depot.

    Chairman, NNPC Anti-Corruption Committee, Mike Balami, said the committee, in collaboration with the Federal Government’s Intelligence and Anti-Corruption agencies, the Department of State Security Services (DSS), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), recovered the assets from  defaulting marketers.

    Its Chief Financial Officer and Chairman,  Board of NNPC Power subsidiary, Gas and Power Investment Company (GPIC), Isiaka Abdulrazaq, made this known at the inaugural board meeting of GPIC at the NNPC Towers, in Abuja.

    The GPIC was established as a subsidiary under the Gas and Power Directorate to enable the corporation monetise the abundant gas resources in the country for the benefit of the nation’s economy.

    Abdulrazaq said the GPIC is a very strategic company through which the NNPC will create more value for the country, stressing that by the time the IPPs come on stream in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano, the Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the areas would be better for it.

    “The Gas and Power Investment Company Limited (GPIC) is a company which the NNPC has set up basically to focus on how it can create value and monetise the nation’s abundant gas resources. The company will also be focused on developing power stations, fertilizer plants as well as petrochemical plants across the states,” Abdulrazaq stated.

    He said NNPC has set up the board to enable the company achieve its set targets within a very short period of time, saying the board  has mapped out strategies to properly guide the company to enable it achieve its Key Performance Indicators (KPI).

    He said the company will add value in terms of payment of taxes and generating more revenue for the country, stressing that the company and all the IPPs will generate more job opportunities for Nigerians.

    Abdulrazaq said the Fertilizer Project in Brass, will produce fertilizer to boost agriculture in the Southsouth and other regions of the country.

    Also, the Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power,  Saidu Mohammed, said that the coming on stream of GPIC will help the NNPC transform into an integrated energy company with the production of 4,000Mw of power at strategic locations.

    He said all relevant stakeholders in the power sector are in alignment with the NNPC with the establishment of the GPIC.

     

  • NNPC to build fertilizer plants in Brass

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has expressed its preparedness to build additional Independent Power Plants (IPP) in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano which is expected to add 4, 0000 megawatts of power to stabilize the national grid.

    The National Oil Company also disclosed that it would construct a Fertilizer Project in Brass, Bayelsa State.

    Chief Financial Officer of NNPC and Chairman of the Board of NNPC Power subsidiary, Gas and Power Investment Company (GPIC), Mr. Isiaka Abdulrazaq, said this at the inaugural board meeting of GPIC at the NNPC Towers in Abuja.

    A release by NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, in Abuja Tuesday, said the GPIC was established as a subsidiary under the Gas and Power Directorate to enable the corporation monetize the abundant gas resources in the Country for the benefit of the nation’s economy.

    Abdulrazaq said the GPIC was a very strategic company through which the NNPC would create more value for the country, stressing that by the time the IPPs come on stream in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano, the Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the areas would be better for it.

    “The Gas and Power Investment Company Limited (GPIC) is a company which the NNPC has set up basically to focus on how it can create value and monetize the nation’s abundant gas resources. The company will also be focused on developing power stations, fertilizer plants as well as petrochemical plants across the states,” Abdulrazaq enthused.

    Read Also: NNPC’s $1.7b debt to FAAC

    He noted that NNPC has set up the board to enable the company achieve its set targets within a very short period of time, saying the board meeting had mapped out strategies to properly guide the company to enable its Key Performance Indicators (KPI).

    He said the setting up of the company would add value in terms of payment of taxes and generating more revenue for the Country, stressing that the company and all the IPPs that would emanate from it would also generate more job opportunities for Nigerians.

    Abdulrazaq stated that Fertilizer Project in Brass, Bayelsa State would produce fertilizer to boost agriculture in the South-South and other regions of the Country.

    Speaking in similar vein, the Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, Engr. Saidu Mohammed, stated that the coming on stream of GPIC would help the NNPC transform into an integrated energy company with the production of 4,000 megawatts of power at strategic locations.

    Engr. Mohammed disclosed that all relevant stakeholders in the power sector are in alignment with the NNPC with the establishment of the GPIC.

     

  • NNPC recovers N771m forfeited assets from marketers

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) has recovered assets worth over N771million from some marketers who had underpaid for petroleum products supplied to them from Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) Kaduna Depot.

    The Chairman of NNPC Anti-Corruption Committee, Mr. Mike Balami, said the committee, in collaboration with Federal Government’s Intelligence and Anti-Corruption agencies such as the Department of State Security Services (DSS), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, recovered the assets from the defaulting marketers.

    A release by NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, in Abuja on Tuesday, said NNPC Anti-Corruption Committee brought in forensic experts to uncover the shady deals by some of the marketers affected.

    Balami disclosed that some of the assets recovered include filling stations, water factories and six sports utility vehicles, adding that the forensic investigation would be extended to the other depots across the country to stop the bleeding of the national oil company.

    He noted that it was established that the affected marketers lifted petroleum products from the PPMC Kaduna depot without evidence of payment and when confronted with the evidence they admitted to the offence and failed to pay their liabilities.

    He said that NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, was passionate about stopping all the leakages in the corporation, stressing that the forfeited assets would be handed over to NNPC Corporate Asset Boarding and Disposal Committee (CABDC) for immediate disposal.

    Balami added that investigation into the lifting of petroleum products without evidence of payment was continuing, urging all relevant stakeholders to support the NNPC Anti-Corruption Committee in its onerous task of recovering all its monies outside NNPC’s system.

    He said that this was the first time that the NNPC would be taking over assets forfeited by marketers who defaulted in their terms of engagement.

  • N3.97billion fraud: Court convicts Badeh’s firm

    •Loses $1m, Abuja properties •Ends ex-CGS’ trial •Court winds up firm

    The Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday convicted a firm linked with the late Chief of General Staff (CGS), Air Marshall Alex Badeh – Iyalikam Nigeria Limited – and ordered it be immediately wound-up.

    Justice Okon Abang, in a judgment on Monday, after the firm changed its earlier plea of not guilty to guilty, convicted it on the amended 10-count charge of money laundering.

    Justice Abang ordered the forfeiture of $1million and properties located in Abuja and linked with Iyalikam.

    The guilty plea by the firm was part of the plea bargain agreement reached between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the defence.

    Properties traced to Badeh and Iyalikam which Justice Abang ordered their final forfeiture to the Federal Government were listed in the plea bargain agreement which the EFCC reached with the defence and filed before the court on Monday.

    The assets are:

    • A mansion at No. 6, Ogun River Street, Off Danube Street, Maitama, Abuja;
    • A shopping mall at Plot 1386, Oda Crescent, Cadastral Zone A07, Wuse II, Abuja;
    • A duplex at No. 19, Kumasi Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja;
    • A duplex situate at No. 14, Adzope Crescent, Off Kumasi Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja;
    • A semi-detached duplex situate at No. 8A, Embu Street, by Sigma Apartment Wuse II, Abuja and
    • The sum of $1,000,000.00 only recovered from No. 6, Ogun River Street, Off Danube Street, Maitama, Abuja.

    Based on the plea bargain agreement, the court also ordered that upon conviction, defendant should be wound up “and any other property or account in the name of the defendant shall be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria”.

    EFCC was, until Badeh’s death, prosecuting him alongside Iyalikam Nigeria Limited on 14 counts of money laundering bordering on alleged fraudulent removal of about N3.97billion from the Nigerian Air Force’s account.

    Badeh and the company had jointly pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2016, prompting the prosecution to open its case which it later closed last year after calling 22 prosecution witnesses.

    Badeh was scheduled to open his defence on  January 16 this year, but before the hearing date, gunmen killed him on Abuja-Keffi Expressway on December 18, last year.

    At the January 16 hearing, the first which came up after Badeh’s death, the deceased’s lawyer, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), and Iyalikam’s, Mr. Samuel Zibiri (SAN), pleaded with the judge to adjourn till after the deceased’s burial.

    They added that the adjournment would afford them time to reach an agreement with the prosecution on how to proceed with the case.

    Badeh had since been buried.

    At the resumed hearing of case on February 26, the defence requested an adjournment of the matter to enable the company to open its case.

    Justice Abang had adjourned the matter till Monday.

    On Monday, the prosecuting counsel, Mr Oluwaleke Atolagbe, told the court that the prosecution and the defence had reached an agreement leading to the amendement of the charges to 10 counts and  which saw the removal of Badeh’s name as a defendant in the case.

    Atolagbe said: “We filed a further amended charge dated March 1 and filed March 4 and we also filed a plea bargain agreement with regards to provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.”

    Olujinmi, who represented Badeh and Mr. S.T Ologunorisa (SAN), who represented Iyalikam Nigeria Limited, on Monday, had contrary to Atolagbe’s position, argued that the charges needed not to be read because the company had no representative in court.

    But Atolagbe insisted that the absence of the company’s representative was not a genuine excuse for the company not to plead guilty in the open court.

    He added that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, recgonised plea in a written form, an example of which, he said, was the plea bargain agreement already filed before the court.

    With the judge adopting Atolagbe’s view, the amended charges were read to the company and a plea of guilty was recorded for the company in respect of each of the 10 counts.

    Delivering judgment, which adopted the plea bargain agreement reached between the defence and the posecution,  Justice Abang convicted the company.

    He added, “I have before me a plea bargain agreement duly executed by Iyalikam Nigeria Limited and the EFCC.

    “I hereby find the defendant guilty and accordingly convict the defendant of the 10 counts further amended charge.

    “Having regards to the plea bargain agreement duly executed by the parties, Iyalikam Nigeria Limited is hereby wound up and the judgment shall be served on the Corporate Affairs Commission for necessary action.”

    Justice Abang also ordered that the various assets linked to the company in the charges be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

    The judge also ordered the termination of all proceedings against Badeh.