The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, has congratulated residents of FCT as the world celebrates the New Year, 2017.
Bello, in his New Year message today, prayed that the year 2017 ushers in for the residents and indeed the nation at large, continued peace and prosperity.
He appreciated God for sparing our lives to witness the New Year, in spite of the daunting challenges facing the nation.
According to the statement issued by the Deputy Director/Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, the minister charged all residents of the Federal Capital Territory, irrespective of religious belief, social affiliation or political inclination, to continue to live in peace and harmony with one another.
Bello assured that just as the FCTA embarked on completion of major on-going road projects in the city during the preceding year, the administration would continue to strive towards the same direction for the entire territory this New Year and beyond.
He said “we are committed to ensuring that this year will witness remarkable progress in many areas of service delivery having in mind that Abuja is the window through which the world sees Nigeria.”
The minister however reminded residents to be security conscious whilst the FCT administration continues to work in concert with the security community to guarantee the safety of the lives and property across the territory.
Tag: FCT Minister
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The year will usher in peace, unity- FCT Minister
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10 kidnapped persons rescued in Abuja
The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, said 10 persons kidnapped in Kuje Area Council of Abuja had been rescued by security agents.
Bello said this at a news conference on the successful rescue mission in Abuja on Monday.
He said the rescue team consisted of 250 personnel of Army, Police, Command Special Anti-Kidnapping Squad, Department of State Security Services and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
“They routed the kidnappers and destroyed their camps.’’
He said the notorious gang of hoodlums specialised in robbing and kidnapping innocent residents in that area.
The minister said that the seven males and three females rescued had been handed over to the Gomo of Kuje for immediate rehabilitation.
He, however, said that an officer of the NSCDC, ASC1 Anumudu Uchewho, took ill during the operation and died.
“Uchewho death will not be in vain as he lost his life in the line of duty to save the lives of ten other residents of the territory.
“All the bandits’ structures have been dismantled and security agencies have strengthened surveillance mechanism as not to allow such miscreants operate within the 8,000 square kilometres of the FCT’, he said.
Commissioner of Police in Abuja, Mohammed Mustapha assured all residents in the affected villages that the p0lice had commenced massive deployment to forestall any future occurrence.
Mustapha assured that the security agents were making concerted efforts to arrest the dislodged hoodlums; adding that nothing would be left unturned to get them to face the consequences of their criminal actions.
It will be recalled that Darka village in Kuje Area Council was attacked in the early hours of Sunday, Nov. 13 leaving a 28-year old man, Zakariyya Nuhu dead, one injured and six kidnapped.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that neighboring Huni-Gade was also attacked on Nov. 17 where four persons were kidnapped.
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FCT minister orders cattle out of Abuja
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Muhammad Bello has ordered herdsmen to move their cattle out of Abuja.
This is part of efforts to stop cattle grazing in the Abuja metropolis and on highways serving as major entrances and exits into the city centre.
“Herdsmen must move their cattle out of the Federal Capital City because there is no way such animals can co-habit with residents,” Bello said.
He gave the order at a meeting with members of the FCT chapter of the Miyatti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria.
His words: “You have to understand that when the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) says cattle should not roam the city, it is not because they want to prevent cattle breeders from rearing cattle in the FCT. Basically, it is for safety reasons. It is for the safety of your cattle and above all, safety of the citizens.
“In a modern city, it’s impossible for animals and vehicles to move together on the roads because this could cause accidents which, in some cases, could be fatal, and it is our duty to protect life and property.”
A statement by Deputy Director/Chief Press Secretary Muhammad Sule said the minister implored the association to nominate members to serve in the Ministerial Task Team on Environment, chaired by Squadron Leader Abdullahi Adamu Monjel.
The committee is to ensure a smooth communication between FCTA and the association.
The minister added that the FCT Administration earmarked about 33,485 hectares as grazing reserves to cater for about seven million herds of cattle.
He thanked Miyatti Allah for its support to the FCT Administration, and urged it to continue to support the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government.
Association chairman Malam Yahaya Isah promised to continue to interface with the government to promote peaceful co-existence.
He said the association would enlighten members not to breed their cattle in the streets and highways.
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FCT minister and abuse of psychiatry
FRUSTRATED by the continuing defiance of traffic light regulations in Abuja, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Muhammad Bello, has ordered that the police should arrest offenders and subject them to psychiatric evaluation before charging them in court whether they pass the tests or not. Running red lights is dangerous and must be discouraged; but why does the minister think existing laws are inadequate to combat the crime? Does he not feel numbed by his insinuation that psychiatry is needed to combat straight-forward traffic infractions, thus risking being accused of engaging in the political abuse of psychiatry?
If the existing punishment for running red lights is not a sufficient deterrent, the FCT should legitimately and reasonably strengthen it instead of opting straightaway for psychiatric evaluations. The minister betrays his ignorance of the existing state of psychiatric practice in the country, to wit, poor facilities, insufficient manpower, poor funding, and abnormally rising incidence of psychiatric illnesses. It is unwise to burden psychiatric institutions with traffic offenders. Armed robbery is even more dangerous than running red lights; would the minister also call for an evaluation? Bad governance, not to say crass embezzlement, is horrifyingly harmful to the existence, peace and stability of the country; would the minister call for psychiatric evaluation? Some officials of the FCT have been alleged to manipulate land allocation regulations and other related offences; would the minister ask for psychiatric evaluation before charging the suspects in court?
Running red lights, driving over speed limits, using threadbare tyres and violating a host of other motoring and traffic rules are wrong and condemnable. But the laws to tackle them have always been available. The minister should stick to those laws and not fish in the dangerous waters of psychiatry except when mental ill-health suggests itself and the state wishes to mitigate punishment consequent upon proof being established. In the past century, too many states, including Adolf Hitler’s Germany, had misused psychiatry; Nigeria should not join them. There are standard and generally inelastic procedures guiding the use of psychiatric examinations; the FCT should stick to them instead of stoking needless controversy. -
FCT minister and political appointees
SIR: Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello recently came under hard knocks over his perceived unwillingness to appoint political heads for the various agencies and departments under the FCT Administration. The minister was specifically accused of running a one-man-show in the FCT, with the authors saying the state of affairs had taken a plunge, following the absence of these political heads.
In all honesty, one would say this paradigm shift being introduced by Bello is one that actually deserves commendation and not criticism because this is what Nigerians have been yearning for both in the FCTA and other government institutions. The reality is the world over, governments have always been run by the civil servants. For instance, Britain had a referendum a few months back where a new Prime Minister came in through the front door and the old Prime Minister went out through the backdoor. But the British government was working.
As it is in the FCTA, all the secretariats are now headed by civil servants working day in day out. If these offices have no officials, of course the city would have been grounded to a halt by now. The lady handling the education secretariat, for instance is one of the most experienced public servants in the FCT. Under her purview, the FCTA has been able to identify 500 substandard schools that are not meant to be there as was widely reported. Under her purview also, 72 teachers were trained recently to handle the Nigeria/Korea Model School in Abuja. Under her purview, 30 teachers will be going to Korea this summer for additional training. All these will translate into better school services and at the end of the day also, better scores during WAEC and NECO. So, for somebody to write and say that the minister has not appointed an education secretary, quite frankly, what secretary again do we need?
If the truth must be told, we are in the era of change and I think it is very paramount for us in this country to develop and strengthen our institutions. So, let us not go back to this idea of everything tied to individuals.
The running of the FCT is not done by the minister. The minister just gives guidance based on the policy of the party, the policy of the President and the objective of the government. But institutions are the ones that run and if you personalize government based on individuals, then you see individuals come in with their retinue of aides, political appointees and the civil servants just fold their arms and watch and at the end of the day, the minister’s tenure ends, he packs his aides and the political appointees and moves on and there is no institutional memory. That’s why at the end of the day, each government comes trying to solve the same problems.
- DanladiAkilu,
Gudu District, Abuja
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FCT Minister calls for speedy resolution of land disputes
The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, has urged legal practitioners and stakeholders to consider alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in resolving the numerous land cases pending in FCT courts.
The statement signed by Mr Hamzat Sule, the Chief Press Secretary to the minister, said that Bello made the call when officials of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abuja Chapter, led by its Chairman, Mr Ezenwa Anumnu, paid him a visit in Abuja.
Bello noted that protracted land disputes gave a negative perception of Nigeria among the international community as a very difficult place to do business,
He said that some land cases could have been settled, if there had been adequate discussions for out of court settlement.
“Some of the cases that are pending in courts are cases that could really be sorted out just by discussions.
“That is why we have to encourage alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for these issues to be settled out of court.’’
The minister gave an assurance that institutions within the FCT Administration would be strengthened to take care of noticeable lapses and promote due process in handling all land-related matters.
He said that the focus of the FCT Administration included making the process of doing business much easier in order to move Nigeria’s level on the World Bank Business Index.
“We want to move by at least 20 points from where we are now and we realized that land-related transactions constitute a very important measure of how systems are judged.
“This is whether they are efficient and user friendly or not.”
Bello congratulated the NBA for the successful conduct of its national elections as well as the unique introduction of e-voting, saying that the NBA had always been in the forefront of bringing change in the country.
“We have many of your members within the various departments of the FCT Administration and for those that I have been able to have close contacts with, I have found them to be very professional.
“And above all, very conscious of what society expects of them as lawyers,” he emphasised.
Earlier, Anumnu said the bar was happy with the laudable strides the FCT Administration was making in terms of cleanliness and other progressive developments within the territory.
“We are in touch with the common people in FCT and I can assure you that the responses are positive and encouraging,” he said.
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Fuel price and FCT minister’s palliatives
SIR: I write to commend the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello for the palliatives he recently introduced in the FCT to mitigate the effect of the recent hike in the pump price of petrol on workers of the FCTA and indeed other residents of the territory. This decision stands out as a manifestation of his exemplary leadership.
Obviously, bus fares all over the territory have doubled, with the recent increase in pump price of petrol from N86 to N145, and this has further increased the hardship being experienced by workers and other residents of the territory.
The metropolitan nature of the city is such that most of the government workers and other businessmen live in the outskirts of the city but work and do most of their businesses in the city centre, meaning that they would be spending heavily on transportation when in actual sense their income has not increased.
The minister has shown a rare demonstration of selfless leadership and high degree of love for the residents through the palliatives rolled out to soften the blow.
Some of the palliatives include a directive to Abuja Urban Mass Transit Company (AUMTCO) to increase the number of large capacity buses plying the various routes in the territory, particularly the satellite towns to ensure that transport fares remain stable and are not arbitrarily increased by other transport operators. Additionally, the FCT administration is re-introducing the operation of the staff bus scheme by making new buses available to convey workers from their homes to the office and back. This measure is geared towards the administration’s desire to improve welfare of members of staff.
The designated routes for the re-introduced staff bus scheme are: Nyanya/Karu; Mararaba/Masaka; Keffi/Nasarawa and Suleja/Zuba. Other routes are: Kubwa; Gwagwalada/Lugbe; Jikwoyi/Karshi; Dutse/Bwari as well as Kuje.
The minister has equally directed all heads of Secretariats, Departments and Agencies under the FCTA to ask interested members of staff to indicate their willingness to join any of the approved routes to ensure that no staff is left out of the scheme.
He has further given his assurances that the FCT administration will work assiduously to fully implement the FCT component of the palliative measures announced by the Federal Government as contained in the 2016 budget in order to bring soccour to the generality of Nigerians.
No doubt, the deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry has increased the suffering of Nigerians. But these steps by the minister are indeed a welcome development that will reduce the plight of workers and other residents of the FCT. Kudos to the FCT Minister.
- Danladi Akilu,
Durumi II District, Abuja.
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Insurgency: Minister commends Armed Forces for restoring peace
The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, on Tuesday commended the Nigerian Armed Forces for restoring peace and giving hope to many parts of the country.
Bello made the commendation while receiving a delegation of the Nigeria Air Force led by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, in his office in Abuja.
Bello said that the armed forces had diligently worked to stamp out the activities of insurgents in the North East as well as criminal activities in other parts of the country.
“You have restored hope at least to so many parts of this country”.
Bello said that the intervention of men and officers of the armed forces during the last few months in the North East and South-South, respectively deserved commendation.
The minister particularly praised the military for the planned aerial surveillance of Abuja-Kaduna Road; Abuja-Jos Road as well as Abuja-Lokoja Road.
According to him, the action will go a long way in ensuring security of motorists on these busy roads.
“I assure you that this additional support you want to give in terms of aerial surveillance of the major arteries into the territory is a welcome development.
“If there are new areas you want to partner with us in terms of support, we are available.’’
Bello said that he appreciated the wonderful relationship that the FCTA and Nigerian Air Force had maintained, adding that it would be sustained.
“The Air Force as an institution has been a very important agent of development in this nation and you have done tremendously well for the country over the years.”
Commenting on the plan of the service to provide houses for the lower ranks, the minister said that the initiative was very timely and in line with the FCT Administration’s general vision and focus.
“Last week, we held an interactive meeting with officials of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria.
“We told them in clear terms that any new land we provide for mass housing will now really be geared towards the lower income level,” he said.
Bello said that over the last few years, private individuals and estate developers had built a lot of houses in Abuja.
“But all tended to cater for the high end market and as a result, most of these houses are still unoccupied and have remained a big challenge.’’
Earlier, the Chief of Air Staff lauded the excellent relationship between the Air Force and the FCTA.
He said that as a service, the Nigeria Air Force had the responsibility to ensure that every inch of the Nigerian territory was secured and also safe for people to go about their legitimate aspirations.
Abubakar also said that the Air Force would continue to do everything humanly possible in support of other security agencies, particularly the Police, which is constitutionally empowered to handle the issues of internal security.
He thanked the minister for all the titles the force had received for its landed properties in Abuja.
“The service is looking at addressing the welfare needs of officers and men, particularly the air men who deserve some attention in the area of ensuring that their welfare is well taken care of.
“That is why we are looking at a way of coming up with non-commissioned officers’ housing programme.
“This is a programme that is aimed at giving opportunities to non-commissioned officers to also have opportunities to own a house by the time they leave the service.”
Abubakar said the Air Force would continue to function in line with its constitutional responsibilities and continue to collaborate with other security agencies to ensure that the FCT remained safe and secured.
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Police arrest eight persons over Abuja clash
The Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Wilson Inalegwu, said eight suspects had been arrested in connection with the clash in Gwagwalada on Saturday.
Inalegwu told newsmen in Abuja on Thursday that investigation on the incident in which houses, shops and vehicles were destroyed, had reached advanced stage to unravel the remote and immediate causes of the fracas.
“All those found wanting will soon be taken to court for prompt prosecution,’’ he said.
He said that no stone would be left unturned in applying the law fully in order to serve as deterrent to anyone who may want to follow the same barbaric path.
He disclosed that normalcy had returned to the area and assured residents of the FCT that security agencies are on top of the situation.
NAN recalls that the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, had while reacting to the incident, directed the security agencies in the territory to arrest those involved in the clash.
The minister also directed the agencies to ensure that all those involved in the fracas faced the full wrath of the law, saying that nobody was above the law.
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Abuja security is paramount to us – Minister
The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, has given assurance that the FCT Administration will continue to support the security agencies in the Federal Capital Territory in order to effectively discharge their duties.
Bello said this while receiving the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ekwe Ibas, who paid him a working visit on Monday in Abuja.
Bello said that everything should be done to protect lives and property, adding that the security of Abuja is paramount to the FCT Administration.
He stressed that Abuja, being the seat of government of Nigeria and the “window’’ through which the world viewed Nigeria, needed to be well secured.
He said that no effort should spare to ensure adequate security of lives and property of both residents and visitors to the FCT.
Bello emphasized that security agents were stakeholders in the Abuja project; stressing that the FCT Administration would continue to collaborate with them in this onerous task.
The minister noted that his administration would partner with the Nigerian Navy to play its part to further secure the territory.
“Although, the territory is not bounded by international waters which is the primary responsibility of the Nigerian Navy, still the, Navy has a role to play.
“The presence of the Navy in Abuja which is the seat of power calls for closer collaboration between the FCT Administration and the Navy.”
He urged the Nigerian Navy to liaise with other security agencies to make Abuja safer.
He said this could be done by way of intelligence sharing, to nip in the bud any security breach.
He said that the administration was working on modalities to ease the processes by which people could easily develop their plots.
Bello said that the administration would make the entire process easier to forestall challenges that hindered smooth development for private, public and commercial plots.
Earlier, the Chief of Naval Staff, requested the FCTA to assist the Navy perfect documentation, particularly title documents on its landed property in order to attract and partner with private developers.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye, Executive Secretary of FCDA and other top management staff of the FCTA attended the meeting.