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Tag: gwagwalada

  • Customs warns officers on information transmission

    Customs warns officers on information transmission

    The Comptroller- General, Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali retired on Tuesday warned officers of the service on information transmission.

    He said that “Consequently any non-designated officer that transmits or circulation information that should be properly handled by the PRO will be sanctioned.”

    He spoke while declaring the workshop on crisis communication which the service organised for its PROs and customs correspondents in Customs Command and Staff College, Gwagwalada, Abuja.

    According to Ali, messages from the NCS must always be correct and professionally communicated to the public.

    He noted that the ability of any organisation to deliver on its mandates depends largely on how it is understood.

    Ali said PR can, therefore, be a tool for entrenching higher integrity among operatives and compliance from stakeholders.

    The Customs boss revealed that NCS is among the few organisations in Nigeria that have already complied with Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) requirements that only members of the Institute are appointed as PROs.

    He recalled that in 2012, virtually all NCS PROs were inducted as Associate Members of NIPR.

    Ali vowed that NCS under his watch will continue to encourage professionalism by providing support for such training and retraining of PR officers in addition to other core Customs courses.

    NIPR president, Dr Rotimi Oladele decorated Ali as an ordinary fellow of the institute.

    According to him, Ali will always win in a crisis situation because he means well for the country.

    He advised the NCS to learn to extinguish crises.

  • UATH: Cleaners decry staggered salary payment

    Cleaners and porters in the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) on Sunday decried the irregular salary payment which had resulted into three months arrears.

    Some of cleaners and porters told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gwagwalada that the delay of the N15,000 monthly salary was not in the interest of the workers.

    A cleaner in the hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told NAN that their salaries had not been paid since January.

    “It has all along been deceit. They will owe us for three months, pay one month and wait again for another three months before one month will be paid.

    “It has not been easy for us because, apart from the fact that the salary is small, it is not coming as it should be,” he said.

    The cleaner called for the intervention of the hospital management and other stakeholders to review the salary upward and ensure prompt payment.

    A porter in the hospital, who also requested anonymity, told NAN that the two categories of workers were not directly employed by the hospital.

    She said they were employed by consultants engaged by the hospital, adding that the hospital management could be of assistance in resolving the issue.

    ‘Our work is important to the hospital and patients coming here. We need management to do something about this issue so as to boost our morale,” she said.

    Mr Frank Omagbon, UATH spokesman, said that the management was not aware that salaries of cleaners and porters were being owed for three months.

    He said that the hospital has not paid the consultants in charge of these workers, adding that he had no knowledge of the number of months.

    “I am aware that the hospital is indebted to the consultants but cannot say exactly the number of months.

    “Paucity of fund, like it is in many organizations, is the reason for the indebtedness and the consultants are adequately informed,” he said.

    Omagbon said the hospital management would channel the complaint to the appropriate quarter.

  • Meningitis: UNICEF donates drugs to Abuja

    The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has donated 1,000 doses of drugs to FCT Primary Health Care Development Board for the treatment of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) in Abuja.

    The Executive Secretary of the Board, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday.
    He explained that the drugs had been distributed to all General Hospitals and Teaching Hospital in the territory.
    According to him, World Health Organisation (WHO) also donated three stereotyping machines to carry out tests of CSM in FCT.
    He told NAN that those machines were distributed to Maitama General Hospital, Jabi Medical Centre and University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada.
    The secretary urged people living in Abuja to desist from self medication and report when they notice any sign of meningitis to the nearest hospitals.
    Mohammed said that so far six persons had died out of 10 suspected cases recorded in Abuja Municipal, Bwari and Kuje Area Councils.
    He said that he had exhausted the vaccines given to FCT but awaiting additional stocks from National Primary Health Care Development Agency for the continuation of Immunisation against meningitis.
    He said that his board had carried out immunisation in all the 22 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Abuja because of their vulnerability to the disease.
    The secretary enjoined residents of FCT not to panic, saying that the government was committed to tackling the spread of CSM in Abuja.

  • Gwagwalada shines at NECO awards

    Gwagwalada shines at NECO awards

    Before last week, Mr Yakubu Mudi and his wife, Mary, had never been to an airport much less entered a plane.

    But thanks to his son, Egbunu, Yakubu, a security officer at the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA), and his wife made the trip from their humble abode in Gwagwadala on the fringes of Abuja, to Lagos for the 2016 Learn Africa NECO Excellence Awards organised by Learn Africa Education Development Foundation.

    Egbunu, a pupil of the School for the Gifted, Gwagwalada, made the overall best candidate in the June/July 2016 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO).

    “I have never been to the airport before not to mention of entering a plane,” Yakubu said with a grin. “Today, we entered a plane to Lagos, which is also our first time of being here. This is just to confirm that a good child can bring back opportunity that his parents once lost in a lifetime.”

    The Mudis mounted the podium to join their son who shone like a million stars as he received a plaque and N100.000 cheque at the event held at the Renaissance Hotel, GRA, Ikeja.

    Interestingly, Gwagwadala also produced both first and second runners up for the award – Sulaiman Ibrahim, also from the School for the Gifted, and Osemeke Ogorchukwu Mary of Louisville Senior Girls Secondary School, Gwagwalada.

    Egbunu’s teacher, Mr Sandy Udeme Okpongette, emerged the overall best teacher nationwide.

    In the subject category, Iremiren Isiah of Rainbow College, Maba, Ogun State, won the New Concept prize for best grade in English Language; Akpeti Loyalty of Delta Careers College, Effurun Delta State, clinched the New Concept prize for best grade in Mathematics.

    Similarly, Enenmoh Ikechukwu of Marist Comprehensive College, Nteje , Anambra State, won Dr Ameyo Stella Adadevoh Prize for the Best Grade in Biology, while John Felix Temitope of Knoxfield Comprehensive College, Ijoko-Ota (Ogun State), won the J. F. Ade-Ajayi Prize for the Best Grade in History. All awardees, including, Okpongette got N100,000 and a plaque each.

    Chairman of the Foundation, Mr Emeka Iwerebon, said the award was instituted in 2012 as part of the Corporate Social Responsible initatives of LearnAfrica Plc.  Its aim is to inspire “the intrinsic flame of excellence in Nigerian students, motivate them to work harder and encourage a culture of healthy rivalry among them.”

    He said the award which wraps up this year following a five year plan, would have rewarded a total of 550 exceptional students, 500 outstanding schools, and 185 teachers with prizes such as cash, computers, plaques and certificates, among others.

    Iwerebon also congratulated state winners who received their prizes at the 13 zonal award centres between November 13 and 24.

    He noted that the firm’s publications particularly in core subjects of Mathematics English Language and others have impacted nationally and must have rubbed off on many of the winners.

    Though the foundation would be taking a break from the award, Iwerebon said its programmes would still revolve around students, teachers and schools.

    Representative of NECO Dr Ikechukwu Anyawu praised Learn Africa for the five-year partnership.

    He said researches conducted by NECO showed that children from homes with libraries, and committed parents, teachers and schools, stand a better chance of winning the award.

    He said he was happy that unlike last year, which was dominated by females, males won the awards across all categories this year.

    Anyawu told the audience that the selection process was unbiased.

    “We try as much as possible to guard against compromise by not being physically involved, but allowing our database to throw up outstanding students.  In other words, the award is not decided by grade but by mark. What we mean is that another candidate, like Egbunu, can also have As in all subjects. But Egbunu must have had the highest marks in the subjects among all candidates to be adjudged the overall winner,” he said.

     

  • Petrol attendant found, returned missing money

    Petrol attendant found, returned missing money

    Efe Okposio who lost his N30,000 at a petrol station has found his missing money returned to him by the fuel attendant who found it.

    According to Efe, he drove into the Mobile filling station on Teaching Hospital road Gwagwalada Abuja to get fuel.

    He never knew when thirty thousand Naira dropped off his car when he opened the door. He was about picking up something’s at his next stop when he discovered his money was missing.

    He drove round in search for the money before he finally returned to the filling station where he previously stopped-by to get fuel. He then asked the female fuel attendant by the name Esther.

    According to Efe, “she went straight to the office and brought out the thirty thousand Naira and handed it over to me.”

    He was amazed that the female fuel attendant who found the money would return the money that is twice her salary.

  • Police arrest eight persons over Abuja clash

    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.

     

  • Photo: Waste collection at Gwagwalada market

    Photo: Waste collection at Gwagwalada market

  • Canada supports Gwagwalada policing

    The High Commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, Mr. Perry Calderwood has congratulated Women Friendly Initiative (WFI) on the inauguration of the Community Security Support Group in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja.

    The project is aimed at contributing to the reduction in crime in the community.

    He said that the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), focuses on funding projects with long-term sustainable goals that enhance the local community.

    This was made known in a press statement signed by the Public Affairs Officer, Ezinne Uluocha.

    Calderwood said in the statement, “This project supports the effective participation of the community in decision making around local policing. This community-based policing approach is improving the security of women, men and children. I congratulate Women Friendly Initiative and the key stakeholders in Gwagwalada Area Council on their commitment to work together to improve the security of their community.”

    “She also stated, “The project by Women Friendly Initiative has brought together stakeholders from the Gwagwalada Area Council Security Committee and the local community for regular dialogues to improve relationships, raise awareness of security issues, and increase capacity in crime prevention.  The project builds on a successful 2012 WFI initiative in Kuje Local Government Area.  Both projects have received support from the High Commission of Canada in Abuja’s Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.

    “The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) provides direct funding assistance to community groups, non-government organizations, people’s organizations, international non-governmental organizations, and government institutions for small projects addressing human rights, democratic development and transition, security, rule of law, and good governance, and strengthening economic governance.

    “The CFLI focuses on funding projects with long-term, sustainable goals that enhance the local community.  The program is widely recognized as making a significant contribution to development and capacity-building in Nigeria.”

     

  • Gwagwalada residents get free health services

    EJAYES Charity Organisation, a non-governmental organisation, has said that more than 1,000 people indigenous to Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have benefited from free medical treatment it organised in the area.

    The Coordinator of the group, Dr Ijeoma Nduka disclosed this in a chat with Abuja Review during a week-long free medical treatment at Gwagwalada Township Clinic.

    According to her, the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP), in collaboration with the organisation, was carrying out the exercise in different rural communities.

    She said patients who suffer stroke, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, arthritis and other common illnesses were examined and treated.

    Nduka said majority of the patients diagnosed were not aware of the kind of diseases they were suffering from.
    “Health is not a privilege; it’s a right hence being poor does not stop one from having quality healthcare,” Nduka said.
    She noted that the American Medical Volunteers, a group of health workers, were in Abuja with some medical equipment to look into stroke prevention and treatment and to encourage stroke patients.

    “Being a stroke patient is not the end of one’s life; it could be managed. The team has among them experts from different medical fields to assist these patients,” she said.

    Nduka also said that children with neurological problems were taught through their relations, how to exercise themselves at home on daily living.

    She advised mothers, especially the old ones, who engage in too much hard labour, to always engage in physical exercises that are not strenuous.

    She also advised patients who had been examined and treated, to frequently see their doctors for necessary check-ups to ensure complete recovery.

    Also speaking, Hajiya Aishatu Garba, a Chief Nursing Officer of NAPEP said that “the health volunteers were invited from the United States of America by NAPEP to help alleviate health problems among rural dwellers.

    “We discovered that some people will have diseases like diabetes and hypertension without knowing that they have such. It is through this means that they discovered the ailments.”

    She said that an 11-year-old girl was diagnosed with growth in her bladder during the free medical exercise.
    Nduka, therefore, appealed to authorities of the council to assist the girl’s family in the surgery, since the family could not foot the bill.