The Nation Newspaper

Tag: inaugurates

  • Delta inaugurates 22 road projects

    Delta State government has inaugurated 22 road projects out of the 47 contracts awarded in the last one year, Information Commissioner Patrick Ukah has said.

    Ukah, who spoke after an Executive Council meeting in Asaba, said the government approved the building and rehabilitation of six roads.

    He assured residents that the government would monitor the projects to ensure timely completion.

    “The Asaba/Illah/Ebu Road, which was ceded to the state government by the Federal Government, will soon be rehabilitated.’’

    The commissioner said blocked drains in Asaba would be fixed.

    He said the government would improve infrastructure despite its financial challenges.

    “Six roads across the three senatorial districts were approved on Tuesday by the Executive Council for construction, rehabilitation and maintenance.

    “First is the rehabilitation and asphalt overlay of the 24-kilometre Nsuukwa/Ejeme Aniogor/Owa-Alidinma road cutting across Aniocha South, Ndokwa West and Ika South local governments.

    “The rehabilitation and asphalt overlay of 12-kilometre Ekrerhavwe/Orhuakpor/Isiokolo Road in Ughelli North and Ethiope East councils.

    “The continuation of the reconstruction and completion of phase III, 3.75 kilometre Amai/Ezionum/Abbi Road in Ndokwa West Local Government.

    “The reconstruction of 3.1 kilometre Ovwian Main Road, off Udu Road in Udu Local Government.

    “The construction of 1.5 kilometre Oporoza Palace Road in Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South West Local Government.

    “The building of 2.1 kilometre Rigid Concrete Pavement Road at Obitobon Elolo Ajakunogbe-Orubu Road Ogidiban, Warri South West Council.’’

    Ukah called for public support to enable the government deliver the dividends of democracy to the people, saying other roads would be given attention to link communities.

    According to him, when the roads are completed, they will open up agrarian communities and boost economy.

    The commissioner said besides intercity road construction, streets in Asaba, Warri and other cities would be fixed.

    He said the government would build a secretariat to accommodate the ministries.

    “The Asaba Airport is a major project embarked on by the government. On completion, bigger planes, such as Boeing 747, can land at the airport,’’ Ukah said.

  • Institute inaugurates regional coordinators

    The Institute of Agricultural  Research and Training, Moor Plantation,  Ibadan, has inaugurated regional co-ordinators for soil development to foster food sufficiency in the country.

    Inaugurating the committee, the institute’s Executive Director, Prof. James Adediran, said members comprised professors and specialists on soil.

    According to him, the committee is expected to raise a team of soil scientists that cut across all disciplines in soil sciences in their respective regions.

    He noted that the committee would also co-ordinate research activities for agricultural transformation in the country.

    Adediran said: “Based on our national mandate, we are well positioned to do this through the cooperation from each region. We are to raise a team of soil scientists in the region that cuts across all disciplines in Soil Science and to also collaborate with other regions in planning and executing soil research programmes in Nigeria.

    “We are also saddled with the responsibility of identifying challenges and environmental impacts on soils with the aim of providing sustainable methods of land use in all the regions.”

    Speaking on the need for such development, Adediran said the mandate for national soil research was given to the institute by the Federal Government in 1978 when the Ministry of Agriculture was recognised to conduct and co-ordinate research for the development of soil management technology in all agro-ecologies.

  • FHA inaugurates revenue teams

    FHA inaugurates revenue teams

     •Issues N600m demand notice

    The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has inaugurated new revenue teams for Gwarinpa, Lugbe, Kubwa and Karu housing estates in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the Southwest Zonal Office in Lagos.

    The teams, which took off early this month, were set up, following the non-performance of the previous ones.

    FHA’s Managing Director, Professor Mohammed Al-Amin, explained that the teams were set up to enable the Authority generate more revenue to enable it meet up with its commitments of about N1 billion between this month and next January.

    The FHA chief, in a document obtained by The Nation, said the  team members were appointed based on merit, integrity and track record of performance, urging them to justify the confidence reposed in them by Management.

    He promised to provide the committees with logistics, adding that they steer clear of controversy.

    Al-Amin promised that funds would be released for roads repairs and other infrastructure in Lugbe Estate to enable the team get the co-operation of allottees and residents of the estate. He urged them to pay attention to alterations, change of use and other abuses in the estates.

    The Authority’s Business Development Executive Director, Mr. Aniedi Akpabio, charged the team members that the Management would be expecting positive reports from them as soon as posible.

    Its Housing Finance, Accounts and Corporate Services Executive Director, Mrs. Nkechi Nwazota, said the members should send reports of their challenges and progress to the Managemnent of FHA.

    Many of the team members complained of the tenement rates the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) collects from estates’residents and the fees collected by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).

    Meanwhile, the Gwarinpa Estate, Abuja Revenue Team has sent out demand notices worth N627 million.

    Its Leader, Comfort Ayeni, said the bills were for use charges and ground rents. Also, she said, bills of about N577 million had been despatched to property owners on change of use while about N105 million ground rent charges had been served on 105 units of Abriba duplexes in the estate.

    She said the team was concentrating on the seven avenues in the estate and would move to the inner streets later.

    In her report to the FHA, Ayeni explained that the major challenge the team has encountered so far were the multiple charges allegedly levied against allottees by the AMAC, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) and other agencies of the FCDA.

    She said though the FHA had got approval to collect Change of Use Charges since 2012, many of the allottees claimed to have been told by the FCDA that they had taken over the responsibility for such collection from the Authority.

    The Team Leader said there was the need to sensitise staff on the revenue drive, adding that they had experienced stiff opposition  from some of the Authority’s workers.

    She said her team would need more hands, security and logistics  to succeed in its assignment, urging the Authority to map out the means of ensuring prompt payment by allottees who had been served with demand notices.

  • Ayade inaugurates 134km dual carriage Cross River road

    Ayade inaugurates 134km dual carriage Cross River road

    Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade at the weekend inaugurated the construction work on a 134 kilometers Mfom-Okpoma-Imaje-Bekwarra-Obudu-Obanliku dual carriage road in the northern part of the state.

    The road will re-energise and increase footfalls into the famous Obudu ranch resort and provide access to produce markets, according to government officials.

    It is a federal road which traverses the five local government areas that constitute the Northern Senatorial District. The value of the project is N31 billion. The completion period is 30 months.

    Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony attended by indigenes of Bekwarra, Yala, Ogoja, Obudu and Obanliku local government councils, Ayade described the event as “the beginning of a new journey in the history of the Northern Senatorial District which for 45 years has been denied the luxury of driving on good roads caused by the challenges of the times and circumstances not caused by our people.”

  • Ayade inaugurates 2016 Calabar Carnival

    Ayade inaugurates 2016 Calabar Carnival

    Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade yesterday inaugurated the 2016 dry run to signify the commencement of the 2016 annual Calabar Carnival.

    Ayade said the celebration marked the 12th anniversary of the carnival.

    The theme of the 2016 carnival is ‘Climate Change.’ The carnival is ‘the largest street party in Africa.’

    Ayade said the carnival had promoted talent and creativity, adding that it had united the people of Cross River and Nigeria.

    “Today, we are flagging off the 12th annual Calabar carnival, the largest street party ever; the greatest show in Africa.

    “We promise to make this year’s carnival the best and fun loving ever,’’ he said.

    Ayade lauded the efforts of the people of Cross River and the participants for coming out en mass for the dry run.

    He invited tourists from all over the world to visit Calabar to experience an exciting carnival.

    Chairman Calabar Carnival Commission Gabriel Onah, said the carnival had continued to grow from strength to strength with yearly innovations.

    “We are celebrating 12 years of Cross River carnival, 12 years of oneness and unity, 12 years in showcasing what we have and what we are’’, Onah said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that five carnival bands :Seagull, Master Blaster, Passion 4, Freedom and Bayside will participate.

    NAN also reports that the participants were beautifully dressed in different attires, while security was mounted in all the carnival routes.

    Dignitaries at the ceremony included Deputy Governor Ivara Esu, Speaker John Gaul-Lebo, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, among others

  • Fed Govt inaugurates N5.9b water project in Bayelsa

    Fed Govt inaugurates N5.9b water project in Bayelsa

    The Federal Govern
    ment yesterday in
    augurated the N5.9 billion Central Ogbia Regional Water Supply Project in Bayelsa State.

    The project is expected to provide water for 130,000 people in 13 communities including Otuoke in the state.

    Otuoke is former President Goodluck Jonathan’s town.

    Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, who stated this at the inauguration of the project in Otuoke, said the project which was started by Dr. Jonathan, was completed in line with the agenda of the present administration to complete ongoing water projects in the country.

    There are about 116 ongoing water projects across the country in which the government hopes to spend about N505.6 billion to complete.

    Adamu   said the federal government is committed to completing all previously abandoned water projects so as to improve the livelihood of Nigerians, adding that adequate water supply for human and livestock production is a crucial aspect of socioeconomic development.

    He said availability water is a first step towards achieving the peoples’ wellbeing.

    Adamu said the recently launched roadmap on water resources called for immediate and long term strategies for effective and efficient delivery of water services to the people.

  • Institute inaugurates electoral committee

    The National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN) has inaugurated a four-man electoral committee to supervise the electoral process that will usher in a new council in November.

    The President and Chairman of Council, Aare Ganiyu Koledoye, disclosed at the institute’s head office in Lagos. According to him, the committee is to ensure fair-play in the election.

    Koledoye said one of the resolutions of the outgoing council was a regulatory frame-work that would ensure fairness for everyone, who aspired to contest in the elections.

    “In the last four years, we have been able to achieve that. We’ve succeeded in removing hooliganism and tantrums from our electoral process. Today, the process is now more organised and transparent, with the rancours always associated with such elections in the past, gone forever,” he said.

    Koledoye debunked insinuations in some quarters that he would run for another term, saying he would not vie for a second term.

    “I decided not to run because I had seen the difficult times of the institute, and now that the institute is experiencing a new phase, I do not want to be part of the problems,” he said.

    However, the chairman of the electoral committee, Adeola Oladele, an engineer,  stated that the call for nominations for the elections, scheduled for November 18,   commenced on Tuesday, August 30, assuring that attempts would be made by the committee to sensitise members of the institute to fully participate in this very significant event on the institute’s calendar.

  • Buhari inaugurates N100 million intensive care facility in Kano

    Buhari inaugurates N100 million intensive care facility in Kano

    •Govt okays School of Nursing and Midwifery for Nguru in Yobe 

    President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated the Intensive Care Unit at Dala Orthopaedic Hospital, Kano.

    The N100 million facility was donated by Alhaji Aminu Dantata, a businessman.

    The President, who was represented by the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, recalled that in 2007, Alhaji Dantata also donated two  projects to the hospital – General Ward and Amenity Suite.

    Ehanire also praised Amasco, Minjirya Health Services and Pedmic Nigeria Limited for their donations  to the Spinal Centre in the hospital.

    He said the government was committed to improving the health of Nigerians, calling on healthcare professionals to set targets for themselves to ensure the healthcare system becomes one of the best in the world.

    The Minister later visited Dantata to thank him for his contributions to the sector and prayed that God would give him the ability to do more.

    Dantata said he always felt elated whenever he contributed to the development of humanity, adding that such contributions are rewarded by the Almighty Allah.

    He reiterated that he would continue to support the sector in the state and other parts of the country,   urging the government to provide drugs and equipment to hospitals.

    The Medical Director, Dr. Muhammed Musa, while praising Dantata for the gesture, acknowledged that the hospital provides care not only to people of the state but to others from neighbouring states.

    Meanwhile, to solve the manpower needs in the sector, especially in the Northeast, the Federal Government has approved the establishment of School of Nursing and Midwifery in Nguru Local Government of Yobe State.

    The Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, Dr. Abubakar Musa, made this known during Ehanire’s tour of the hospital.

    Musa said: “The Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, in its efforts to fulfil one of its mandates of health manpower training, got the approval of its then Board of Management, the Federal Ministry of Health and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria to establish a School of Midwifery. This is in order to address the growing shortage and imbalance in the availability of skilled manpower that is prevalent in the North -East and most especially in Yobe State, which is viewed as among the worst in the country.”

    The school is to be situated at the former Federal Medical Centre old site, as the Medical Centre has moved to its permanent site.

    Ehanire expressed optimism that the school, when in full operation, would reduce the manpower challenge, not only within the catchment areas but the entire state.

    Ehanire said: “I fully approve and support the efforts to develop human resources based staff, especially the School of Nursing and Midwifery to start as quickly as possible because we need those resources based officers urgently.”

    He urged the people living in the area to avail themselves of the school’s programmes and use the skills acquired to assist the sick in their communities.

    The Minister urged the hospital’staff to put in at least, 40 hours weekly.

    “While we are struggling to ensure that FMC Nguru gets its fair share from the Federal Government, you should also work with dedication and humility for at least the number of hours expected of you per day,” he added.

    The Minister noted that with the Federal Government’s policy of revitalising 10,000 Primary Healthcare Centres across the country, and with the launch of saving one million lives programme, which Federal Government has disbursed $1.5million  to  the states to improve primary health care centres, the pressure on the Federal Medical Centre would be reduced.

    He added that the Primary Healthcare Centre would be handling basic health care services while the Federal Medical Centre would only serve as referral centre.

  • Relief as lawmaker inaugurates Surulere clinic

    Relief as lawmaker inaugurates Surulere clinic

    There was jubilation in Surulere Local Government, Lagos State, over the weekend when House of Representatives Leader Femi Gbajabiamila inaugurated the Surulere Clinic at Baracks area.

    Residents, workers, stakeholders and other dignitaries witnessed the short and informal ceremony.

    Addressing the attendees, Gbajabiamila recalled the difficulties encountered in completing the project, which took off over 10 years ago.

    He said: “This project is over 10 years old. At a point, the things we bought were vandalised and stolen. The local government chairman then could not help. There were some powerful people, who said it was over their dead body that this project would be completed.”

    The lawmaker hailed the local government’s Executive Secretary, Mrs. Bamidele Hussain, for her support and dedication to the completion of the project and other projects in the local government.

    The lawmaker said the hospital standard would be at par with that of other local government clinics across the world.

    He donated three fully equipped ambulances, one each, to three hospitals in the local government at Akerele, Randu and the new Surulere Clinic, to commemorate the day.

    “I place a lot of importance on health matters. Every year, we have our two-day health festival in Surulere, where we bring in health facilitators from around the world. We must pray that nobody has any reason to visit this place, but if you do, you will enter and come out in good health.

    “It is important that we understand that health is wealth. We would not compromise, but we will ensure it measures up to the standard of any local government clinic across the world,” he said.

    Mrs. Hussain, who played host at the event, said the clinic would be named “Hon Femi Gbajabiamila Clinic”.

    She said: “The provision of this facility is based on the sustainability of the health care sector in our local government. That is why the package of the facility revolves around a comprehensive health services.”

  • Ajimobi inaugurates caretakers today

    Ajimobi inaugurates caretakers today

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi will today inaugurate the caretaker chairmen for the 33 local governments at the Executive Chambers of the Governor’s Office.

    The House of Assembly had screened and cleared the last batch of the chairmen nominees on February 26.

    Chairman, House Committee on Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and State Honours, Bolaji Badmos, representing Akinyele II, had cleared the  nominees after their appearance before the committee.

    A statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication and Strategy, Yomi Layinka, said the event will take place by noon.

    The governor had three weeks ago submitted the names to the Assembly for screening.