The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Musa Dikko

  • FERMA restates commitment to road maintenance

    The Acting Managing Director, Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Mr Nuruddeen Rafindadi, has reiterated the commitment of the agency to maximise its limited resources in the maintenance of federal roads across the country.

    Rafindadi said this while receiving the Bwari Area Council Chairman, Mr Musa Dikko in his office on Friday in Abuja.

    He said the agency was always ready to assist in road maintenance, especially federal roads that demand urgent attention.

    “We have interest in roads in the FCT even though FCT roads are not strictly under our jurisdiction; our jurisdiction is to carry out maintenance on federal roads.

    “We are always interested in seeing what we can do either wholly or partly on any road that will ensure the wellbeing of every road users in Nigeria.

    “We are always ready to help within constrain of our resources, we have responsibility for the maintenance and repair works on all federal roads across the country,’’ Rafindadi said.

    He explained that due to the limited resources, the agency does careful prioritization of the conditions of roads and its effect on the users before repair.

    The Acting MD, however, thanked the chairman for visiting the organisation and acknowledged the work they had done in the Bwari Area Council.

    Earlier, the Chairman of Bwari area council thanked the MD for carrying out maintenance work on some of the roads in the area council.

    Read Also: FG committed to maintenance, reconstruction of Federal roads

    He said that the condition of roads infrastructure in the council was his major challenge on assumption of duty two years ago as the council’s chairman.

    Dikko said the council had written 47 memos to the FCT, particularly as it affects road construction and maintenance, adding that work was ongoing on some of the roads.

    He said that the council was not relenting in opening up access roads and in maintaining existing roads.

    The chairman also pleaded with the MD to consider the ushafa pottery village road, adding that it was in terrible condition.

    “ While you maintain our roads we are all going to tap from this, Bwari area council has a place that with potential for revenue generation, potential for tourism development.

    “ If the road that leads to the Ushafa pottery village is maintained people from outside the country can come and buy pottery work at a very cheap rate,’’ he said.

    The chairman said that the council has also built standard markets, especially in Kubwa, adding that seven markets were presently under construction in the council.

    He said that the council was working seriously to increase its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to ensure that road maintenance would not only be for FERMA alone.

    “When the IGR increases road maintenance will not only be for FERMA but Local Government can also support.’’

    On the issue of security, he said that the security of the council was under control, adding that the issue has been taken over by the FCT administration.

    He called on Bwari residents to continue to maintain peace and live their normal lives, adding that people should not be afraid of coming to the area council.

    NAN

  • Bwari crisis: Committee submits report on damages, victims

    Bwari crisis: Committee submits report on damages, victims

    The ad hoc committee, set up to assess and collate data on damages incurred during the recent Bwari crisis, has submitted its report to the Chairman, Bwari Area Council, Mr Musa Dikko.

    Dikko, while receiving the report on Tuesday in Bwari, Abuja, reiterated the council’s commitment to bring succour to the affected traders in the area.

    According to him, the report would be used to attend to the welfare of the victims.

    “This report is not an investigation report on what led to the crisis but a report on the number of persons, shops and owners of the shops affected both in and outside the market.

    Read also: Bwari residents bemoan their condition after communal clash

    “It is to give government an idea on how to go about assisting the victims.

    “I assure you that the recommendation in this report would be put into consideration and implemented immediately.

    Dikko noted that investigations on what led to the Christmas day crisis are still ongoing at the FCT level, adding that the FCT Minister has constituted a panel on the matter.

    He, however, commended the committee for a job well done and for submitting the report on time.

    Earlier, Mrs Evelyn Chukwu, Chairperson of the committee and Secretary of the council, said that the report included the number of persons, who were hospitalised but are out of the hospital and also the number of deaths recorded.

    She added that the report also included the number of traders, whose shops were burnt in and around the market, including shops on the streets.

    Chukwu noted that the data collated was in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Nigerian police and the Department of State Security (DSS ).

    Recall that the Bwari, FCT town, was on Christmas day hijacked by suspected cultists, who burnt shops in the market and mounted bonfire and barricades to prevent vehicular movement.

    The council, subsequently, set up an ad hoc committee to assess the number of people affected and damages with a view to bring succour to the victims.

    NAN

  • Ex-lawmaker, area councils advocate bailout funds for LGCs

    Mr Tanko Abari, a former Member in the House of Representatives, and some area council chairmen in the FCT have advocated for bail-out funds for local government councils in the country.

    They spoke through separate interviews while fielding questions from newsmen at the maiden Town-hall meeting organised by Bwari Area Council to mark one year of office.

    Abari said that the special intervention grant would enable the distress councils address none payment of salaries and possibly execute some development projects.

    He decried “huge debts’’ incurred by past council administrations, noting that such burden hinder growth at the grassroots level.

    Abari, who represented Abuja Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, also regretted paucity of funds to cause economic hardship for local government administration.

    He recalled that the Federal Government recently gave bailout funds to some state governors that had challenge with payment of salaries.

    According to him, past administrations could not pay their staff salaries in the six area councils that make up the FCT.

    Abari said: “Now that backlog is still been faced by some of the area council administration, because of that there is need for President Muhammadu Buhari to give them bailout funds.

    “The FCT Minister should equally do same because he is our governor, to enable council Chairmen settle salary debts and pay contractors.”

    He commended the Bwari Area Council Chairman, Mr Musa Dikko, for initiating the forum, describing it as apt.

    The ex-legislator said that the bailout would promote community growth if the fund was granted the area councils.

    In separate interviews, Mr Abdullahi Candido, Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council, said the quest for bail-out fund was key because the monthly allocation granted area councils was inadequate.

    He said that the bail-out fund was expected because the impact of the nation’s economic situation was mostly felt by people at the grassroots level.

    Candido said: “The people will not be willing to listen to stories and lamentation. So what is supposed to be done by the Federal Government is to augment efforts of area councils.

    “We are facing consequences of no funding and even the when the fund comes it is always inadequate to tackle infrastructural problems.

    “If the FCT Administration can intervene by granting bailout funds to us, it will help to relief us of backlog of debt been owed by past leadership of the councils.’’

    On his part, Mr Abdullahi Galadima, the Chairman of Kuje Area Council, disclosed that the various council chairmen had appealed to the FCT Minister for the fund in the past.

    He identified inability to pay council staff their salaries up to date to be major challenge that impedes development at the area councils.

    Galadima said:“We will pay the workers their due salary if the bailout fund is given to us, most times we go extra mile just to make them happy.

    “We had complained and have also channeled our complaints on the need for bailout fund to the FCT Minister; I believe he is working towards it.”

  • NHF: Council chairman tasks FMBN to ensure effective enlightenment programme

    Malam Musa Dikko, Chairman, Bwari Area Council, FCT has urged the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to embark on effective enlightenment programme to improve the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme.

    Dikko told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, that the bank needed to do more sensitisation on the scheme, especially on its Home Renovation Loan (HRL) programme, for the interest of the contributors.

    NAN reports that the FMBN, FCT branch on March 23, 2017 disbursed N27.6m loan to the first batch of 29 civil servants in the council who benefited from the HRL scheme.

    Another batch of 49 beneficiaries have been approved by the bank but yet to get access the loan.

    Dikko, who described the HRL as a unique programme noted that many people neither took the loan serious nor believed in it at the local council, “maybe because of the antecedent of the past.”

    He, however, urged the staff of the council and others in FCT to see HRL as one that had to do with their future and as such begin to contribute effectively.

    “We want to urge the NHF managers to be more effective, to come out with the programme of enlightenment that will enable others to partake.

    “Members of staff of the council who have endured the pain and process of contributing to the NHF are beneficiaries of the programme.

    The chairman assured that the council would ensure that remittance that had to do with the contribution was done periodically.

    “It has to do with one’s future and should be taken seriously”.

    Dikko noted that there was serious housing deficiency, adding that per cent because only 25 per cent of residents of Bwari area had actually been accommodated as per housing programmes.

    “There is no other reason than linking it to the Master Plan of the FCT.

    “Bwari area council is not in the master plan of mass production of houses or government programmes in terms of mass housing.

    According to him, there is a need for government to commence mass housing in the council which is a gateway to the FCT, so that civil servants can have shelter over their heads.

    The HRL which is specifically designed for NHF contributors who desire to improve existing property, owned by them, is introduced by the FMBN to ensure that more contributors benefit from the scheme.

    The HRL affords Nigerians opportunity to access mortgage loans of N1 million for renovation or improvement of their existing homes.

    NHF scheme was established in 1992 to address the constraints to the mobilisation of long term funds for housing finance and ensure that every Nigerian has access to housing loans.