The Nation Newspaper

Tag: surveillance

  • ‘Pipeline surveillance too strategic for non-security men’  

    ‘Pipeline surveillance too strategic for non-security men’  

    Ex-militant leader, Eshanakpe Israel a.k.a Akpodoro, has called on the Federal Government to revoke the oil pipelines surveillance contract awarded to a firm, owned by a top poltician.

     Akpodoro, who spoke in a statement in Abuja, argued pipeline surveillance is too strategic to be given to non-security personnel.

     The firm in question is not rendering any security service but only collected the contract for selfish reasons.

     He added  the act establishing Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) gives former militants the right of first refusal in the award of such contract.

     The contract, which ought to have been awarded to Urhobo former agitators, was awarded to the top politician under the guise of empowering Urhobo youths.

     Akpodoro, mayor of Urhoboland, lamented the contract is a ruse for the politician to enrich himself without services being rendered.

     Such act, he noted, is deceptive, saying the contract should be revoked and awarded to Urhobo former militants as was done in other ethnic groups, where such went to former warlords with the expertise to handle such job.

     “Since the contract was awarded to this poltician, there is no record of any Urhobo youth he’s is paying. There’s no visible person that is carrying out any surveillance on the pipelines in Urhobo corridor of the Western axis of the oil pipelines.”

     Akpodoro noted it is evident the politician was awarded the contract using his former office to influence the authority for personal enrichment and not on behalf of Urhobo.

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     ‘’It is absurd to allow the politician remain the security surveillance contractor’’, Akpadoro said, saying ‘’Nigeria needs sincere and committed people to protect critical infrastucture the nation’s survival rests on.

     He called on President Bola Tinubu to rejig the reward system and not toe the wrongful path of the former administration, which patronised the opposition and their in-house collaborators who sabotaged policies and programmes of that government.

     Commending efforts of Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo) Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL) at ridding Nigerian territorial waters of oil theft and sundry crimes, he noted the politician is a liability on the contract and should be atopped for lacking in the capacity to protect the Urhobo axis of the oil pipelines.

  • Stakeholders seek continuity in pipeline surveillance contract

    Stakeholders seek continuity in pipeline surveillance contract

    Since the surveillance contract for the protection of and prevention of oil theft was awarded to TSSNL, the issues of pipeline vandalism, crude adulteration, racketeering and profiteering have become things of the past. There has been relative peace and calm as well as a reduction in the number of oil barrels that the country loses to oil thieves. For continuity, stakeholders urge the Federal Government to expand the scope and renewal of the contract to Tantita Security Service Nigeria Limited (TSSNL). CHINAKA OKORO reports.

    The Niger Delta region has been in the news for long. Most times for the wrong reasons. Its oil accounts for almost 90 per cent of the value of Nigeria’s exports, but the area, according to economic watchers, remains one of Nigeria’s least developed regions.

     As a result of what pundits described as “perceived structural injustice,” in the region, agitation and conflicts sprout in almost every part of the area that constitutes the Niger Delta region.

     The youth of the areas were unhappy about the low level of infrastructural development. They, therefore, felt sidelined in the state of affairs of the area. Agitations were said to have been activated by the youth, though without no support from the elders who feel sad about the sidelining of the region despite its huge contributions to the country’s economic growth. Their support was tacit, though.

     The region became notorious for its agitation for resource control and armed conflicts in the mid-1990s.

     To provide a solution to the intractable problem, the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo established the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in 2000. The creation of the Commission was also aimed at ending the violence and spur socio-economic development in the area.

     Exacerbated by poverty, political disenfranchisement, and the easy availability of firearms, armed groups fought one another over the control of illegally acquired oil, otherwise known as “bunkering” and engaged in violent acts against oil companies.

     Committed to the development of the area, the Obasanjo administration also developed the Niger Delta Peace and Security Strategy, which was to complement the Niger Delta Master Plan, an outline of plans for economic and social development in the region.

     Although Obasanjo did his best in terms of quelling the restiveness of the youth, it was the late President Musa Yar’dau that, in 2009, established the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) for the youth and people of the Niger Delta.

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    The programme was intended to assuage the feelings and yearnings of the rising population of the Niger Delta, particularly as it concerns the material and human development in the region and to stem the tide of armed struggle.

     Added to the reason for the establishment of the PAP by Yar’Adua was the growing need to integrate the people whose wealth, as it were, is the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy into the mainstream of the country’s political developments and possibly end agitation engendered by years of alleged marginalisation.

     The programme was all-embracing and that deeply etched President Yar’dua in the hearts of the people.

     Those indigenous to the Niger Delta region regard the late Yar’dua as a man who had the well-being of the people at heart. They reason that he thought through the need to assuage the ugly feelings of the people; hence the need to calm frayed nerves. The programme, by their reckoning, remained largely successful.

     Incidentally, it was an era when the criminal enterprise of oil theft was at its peak. The illicit trade in oil theft became a thing of pride as men and women of the region proudly stole and traded in crude which belongs to all Nigerians.

     The ripple effect of the oil theft grew to its crescendo when successive administrations looked the other way; which made security agents flourish in the trade.

     It has been alleged that some of them bribed their way into serving in the region, and examples abound where a police sergeant, within three months of posting to the oil-rich region acquired multi-million naira properties in choice areas in the country.

     The flourishing circle of oil theft in that region came to a crescendo when Nigeria’s oil quota plummeted drastically largely due to theft in the oil industry.

     Pipeline vandalism, crude adulteration, racketeering and profiteering were the order of the day, while the country’s vault bears the brunt while oil thieves smiled to the banks. The illicit trade didn’t exclude men and women within the corridors of power as it became known that a large percentage of oil theft was allegedly perpetrated by men in the corridors of power.

     The trend continued until 2016 when a group, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) struck, taking the country by storm. They wreaked havoc on the country’s commonwealth; targeting the same oil facilities that were under the siege of criminal elements.

     While oil theft continued unabated, the damage on oil facilities was immeasurable. But for the strength of the military, in conjunction with groups in the region, particularly the National Coalition of Niger Delta Ex-agitators (NCNDE-A) led by Eshanekpe Israel (also known as Akpodoro) who, currently is the Mayor of Urhobo land the NDA would have crippled the country’s oil industry.

     The Yusuf Burattai army displayed gallantry in the theatre not without Akpodoro’s team and peace returned to the region, leaving the legion of oil thieves to thrive. Oil theft went on between the international network of criminals and the locals championed by the petroleum marketers whose members delighted in stealing petroleum products.

     The Group Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Nigeria Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari initiated the idea to engage private security firms in the surveillance and security of oil facilities to pave the way for a new regime in both the upstream and downstream oil industry.

    Being a commendable initiative, the Federal Government keyed into this laudable idea and Tantita Security Service Nigeria Limited (TSSNL) was handy through the vehicle of logic and accurate reasoning.

      Since TSSNL came into the picture, it has proven to be efficient in its operational area, which is the Western axis of the Nigerian Coastal region.

    The firm established by Chief Government Ekpemukpolo (also known as Tomopolo) has left no one in doubt about his capacity and drive to cut down the strength of oil thieves. He employed a community-based approach and this has paid off; considering the sabotage allegedly perpetrated by the security agencies hitherto.

     TSSNL has rubbished the operations of the enemies of the state in its evidence-based achievements since taking charge of the surveillance and security of oil facilities in that region.

     However, these achievements have never gone down well with those agents of oil theft as they chose to undermine the authority that awarded the surveillance security to the resilient Tompolo who has done well for the good of Nigerians.

    Oil thieves are not happy because TSSNL is thwarting their chances of success in their nefarious activities in the oil industry. The enemies of the state have recruited many faceless groups to fight Kyari, who, in their warped judgment, must be made a scapegoat and possibly sacrificed for their inordinate ambition. They are sponsored groups that bear a series of names, with varying demands from the Federal Government.

     The latest of such kicks was the recent ill-fated rally in Warri by a group of young men under the aegis of RNDA. It threatened fire and brimstone, seeking the sack of Kyari due to his no-nonsense stance against undue sense of entitlement.

     The same group that took arms against the government, destroying every visible infrastructure in 2016, is asking for the sack of Kyari, a man who fixed all they destroyed in the Niger Delta region.

     To allow a group to plunge the region into anarchy again would be suicidal.

     The people of the Niger Delta should not allow any self-serving group to goad the region into arm confrontation against any sitting government rather. The people shall employ the highest level of diplomacy and peaceful engagement as it is done in civilised countries to drive home their demands.

     No country will award security contracts to unpatriotic people or groups with in-depth roots in anarchy and economic sabotage. When due diligence is conducted prior to the award of the contract, such a group will be screened out and this underscores why this RNDA can never be trusted with the country’s oil facilities.

     Integrity and credibility are crucial in any national agenda. The time for soul searching is now. Also now is the time for value rebirth and character reformation. We have gone past the era when demands are made on the government with morbid threats.

     This government must consider the imperatives of the renewal of the TSSNL contract, expand the operational scope to cover another axis of the Nigerian coastal areas, and engage more youths and people to give them a considerable sense of belonging in favourable engagement.

     The Federal Government shouldn’t pander to blackmail and empty threats but should rather engage our youths in empowerment and training to exit them from drugs which is rampant currently. No region or country develops under the atmosphere of chaos. The RNDA should guide its members not to swim against the tide.

     Everyone’s duty and focus should be geared toward the promotion of peace and tranquillity in the Niger Delta. It is a duty for all. No amount of subterfuge or blackmail can be removed from the successes and achievements of the TSSNL and Mele Kyari, who are currently on a rescue mission.

     Kyari, as a top-notch technocrat, has been able to stabilise the energy sector of Nigeria’s economy since his appointment. Kyari stepped on toes when he awarded the surveillance contract to TSSNL; ignoring the rabble-rousers and economic saboteurs. No wonder you see their agents in the form of pseudo-pressure groups.

     Stakeholders are of the view that the Federal Government should expeditiously expand the scope of the TSSNL contract, renew same and increase the contract sum. This, they argued, will engender ripple effects on the economy.

     Groups that are commercial agents for protests will be out of a job and that will end the reign of mischief and misinformation, as their target is the destabilisation of the national economy.

  • Expert seeks cross-border animal disease surveillance

    The Executive Director, Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Dr Olufemi Oladunni has called on the government to strengthen the implementation of cross boarder animal disease surveillance and outbreak response.

    This follows reported impact of climate change raising spread of diseases, such as avian flu, from the neighbouring countries to host countries.

    The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) said by 2050, beef, dairy and poultry consumption are expected to grow by 117 per cent, 557 per cent and 253 per cent from the 2010 levels.

    FAO said Nigeria, in the next 30 to 40 years, will face unprecedented pressure in its livestock production.

    The forecast was built on the evidence that the demand for livestock-based foods would grow rapidly due to increased human population and resultant rise in consumer purchasing power and urbanisation.

    Oladunni said increasing supply, however, also increases the disease risks associated with the cross-border trade of livestock. This, he noted, creates a strong case for the implementation of effective animal disease surveillance and outbreak response.

  • NCAA intensifies surveillance on carriers

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has intensified surveillance on domestic airlines. This include audit of the indigenous carriers, a fallout of the recurring  incidents involving Dana Air, Arik Air and Medview airlines.

    The regulatory agency said its inspectors monitor the airlines, more especially at the ramp areas, stressing that it would continue to sustain and improve on the safety level in the industry.

    Its Director-General, Capt. Muhtar Usman, said the agency was learning from the recent incidents, assuring that the lessons would be applied to prevent calamities.

    Although Usman pointed out that this year has been turbulent in global aviation, he assured that the NCAA would improve on the safety level, adding that the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB’s) recommendations would be implemented.

    This will also include adhering to the eight critical elements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

    “We take note of those incidences that happened. We are going to learn from them to ensure that we don’t have any unforeseen situation. We are intensifying our surveillance, especially the ramping aspect of it; checking, rechecking, training, re-training, inspections as much as possible to ensure that whatever happens is in the past,” Usman explained.

    Reacting to the “intrusion” of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) into aviation, Usman urged the Council to focus more attention in other areas with less regulation, because the industry is one of the most regulated.

    He said the role of CPC should be complementary to NCAA. ‘’As I have said, we have to contend with other international treaties, MoUs and agreements signed by Nigeria. CPC should focus more on other areas that are not so regulated like aviation,” he said.

    He however pointed out that both agencies were working towards a common goal of consumer satisfaction, adding that it would try as much as possible to work with the agency to ensure improvement in the system.

     

  • Surveillance society

    •Nigeria must deploy technology in the fight against crime

    The recent news that the Lagos State Police Command has apprehended two robbers using closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras is yet another demonstration of the way in which modern information and communication technology can help in curbing criminal activity.

    The robbers, a man and a woman, had apparently been holding up commuters in Oshodi and stealing their belongings. After the case was reported to the police, the duo were tracked down, identified and arrested through the use of the CCTV system the Lagos State government had installed in the state’s busiest bus terminus.

    The deployment of CCTV in places like Oshodi is part of an ambitious plan by the state government to ensure that modern technology is fully integrated into crime-fighting strategies. In 2016, the state announced plans to install 13,000 CCTVs as well as 6,000 street lights and sensors. In April last year, mobile surveillance teams were deployed. Made up of specially-equipped CCTV vans in real-time contact with a network of cameras, they are managed by the Lagos State Rapid Response Squad, assisted by the Lagos State Response Unit (LRU).

    Technology-driven integrated surveillance and security systems have over time shown their usefulness in the prevention of crime and its early resolution when it is committed. Criminals can be linked to specific crimes, thereby establishing irrefutable proof of guilt. Fingerprints and DNA samples provide equally indisputable evidence that has been used to convict the most meticulous offenders.

    As usual, however, successive administrations in Nigeria have managed to pervert even this clearly useful innovation and turn it into one more opportunity to misappropriate public resources. Perhaps the most notorious of several CCTV-related scandals is the US $470 million National Public Security Communication System (NPSCS) set up during the Yar’Adua administration.

    Designed to enhance the security of Abuja and its environs, the contract was awarded in August 2010 to a Chinese firm, allegedly without due diligence. It was bedevilled by the absence of transparency, the use of sub-standard materials, and failure to meet set targets, including its completion date of May 2011. Out of the 1,000 cameras in Abuja in 2016, only about 40 were online; the others were either non-functional or vandalised.  None of the security objectives were met, given the spate of terrorist bombings that hit the city in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

    Nigeria’s current security challenges make it imperative that modern technology be integrated into the security apparatus without delay. Oil theft would be reduced to a negligible minimum if pipeline sensors are installed. The increased use of satellite-tracking devices would help to monitor the movements of herdsmen and alert the security forces as to their intentions. And as the Oshodi experience has shown, theft and assault would no longer be so easy to get away with if CCTV provides comprehensive surveillance.

    It is not merely a function of installing equipment, however. The Nigeria Police in particular must undergo comprehensive retraining to make it a truly 21st century security organisation. There should be less emphasis on bashing heads in order to elicit information; instead, the focus should be on acquiring the data which can ensure that there is a greater likelihood that criminals will be caught. In this regard, the forensics and fingerprinting units of the police must be developed beyond what they are at present.

    Nigeria must also expedite action on its national identity project. Rather than throw billions at the scheme, as has repeatedly been the case in the past, different existing databases should be integrated. Thus, permanent voters’ cards, birth registration, tax documentation, passports and similar sources of identification can be merged into a comprehensive database which would constitute the basis of an all-encompassing national identification system.

    The choice before the country is a simple one: to continue suffering from ever-increasing security threats, or to make use of proven technology solutions in confronting them.

     

  • Disaster prevention: We’ve improve monitoring, surveillance capacities

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday said his administration has scaled up the monitoring and surveillance capacities of relevant state agencies to ensure compliance with appropriate laws.

    This, he said, was to avert disaster and resultant loss of lives and properties in the state.

    The Governor who spoke through the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Tunji Bello at the 3rd Lagos State Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Summit added that the administration would also apply sanctions as may be deemed necessary to those who run foul of the provisions.

    He said the government believed that taking necessary steps and precautions to avert disaster is an integral part of effective disaster and emergency management.

    He explained that the government may not have control over the occurrence of natural disaster but can mitigate the effects when such occur depending on how prepared the government was in terms of skilled manpower, availability of necessary equipment and response time.

    Ambode said recent events in some parts of the state have reinforced the need for proactive steps to avert disasters and possible loss of lives and properties.

    The governor stressed that this year’s theme is apt as some parts of the country and the world are witnessing an unprecedented increase in cases of flooding, mudslides, earthquakes, hurricanes among others.

    He said the government also shares the vision of the neighboring DAWN States in promoting effective, sustainable emergency response templates and ultimately every citizen’s safety.

    He said one of the key steps taken by his administration to promote greater efficiency among the various departments and agencies is the creation of the Safety Arena.

    He said: “The idea is to bring together these agencies whose duties are dependent and complementary within the same complex. These agencies include the Fire Service Department; Environmental Health Department; Lagos State Ambulance Services (LASAMBUS); State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit (SEHMU); Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA); Safety Commission; Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA);  Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Corps (LNSC);  Nigerian Legion amongst others.”

  • RUN, Lagos sign MoU on infectious disease surveillance, control

    RUN, Lagos sign MoU on infectious disease surveillance, control

    The Redeemer’s University ‘s African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on infectious disease surveillance and control with the Lagos State government.

    Major objectives of the collaboration include  building the state’s capacity in genomics, especially as it applies to infectious disease diagnostics and strengthening the state’s capability to curtail outbreaks and epidemics .

    Commissioner for Health Dr. Jide Idris said the state’s need to build its research capability in disease surveillance, diagnosis, prevention, control and elimination of infectious diseases, led to the signing of the MoU. He said the university was chosen because it is a centre of excellence for genomics of infectious diseases.

    He said the long-standing relationship between Ikorodu General Hospital (IGH) and Redeemer’s University’s ACEGID was a major impetus in the signing of the MoU.

    Responding, Redeemer’s University Vice-Chancellor,  Prof Debo Adeyewa, recounted the university’s timely and central role in the 2014 Ebola virus epidemic, which led to the successful containment of the disease. He noted with satisfaction that Redeemer’s University, through the efforts of Prof Christian Happi and his research team, diagonised and confirmed the first index case of the disease. In addition, the university, he said, provided all the needed laboratory diagnosis support for EVD in all other suspected cases during the epidemic and thereafter.

    Prof Adeyewa acknowledged that ACEGID has successfully established a network of pathogens hunters in Nigeria, and Africa by training scientists in the field of genomics and establishing infrastructures in various countries.  He said though the achievements of the university were under reported, its contributions, he said, could no longer be undermined in the field of health sciences with major pathogens discovered and innovative diagnostics tools developed in the past three years.

  • Ambode: we’ll deploy LASPOTECH drone for aerial surveillance

    Ambode: we’ll deploy LASPOTECH drone for aerial surveillance

    Drone, a plane-like object made by Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) staff and students, is to be used for aerial surveillance, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode said yesterday.

    Speaking at the institution’s 25th convocation in Ikorodu, Ambode hailed the staff and students for being innovative, promising that government would promote and fund the project to encourage them.

    Ambode also approved the construction of a new main auditorium, administrative block, the renovation of the sports complex and the facelift of facilities on the campus. The new School of Technology Building (Block A) will also be equipped and ` furnished.

    The Governor said it was worthy of note that the 40-year-old LASPOTECH occupies a pride of place among state-owned polytechnics in the country.

    He said efforts must be made to build on the school’s successes in order to make it a true centre of excellence in technological education and research.

    He said being an emerging mega city, tertiary institutions and services in the state must be of acceptable global standards, adding that this was important for the state to compete favourably with other mega cities in the world.

    “Lagos State Polytechnic must rise to the challenge of meeting the technical manpower requirement of both the public and private sectors in not just Lagos State but in the whole nation.

    “We must rise above just providing education for the sake of acquiring a certificate to providing knowledge which will empower our youths to become champions of their generation, to chart their own course and establish enterprises that will create jobs and generate wealth for all.

    “Education is high on the priority list of this administration, and a significant portion of the state budget every year is allocated to education. We recognise the fact that a citadel of learning is as good as the quality of its learning environment in terms of infrastructure, academic and administrative faculties. Our government has invested massively in upgrading the infrastructure and other learning tools in all our tertiary institutions, including this institution.

    “The ultimate goal of this investment in tertiary institutions in Lagos State is beyond meeting the requirements for the accreditation of courses; it is to ensure that tertiary education in Lagos State becomes a benchmark in Nigeria, ranking comparatively with global institutions and producing the leaders of tomorrow,” Ambode said.

    Earlier, LASPOTECH Rector Samuel Sogunro hailed Ambode for his passion for education, noting that he is the first governor to participate in the institution’s convocation in the last 27 years.

    He said despite the prevailing economic reality, the governor raised the institution’s monthly subvention from N153.731million to N210million.

    The governor also allocated N750million for the accreditation of courses billed to take place in the institution, among other interventions, the rector added.

    A total of 9,228 students graduated from 32 departments, with 273 of them bagging distinctions.

    Ambode offered the overall best graduating student, Ejire Adedolapo Abdulazeez, from the School of Pure and Applied Science instant employment in the civil service.

     

  • Call for surveillance on Libya returnees

    SIR: Over 200 Nigerians were reportedly repatriated home by Libyan authority recently and this was followed by another report of additional 241 returnees who fled Libya in suspicious circumstances, some with gunshot wounds.

    Any nation with a proactive security concerns would not just send these returnees to their respective states with mere transport fare.

    Report has it that most of them were stranded in Libya after unsuccessful attempts to cross the Mediterranean into Europe.

    First, if the NEMA’s promise to assist them in startup of small businesses is anything to ponder upon, then it befuddles the mind why such initiative had to elude millions of Nigerians until they attempt life threatening adventures.

    Secondly it seems a vacuous attention is being paid to the security dimension to it.

    How can Nigeria’s border be more secure to prevent further unconventional and dangerous trip abroad particularly when the nation is not a war-ravaged country like Syria?

    The unmanageable proportion of our border threshold is not an acceptable excuse. The federal government can partner with neighbouring countries with contiguous geographical border lines on an integrated technology-driven border control.

    More importantly the overweening desperation of Nigerians to leave the shore of the land for an uncertain greener pasture should give the government serious concern.

    It is high time the palliatives embedded in the 2016 budget were implemented without delay.

    Though President Buhari’s government cannot be blamed for the parlous state or the economy having assumed duty barely 13 months ago, the government would not be blameless in perpetuity if it fails to implement budgetary allocations that seek to attenuate the inclemency of the prevailing “technical recession”.

     

    • Bukola Ajisola,

    bukymany@yahoo.com.

  • Security: Uncompleted buildings under surveillance

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will embark on a comprehensive surveillance of all uncompleted buildings in the Federal Capital Territory to ensure that they are not turned into criminals’ breeding grounds and operational bases.

    FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello said this while receiving some Christian leaders who visited him.

    Bello said that the administration is concerned about several uncompleted buildings across the Federal Capital City and unidentified persons living in such places, who may pose security risk.

    He noted that his administration has been able to tackle some of the people using the under-bridges as their abode and that the operation would continue until the city is rid of such activities.

    According to a statement issued by the Deputy Director/Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, the minister revealed that the administration had earlier spoken to the Muslim community on the unfortunate cases of street begging in some areas of the city and urged the residents to join hands with the FCTA to eradicate the menace.

    Bello disclosed that his administration intends to take the issues of rehabilitation very seriously to give those with such social problem a sense belonging, thereby making them useful to themselves and the entire society.

    He said, “In the 2016 fiscal year, the FCT Administration will upgrade rehabilitation centres for effective skill acquisition to make the rehabilitated persons independent and self-sustaining.”

    Bello reiterated that the FCT Administration also intends take them back to their families for re-absorption into the society after successful rehabilitation.

    According to him, the current FCT Administration will make Abuja friendlier to the populace by making them own all government policies and programmes.

    He added that his administration would encourage religious and moral education in its schools to give re-orientation to the younger generation.

    The FCT Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Israel Akanji who led the delegation appealed to the Minister for land for church groups and for FCT Administration to spare church building where possible.

    Rev. Akanji also asked that the government to re-consider its stance on sponsorship of pilgrims to Israel.

    The FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye and other officials of the FCT Administration joined the Minister to receive the delegation, which included the Primate of Anglican Communion, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh and the Executive Secretary of NCPC, John Kennedy Opara, among others.