Senator Accuses FCT Minister of Leadership Failure

The senator representing Kogi Central senatorial district, Sen. Abatemi Nurudeen-Usman, has alleged that the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Bala Mohammed, was condoning indiscipline among transport operators in Abuja, adding that the situation implied absence of leadership in FCTA.

The senator made the allegation when the minister appeared before the Senate Committee on FCT to defend the 2014 budget estimates of the FCTA. He said the impunity of transport operators causes heavy traffic in various parts of the city.

The charge infuriated the minister who said the comment was intended to malign his personality. "I feel insulted by your comment,” the minister said. “I see it as an attack on my integrity and I take exception to it.”

Sen. Abatemi-Usman then explained that his observation was not meant to question the minister's integrity, rather, it was meant to serve as a wakeup call on his administration over the menace of motorists in the nation's capital.

 “I want the public to note that I make no attempt to attack or talk about your integrity,” he said. “I am only bringing to your attention issues that have been going on and I hope that this is a wake up call."

After a moment of tension, the minister's anger subsided. “I am apologising for reacting because I felt insulted, but whatever, I am your servant and the servant of Nigeria, I would take anything," he conceded.

Women in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and UK Protest Boko Haram Killings

Many women dressed in black simultaneously took to the streets of Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and the UK to protest the murder of over 50 school children in Yobe State and other deaths in Borno by Boko Haram insurgents.

In Abuja, the women gathered at the Unity Fountains and embarked on a peaceful walk to the Nigeria Human Rights Commission (NHRC), carrying placards with various inscriptions, including ‘Enough of the Killings’and ‘Nigerian Women Mourn.’

The deputy director of the Legal Office of the executive secretary for NHRC, Harry Ogwuche Obe met with them.

The group’s spokesperson Ijeoma Izuora explained that the march taking place all around the world was to display their anger at the injustice and encourage the government to do more.

“Is Boko Haram bigger than the government? Does the government not know what to do? If our husbands and children are all killed, what happens to us?” she asked.

In Lagos, the president of Women Arise Initiative, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, said that the women gathered were tired of the killings, and called for more action to halt the trend, saying, “This debilitating act must stop.”

In Port Harcourt, the angry protesters were led by members of the  National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ)  and former commissioners for women affairs in the state. In the United Kingdom, protesters marched through the streets to protest against the wanton killings by the sect.

Jonathan to Swear in 11 New Ministers Today

President Goodluck Jonathan will today swear in 11 new ministers whose nominations were confirmed by the Senate last month.

This was made known in a statement issued yesterday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Reuben Abati.

The swearing in ceremony, it said would be performed at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting. 

The ministers to be sworn in are Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos), Mohammed Wakil (Borno), Alhaji Abduljelili Adesiyan (Osun), Aminu Wali (Kano) and Mrs Akon Eyakenyi (Akwa Ibom).

Others are Lawrencia Labaran (Kaduna State), Dr Tamuno Danagogo (Rivers),  Asabe  Ahmed (Niger), Gen. Aliyu Gusau (Zamfara), Boni Haruna (Adamawa) and Dr Khaliru Alhassan (Sokoto State).

The president is also expected to carry out a cabinet reshuffle today.

NNPC Station to be Demolished to Make Way for Abuja Rail

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) petrol station in the Central Business District will soon be demolished to make way for the Abuja rail mass transit project.

A senior official in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) revealed to journalists that the NNPC Mega Station is currently situated in the area earmarked for Abuja railway’s main station, and the gas station was originally erected on a temporary basis.

“Corridors have been left for 30, 40 years. So people come and erect structures, promising to remove them when government needs them,” he said.

The railway, when completed, will run from Idu and its main station will be situated at the NNPC station’s site, where the rail will now go on to Kubwa.

There are currently two rail development projects in the capital, one runs from Idu through Kubwa to Kaduna and is managed by the government, and the other links Idu to the Central Business District and Kubwa and will be managed by the FCTA. 

The Abuja rail contract was awarded in 2007 by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, but work didn’t begin until 2009 due to delays in releasing the funds.

In 2011, China Civil Engineering Construction Company agreed to complete the job on loan after the government was unable to finance the project alone.

The Abuja rail network comprises of six lots covering a distance of 300km, with lots one and three currently under construction. The FCTA’s secretary of transport, Mr Jonathan Ivoke pledged that lots one and three will be completed in 2015.

The rail network is designed to run on diesel and electricity, with 39 sets of DMU locomotives and 6,300 capacity passenger cars. The 2030 forecast is for 437,200 passengers per day. When fully operational, the rail network will provide employment for 20,000 people in FCT.

FCTA Loses N10bn to Land Racketeers Annually

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, has revealed that the administration loses at least N10 billion every year to the activities of land racketeers in the territory.

The minister made the disclosure yesterday during the commissioning of the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS) new systems infrastructure. He said the activities of fraudsters had led to cases of double allocation, land racketeering, and forgery. He however assured that the new system would block all leakages in the system.

Earlier in her remark, the Executive Director of AGIS, Hajia Jamilah Tangaza, said the development of the new AGIS systems infrastructure was borne out of the need to avert the possibility of a complete systems shutdown, catastrophic loss of data occasioned by failed computer servers and the prevalence of sharp and fraudulent incidents, along with its potential consequences to AGIS’ operation and revenue generating capacity.

Abuja Pastor Escapes Drive-by Shooting by Suspected Boko Haram Insurgents

Pastor Francis Irabor, the founder Great Calling Ministry escaped unharmed following a murder attempt by a group of armed men, suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents, on his way home from church last Sunday in Abuja.

The Pastor said that he had been on his way home after Sunday service when a group of men in a black Camry with its number plate hidden opened fire on his car.

He had earlier spotted the Camry parked close to the church, and as he was driving home in the company of his armed mobile police guards, the armed men shot at him, shattering the windscreen of his SUV.

When the suspected militants saw his police guards, they drove off and managed to escape.

Pastor Irabor had earlier received threatening text messages from suspected terrorists, but he had ignored them and “fully putting his trust in God.”

Kutugi Appointed Chairman of National Conference

President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Idris Kutigi, as the chairman of the National Conference.

This was made known in a statement yesterday by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim. The statement further revealed that Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi will serve as vice chairman while Mrs. Valerie Azinge will serve as secretary.

The appointees are to resume at Abuja on Wednesday, 5^th March and will be received on arrival by the SGF. The conference is expected to commence on the 10^th of March.