Funding Hindrance to Resettlement of Abuja Indigenes- FCTA

 The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCT) has said that lack of funds has been a major challenge in the resettlement of the indigenous people of the FCT.

 

Director of the Development Control Department, FCTA, Mallam Yahaya Yusuf, made the comment while speaking to journalists in Abuja yesterday. He said the administration initiated the Land Swap policy as a way out of the funding challenge.

 

“The administration has come with an alternative policy (Land Swap), which is to give room for private developers to acquire an area, provide the required infrastructure and take care of resettlement of the indigenes while retaining 40 per cent of the land to government,” he said

 

“The hope is that by the time this is perfected, issues of resettlement and compensation will be adequately addressed with minimal financial commitment by government,” he added.

 

Mallam Yusuf expressed the commitment of the FCTA to the construction of world-class mass housing estates for accommodation of Abuja residents.

 

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FG Promises to Complete Abuja-Kaduna Rail Line in December

The federal government has reiterated its determination to finish work on the Abuja-Kaduna Standard Gauge rail line before the end of this year.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Mr Nebolisa Emodi, made the pledge in Abuja recently while receiving the former Head of Service of the Federation, Mr Bukar Goni Aji in his office.

Mr Emodi revealed that the project is already about 85 per cent completed and expressed hope of full completion by December.

He also restated the determination of the federal government to revive the Nigerian Railway system for the haulage of goods and carriage of passengers, completion of feasibility studies on rail system, increase use of inland waterways to stimulate economic activities, enhancement of maritime safety and good welfare system for the staff.

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Counter-Terrorism: IGP Orders Creation of Tactical Operation Points

In its effort to contain illegal movement of small arms and light weapons and other explosive materials, the Acting Inspector-General of Police, IGP Suleiman Abba, has ordered immediate establishment of Tactical Operation Points (TOP) in some states of the North East and North West.

 

This was contained in a statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Frank Mba. It said the TOP, which will be manned by Policemen who have received adequate training in tactical operation and counter-terrorism, will be established in strategic locations, including highways in Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba states.

 

“Consequently, the IGP has charged all Assistant Inspectors -General of Police (AIGs) in charge of the Zones covering the affected states and all Commissioners of Police in charge of these states to ensure close supervision and constant reskilling of the personnel performing this special operation,” it said.

 

It further stated that the IGP is optimistic that the latest measure will enable the Force to halt further spread of violence in the land and frustrate the activities of insurgents and other criminals.

 

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FG to Probe Electricity Distribution Companies

The Federal Government, through the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), plans to evaluate the progress of the financial commitments made by the different owners of electricity distribution companies in the nation.

 

This was revealed yesterday at the launch of the National Council on Power (NACOP) in Abuja.

 

Speaking at the launch, the Director General of BPE, Mr Benjamin Dikki, said that the investors were to account for their $1.8 billion five-year expansion commitments to the distribution networks.

 

“NERC and BPE have drawn up systemic measures to check and enforce these commitments and this is in addition to structured mechanisms that exist in the market,” he said.

 

“The five-year total CAPEX for distribution companies is almost $1.8 billion and the investment to be made by the Discos cover the commitments they have all made in the following areas; metering (about six million meters), health, safety and environmental practices, reduction in number of customer interruptions due to network faults, new customer connections and network expansion as well as improving customer services and complaints handling procedures,” he added.

 

Mr Dikki further stated that there will be no tariff review for distribution companies that fail to make investments in their networks and attain certain percentage of the Aggregate Technical Commercial and Collection (ATC and C) loss figures that they submitted. “They will bear their losses directly,” he said, “and it is simple because the market is structured to make these efficiencies possible.”

 

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BBOG Takes Advocacy to the Streets

The Abuja family of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign yesterday took to the Hilton Junction, Shehu Shagari Way, Maitama, sharing out fliers and stickers to motorists and passers-by.

 

The initiator of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, Hajia Hadiza Bala Usman, said it was part of their strategic decision to gain more awareness.

 

“We are handing out our stickers, chanting by the street corner by Unity Fountain to make people realize these girls have been gone for four months and not one of them has been rescued by the Nigerian military,” She said.

 

“This is very responsive, we have seen a lot of people ask us for more stickers. This we feel is a very interactive way of doing our advocacy. This is rush hour, people are going home from work, so it is a good time to be on the streets,” she added.

 

In addition to the Chibok girls, Hajia Usman expressed concern for people in the north-eastern part of the country who have been victims of repeated terrorist attacks.

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EFCC Advises Nigerians to be Wary of Abuja Estate developers

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has advised Nigerians to be wary of some estate developers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who are in the habit of swindling people who want to buy homes in Abuja.

The advice was contained in a statement released yesterday by the Head, Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr Wilson Uwujaren. It noted that it has recorded a rise in the number of reported cases of individuals who have been defrauded after they responded to advertisement for subscription to own property in many of the estates being promoted by unscrupulous developers in the FCT.

“Usually, the so called developers, once they are able to secure land allocation from the FCDA, create gorgeous computer-assisted designs of prototype estate and launch aggressive media blitzs for prospective home owners to subscribe for different categories of houses at attractive prices,”

“They target low and middle income earners who cannot afford outright cash purchase of property in the burgeoning capital city. For this category of citizens, such offers are irresistible as they present immediate escape from the burden of prohibitive yearly rent payments. They embrace such scheme with the hope that the payment spread over many years will provide the cushion to do other things,” the statement added.

“But no sooner than they pay the initial deposits, they are inundated with various excuses as explanation for the developers’ inability to deliver the properties,” it further stated.

The EFCC therefore urged real estate sector and regulatory agencies such as the Nigerian Society of Estate Surveyors and Valuers to collaborate in order to firm up regulatory framework for property development in the FCT.

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Five Siblings Killed in Accident on Abuja-Lokoja Road

Five members of a family, three boys and two girls, on Sunday died in a car accident that occurred on the Abuja-Lokoja Expressway, reports THISDAY newspaper.

 

The report said the accident occurred at about 5.30 p.m Sunday evening when a petrol tanker latched on to a Hiace bus with the siblings inside and dragged it a long distance before eventually falling and exploding on the bus.

The fire, it said, made it impossible to extricate some of the victims of the crash from the wreckage until yesterday.

It added that the corpses, some of which were burnt beyond recognition, have been deposited at the Kwali General Hospital.

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