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Tag: Abuja

  • BREAKING : Many feared dead, injured in Abuja-Kaduna Highway Crash

    BREAKING : Many feared dead, injured in Abuja-Kaduna Highway Crash

    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has said no fewer than 10 passengers were killed in a crash involving a DAF trailer on the Abuja-Kaduna expressway.

    FRSC spokesman Jonas Agwu said in a statement on Tuesday that the Monday crash resulted from excessive speed, overloading and fatigue.

    According to him, the driver lost control of the wheels and crashed into a ditch at about 10:30hrs with all the 172 male passengers aboard the trailer.

    Mr Agwu said 10 of the passengers died while 48 sustained injuries. He said that the FRSC rescue team evacuated the victims to St. Anthony and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua hospitals in Kaduna.

    “Efforts are ongoing by FRSC Operatives to follow up on the injured victims in the hospitals to ensure they receive necessary medical attention,” he added.

    Corps Marshal Dauda Ali-Biu urged all sector commanders to strengthen nationwide enforcement and advocacy campaigns against speeding, overloading and reckless driving.

    Mr Ali-Biu said they must also caution trailer drivers against conveying human beings on top of goods in their vehicles.

    He directed the commanders to commence result-oriented patrol operations with mobile courts along critical corridors with immediate effect.

  • N1.15trn FCT budget to transform Abuja, rural areas – Wike

    N1.15trn FCT budget to transform Abuja, rural areas – Wike

    The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, says the N1.15 trillion 2024 proposed FCT Statutory Budget was designed to transform the capital city and rural communities.

    Wike stated this when he appeared before the Senate and House Committees on FCT, to defend the proposed statutory budget, in Abuja on Monday.

    He explained that out of the N1.15 trillion, N421.44 billion was earmarked as recurrent expenditure, representing 36.7 per cent, while N726.3 billion was set aside for capital expenditure, representing 63.3 per cent.

    He also explained that the proposed capital expenditure would be dedicated for the development of infrastructure with emphasis on completion of ongoing projects.

    Wike added that out of the N726.3 billion proposed capital expenditure, N80 billion was allocated for SUKUK loan projects, while N29 billion was earmarked for Abuja Light Rail project.

    The minister also said that N500 billion was for commercial loans for the completion of some ongoing capital projects in the federal capital city and satellite towns.

    He said that the balance of N117.3 billion was dedicated to the completion of ongoing capital projects and other counterpart funded related projects, aimed at enhancing socio-economic activities in the FCT.

    Wike said that the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) and Satellite Towns Development Department (STDD) got the larger chunk of the capital budget.

    He said that FCDA got N457 billion, STDD N116 billion, while other Secretariat, Departments and Agencies (SDAs) got N153.3 billion.

    This, according to him, is to address critical areas like ongoing road construction, completion of water treatment plant and related facilities and few new projects.

    He explained that the N457 billion allocated to FCDA was for the provision of infrastructure within and around the capital city, of which N282 billion was for ongoing projects, while N175 billion was for new critical projects.

    “Some of the critical projects to be executed by the FCT Administration in the 2024 statutory budget proposal are the completion of Roads B6 and B12 and construction of access road and car park for Abuja Light Rail.

    “Full scope development of Arterial Road N20 from Northern Parkway to Outer Northern Expressway (ONEX), provision of engineering infrastructure to Guzape, and provision of engineering infrastructure to Wuye District.

    “There is also the extension of Inner Southern Expressway (ISEX) from Southern Parkway (S8/S9) to Ring Road II (RRII), full scope development of FCT Highway 105 (Kuje Road) from Airport Expressway to OSEX with Spur at Kyami District,

    “Construction of Northern Parkway from Ring Road II to Ring Road III (6.2Km), full scope development of N5 and N20 and provision of engineering district infrastructure to Asokoro Island Layout in the FCT.

    “The sum of N198.5 billion is earmarked for the above eight major roads to speed up their completion before the end of 2024 fiscal year.

    “The expansion and rehabilitation of these roads will eventually reduce the travel time and traffic gridlock on our roads within and outside the city,” he said.

    The minister added that the transportation sector got N69 billion, of which N32 billion was for the construction of Bus Terminals Development at Kugbo, Jahi and Central Business District.

    He said that N80.3 billion was proposed for education sector, while the health sector got N45.7 billion.

    “The health budget seeks to complete the construction of hospitals in Gwagwalada, Gwarimpa and Utako Districts to enhance the capacity of some of our hospitals through the procurement of modern ambulances for eight FCTA hospitals,” he said.

    Wike also said that a total of N7.9 billion was proposed for FCT Agriculture and Rural Development sector to improve agricultural production and engagement of youths in agriculture,

    This, the minister said, would enhance food security, income, and better standards of living in the rural communities.

    “We shall invest in the provision of agricultural inputs such as improved seeds, agro-chemicals, and fertiliser among others.

    “We shall also develop cluster farm centres in both the livestock and crop production sub- sectors,” he added.

    Wike equally said that N5 billion was allocated to the Social Development Secretariat for the promotion of gender, youths, children development, and other vulnerable groups in the FCT.

    “It will also be used for the promotion and preservation of Nigeria’s art and culture within the FCT, including the development of sports through the provision of sporting, cultural and recreational facilities,” he said.

    Wike also said that the Legal Services Secretariat got N5.6 billion for the provision of legal services, while N1.2 billion was earmarked for the Abuja Geographic Information System.

    The minister further said that the sum of N4.2 billion was proposed for the Area Council Services Secretariat to ensure effective and efficient service delivery for rural transformation, improve the quality of lives of citizens.

    “The secretariat is also expected to strengthen the traditional institutions as effective tools for mobilisation of people at the grassroots to achieve the developmental goals of the FCT Administration,” he said.

    Earlier, the Chairman Senate and House Committees on FCT, Ibrahim Bomai, and Muktar Betara respectively, who commended the minister for the development stride in the FCT, assured him the full support of the National Assembly.

  • Video: Wuse market gutted by fire

    Video: Wuse market gutted by fire

    Properties and goods were lost as Wuse market in Abuja erupted in flames.

    In a video going viral, onlookers as well as firefighters, were battling to keep the situation under control.

    As of the time of writing this report, the cause of the fire incident remained unknown.

    See the video below:

     

  • NEMA speaks on looted warehouse in Abuja

    NEMA speaks on looted warehouse in Abuja

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has debunked reports circulating in some quarters that its warehouse was looted by some hoodlums in Abuja on Sunday.

    NEMA spokesperson, Manzo Ezekiel, in a statement on Sunday, confirmed that the looted warehouse is not affiliated with the agency, but sympathised with the owners of the looted facility.

    On Sunday, some residents of Abuja raided a warehouse belonging to the Federal Capital Territory’s Department of Agriculture, looting foodstuffs and other items stored in the facility.

    The FCT Agric secretariat’s Public Relations Officer, Zakari Aliyu, confirmed to a national tv via text message that the looted warehouse belonged to their agency.

    He, however, did not disclose further details on the looted warehouse.

    NEMA said it has taken measures to safeguard its facilities nationwide.

    “To forestall any security breach at NEMA facilities, the Director General Mustapha Habib Ahmed has directed Zonal Directors and Heads of Operations to strengthen security in and around the Agency’s offices and warehouses nationwide,” NEMA said.

  • ‘HUNGER don wear sokoto’: Abuja residents invade NEMA warehouse cart away foodstuffs

    ‘HUNGER don wear sokoto’: Abuja residents invade NEMA warehouse cart away foodstuffs

    The hardship in Nigeria has taken a new twist in Nigeria as some residents of the Federal Capital Territory on Sunday looted a warehouse reportedly belonging to the National Emergency Management Agency of Nigeria over the current economic hardship across the country.

    TNG monitored reports revealed that the warehouse, which is situated in the Phase 3 Region of the FCT area of Abuja, was looked my may residents of the area.

    While confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the FCT command, Josephine Adeh, said via a text message that, “The situation is now under control.”

    TNG reports as at the time of filing this report the quantity of looted foodstuffs cannot be ascertained.

  • We have turned Abuja to construction site – Wike

    We have turned Abuja to construction site – Wike

    The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, says the Bola Tinubu administration has turned Abuja into a construction site.

    Wike stated this when the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Richard Montgomery, visited him in Abuja on Tuesday.

    He said that construction and other development activities had come to a halt in Abuja prior to the Tinubu-led government.

    “Before now, it does appear that there were no activities in Abuja, with many residents complaining that the city is so docile and nothing was happening.

    “However, since we came on board, you can see that activities have come up in terms of infrastructure, particularly road infrastructure.

    “We can proudly say that we have turned Abuja to a construction site, which was not the case in the past eight years,” he said.

    The minister added that the priority of the FCT administration was centred on the priority of the president and his “Renewed Hope” agenda, adding that the administration had recorded some progress, particularly on security.

    He said that the security agencies, particularly the police, had done so well in curbing the activities of bandits and other criminal elements.

    “You can comparatively say today that the level of insecurity has come down so much in Abuja because of the level of support and the commitment of security agencies, particularly the police.

    “We have given the police and other security agencies a lot of logistics support that have effectively helped them to perform their assignments.

    “I can tell you that we have made tremendous progress in terms of arresting kidnappers, and I am sure you are following the news about the everyday arrest of criminals,” he said.

    Wike identified key priority areas of the FCT administration as job creation, tourism, and agriculture.

    He said that the administration was ready to partner with investors to develop the tourism and agricultural sectors of the federal capital to create employment opportunities for the youths.

    “For me, agriculture is key; for me, security is key.

    “If we are able to solve these problems, then we will be able to create a lot of jobs and if you solve the problem of security, obviously you are giving confidence to investors to come and invest.

    “When the environment is not secure, that of course will not allow investors to come in.

    ” So, we think that these two key areas are very very germane for our administration,” Wike said.

    Earlier, Montgomery explained that he was in the minister’s office to seek his views and understand his priorities for the development of the Federal Capital Territory.

    He said that in the past few weeks, the United Kingdom had stepped up its engagement with the Nigerian government.

    Montgomery explained that his country recently signed new defence, security, and enhanced trade and investment partnerships with the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    He added that his country was equally providing technical support in the development of the Abuja Industrial Park, which in the long run would create jobs for Nigerian youths.

    “I absolutely agree with you on the jobs and agriculture focus and I am pleased to say that we actually have a programme on agriculture that is trying to improve the value chain.

    “This is so that farmers can be able to sell their produce to people that can process and package, and therefore, trade easily.

    ” This is something we hope is getting off the ground now to help the agriculture sector.

    “I also hope that the Abuja Industrial Pack will be one of those locations that will create new jobs, provide services for new Small and Medium Enterprises, which is where a lot of jobs come from.

    “I agree that there is no prosperity without security but also there is no long-term security without more jobs and prosperity. So, they are interlinked and I recognise the progress that is being made.

    On economy, the high commissioner said that his country was conscious that the long-term prosperity of Nigeria comes from the tough reforms that the government was putting in place.

    “This, we believed, quite strongly, will put Nigeria on a higher growth path, creating more jobs and better livelihood in the future,” he said.

  • FCTA seals orphanage over alleged trafficking of 23 children in Abuja

    FCTA seals orphanage over alleged trafficking of 23 children in Abuja

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has sealed the Priesthood Orphanage in Karon Majigi Village, Abuja, after 23 children between the ages of one and 14 were rescued from the orphanage.

    The children were believed to have been allegedly trafficked from Plateau.

    Mrs. Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, the Mandate Secretary, Women Affairs Secretariat, FCTA, disclosed this while handing over the children to Plateau Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Caroline Dafur, in Abuja on Monday.

    She said that investigation was ongoing to unravel the facts of the allegation.

    Benjamins-Laniyi also said that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, had authorised the Secretariat to profile and recertify orphanages operating within the nation’s capital.

    “Using this as an example, one of the first things I have done is to get approval for the recertification of orphanage homes in Abuja.

    “The Minister has approved that there will be a full thorough reprofiling and recertification of anything that has to do with orphanages in Abuja,” she said.

    The mandate secretary said that the Secretariat was already working with Dafur to reunite the children with their families.

    She added that some of the children had been in the uncertified orphanage since 2019.

    Also speaking, Dafur said that three of the children had escaped due to the poor condition of the orphanage.

    She added that the escaped children were discovered by officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps, who reported the case to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons.

    She said that the FRSC officials further took the children to the Human Rights Radio, Abuja, who then notified the Plateau Government and the FCT Women Affairs Secretariat.

    “We came in yesterday and on reaching here, we were told that they went to church. We kept going from one church to another, looking for them until we found them in a Deeper Life Church.

    “From there we went to the orphanage and what we saw in that place, in fact, it is not supposed to be called an orphanage.

    “The place is just so unkempt. Nine girls were sleeping in a very small room with just two mattresses.

    “For the boys, they were in a small room too, with two mattresses just on the floor. It is so pathetic the way human beings treat their fellow human beings in this country,” she said.

    She thanked the mandate secretary for assisting to evacuate the children to the Karu Childrens’ Home.

  • Wike asks illegal occupants in Abuja to vacate

    Wike asks illegal occupants in Abuja to vacate

    The Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has asked illegal occupants at the proposed Abuja Technology Village site, along Airport Road, to vacate the area.

    Wike gave the directive when he visited the area in Abuja on Monday.

    Wike was accompanied by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Mr Uche Nnaji, on the visit to the site.

    The minister said that he would direct the Department of Development Control to issue the illegal occupants an ultimatum to leave, adding that the indigenous community in the area had been compensated since 2015.

    “I am not impressed with what I am seeing. We don’t lack the political will. If you don’t take action, people will not believe that anything is possible.

    “I will call the Development Control Department and give them an ultimatum for these people to leave. They have been compensated since 2015.

    “I urge those who settled here illegally to know that we will not hesitate to move them out. No amount of campaign will stop us from doing the right thing,” he said.

    He advised the management of the Abuja Technology Village to take position of the space, fence the area and show some level of presence.

    Wike explained that he invited Nnaji to accompany him to the site so that he could take control of the place and see how investors could come in.

    He asked the management of the technology village to send him an estimate of what would be required to erect a befitting office on the site.

    “You are in charge of this place, and you don’t even have an office here, at least to show presence and tell people that we are here.

    “So, if an investor is coming now, he is coming to meet an empty land, and you are renting an office outside the village.

    “Please, let us know what it will take to erect a befitting office, so you can leave that place that you said that you are renting, and if you calculate the amount of money, you spent renting is a waste,” he said.

    Earlier, Nnaji expressed concern over the presence of illegal occupants on the site, saying “erection of illegal buildings in the area could discourage some investors who had expressed interest in investing in the village.”

    He disclosed that an American company had already declared intention to build 200 megawatts of electricity in the technology village.

    “There are so many other companies that want to start right away, but as this encroachment continues, we have to stop it somewhere, and see how we can take over, either to compensate the owners or demolish them.

    “We can’t have this kind of thing here. Our mission here is in the interest of the country, and it is in keeping with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu,” Nnaji said.

    Nnaji said the technology village would be modelled after the London Technology City and the Silicon Valley.

    “So, the infrastructure and technology that this place is going to house in a couple of years would be humongous,” he said.

    Speaking on behalf of the management team of the technology village, the Acting Managing Director, Mr Yusuf Isa, said their hopes were being renewed by the minister’s visit.

    The Abuja Technology Village is a science and technology park and a Special Economic Zone, being developed to accommodate clusters of science and technology firms from selected sectors and promote technology innovation and entrepreneurship.

    The project site, where primary infrastructure construction works are ongoing, is strategically located adjacent to other science and technology institutions that together create a huge economic cluster along a superhighway connecting the Abuja City centre and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

  • FIFA referee’s first-quarter fitness test and badging hold in Abuja

    FIFA referee’s first-quarter fitness test and badging hold in Abuja

    The first-quarter FIFA fitness test for Nigerian international referees will take place at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja on Tuesday, 20th February 2024.

     

    Medical tests were conducted on the referees on Monday, 19th February 2024.

     

    Special Assistant to the NFF General Secretary and Coordinator of Refereeing Development in Nigeria, Mr. Mohammed Adebayo Ameenu said the 30 Nigerian referees listed for international duty this year will be decorated with their badges at a ceremony inside the NFF/FIFA Goal Project on Wednesday, 21st February 2024.

     

    The 30 individuals are made up of seven men referees, seven men assistant referees, four women referees, four women assistant referees, four beach soccer referees and four futsal referees. One of the beach soccer referees, Jelili Ogunmuyiwa is presently on duty at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup ongoing in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

     

    REFEREES (MEN)

    Ogabor Joseph

    Grema Mohammed

    Basheer Salihu

    Kassim Abdulsalam

    Abubakar Abdullahi

    Nurudeen Abubakar

    Patrick Egba

     

    ASSISTANT REFEREES (MEN)

    Igho Hope

    Samuel Pwadutakam

    Yakubu Mohammad

    Ahmed Tijjani

    Igudia Efosa Celestine

    Digbori Tejiri

    Usman Abdulmajeed Olaide

     

    REFEREES (WOMEN)

    Hannah Elaigwu

    Yemisi Akintoye

    Ndidi Madu

    Alaba Olufunmilayo

     

    ASSISTANT REFEREES (WOMEN)

    Akpan Friday Mfon

    Beauty Kabenda Terah

    Abibatu Yusuf

    Faith Agbons

     

    REFEREES (BEACH SOCCER)

    Ogunmuyiwa Jelili

    Fawole Olawale

    Olayinka Olajide

    Ahmed Rabiu

     

    REFEREES (FUTSAL)

    Musa Dung Davou

    Paul Umuago

    Ukah Ndubuisi

    Bello Zuru

  • EFCC arrests 11 suspected internet fraudsters in Abuja

    EFCC arrests 11 suspected internet fraudsters in Abuja

    Operatives of the Abuja Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested 11 suspected internet fraudsters.

    Its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

    According to him, they were arrested on Monday at a nightclub in the Wuse area of Abuja,  following credible intelligence about their suspicious involvement in internet-related activities.

    “Items recovered from them include three cars and 13 phones.

    “They will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded,” he said.