Tag: NRC

  • Displacement of 30,000 people from Nigeria to Cameroon alarming – NRC

    Displacement of 30,000 people from Nigeria to Cameroon alarming – NRC

    Eric Batonon, Country Director in Nigeria for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has said the displacement of 30,000 people from Nigeria to Cameroon is alarming.

    Batonon in a statement on Wednesday said, “The women, men, and children fleeing are not opportunists; they are civilians fleeing for their lives”.

    The statement reads: “The Norwegian Refugee Council is alarmed by the massive displacement of 30,000 people from the Nigerian town of Rann into Cameroon, less than one week after 9,000 Nigerians fled a deadly attack in the city.

    “Last week, the Nigerian refugees who had crossed into Cameroon, were forced to return.

    “We call for Cameroon to keep its borders open. It is crucial that the Nigerian and Cameroonian authorities offer assistance to those fleeing the violence, in compliance with international agreements and the Tripartite agreement signed between the two countries and the UNHCR. The women, men, and children fleeing are not opportunists; they are civilians fleeing for their lives.

    “Since November 2018, there has been a steep surge in displacement in northeast Nigeria, triggered by a spike in attacks. More than 100,000 people have been forced to flee, many for the second time. This is creating vast humanitarian needs and stretching the capacity of already congested camps and sites across the region.

    “However, by denying assistance and protection to those fleeing, needs are exacerbated and affected communities will continue to rely on humanitarian assistance.

    “The humanitarian community launched a plan this week to assist 2.5 million people displaced across the Lake Chad Basin. The Norwegian Refugee Council calls for donor countries to step up their support to countries in the region hosting a large number of refugees and displaced people”.

     

  • Itakpe-Warri rail begins daily operations Nov. 19

    Mr Fidel Okhiria, Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), says Itakpe-Warri rail line will begin daily operations on Monday, Nov. 19.

    Okhiria disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Wednesday.

    He said that the daily operations would be used to study the timing and traffic pattern for the period of one month, before commercial activities would commenced fully.

    According to him, the daily test run operation will end on Dec. 19, with inspection by various government officials to see the level of work going on.

    “By Nov. 19, we will commence daily operations, on Nov. 7 some National Assembly members went there for a train ride, they were pleased.

    “We are preparing to go on more inspections with government officers but before then, we will start our daily test run, not commercial, so that we can study the timing and traffic pattern.

    “So, we will do that for a month, ending Dec. 19, then commercial operation will commence immediately,“ he said.

    The NRC boss stated that the operations would start with passengers first, before cargoes, as the passengers would start bringing goods and the warehouse would be available to off-load the goods.

    He said that 12 stations for the train service were still under construction, stating that temporary stations would be used pending when the stations would be completed.

    Okhiria said that the stations would be completed by the first quarter of 2019.

    “We are still working on the stations; we don’t want to wait until the stations are completed before we start, we have temporary stations, so that we don’t interfere with what they are doing which is allowed.

    “If we wait for the stations to be completed, the tracks may be vandalized again, but by the time we engage it for maintenance, we will protect the tracks.

    “Stations will come later; we hope that by the first quarter of next year, the 12 stations will be completed and commercial service will start after Dec. 19,’’ he said.

     

  • Cholera outbreak: 175 dead, over 10,000 afflicted, disease spreading quickly

    The number of people who have been affected by cholera in northeast Nigeria has increased to 10,000, with the disease said to be spreading at an alarming rate in congested displacement camps with limited access to proper sanitation facilities.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) gave the numbers and sounded the warning in a statement on Monday, while calling on the government to address the menace.

    “One of the major causes of the outbreak is the congestion in the camps that makes it difficult to provide adequate water, sanitation and hygiene services. The rainy season also worsened the conditions,” said Janet Cherono, NRC’s program manager in Maiduguri.

    NRC is calling on the local governments in Nigeria’s northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe to end the cycle of yearly cholera outbreaks.

    “If more land is not urgently provided for camp decongestion and construction of health and sanitation facilities, Nigeria is steering towards yet another cholera outbreak in 2019,” warned Cherono.

    Over the last decade, northeast Nigeria and other areas of the Lake Chad Basin have been affected by cholera outbreaks almost every year, due to poor hygiene facilities in displacement camps and host communities. More than 1.8 million people are displaced in Nigeria, as a result of ongoing conflicts.

    Maiduguri has the highest concentration of displaced people, with 243,000 displaced people cramped in camps, camp-like settlements and already crowded host communities, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration.

    In Kagoni Sangaya displacement camp, the eight latrines that were built to cater for about 150 displaced people are now being shared by 500 people. Camp residents said they end up defecating in the open which causes cholera and other water borne diseases in the area.

    More than 10,000 people have been afflicted by the ongoing cholera outbreak in Nigeria, according to the government. Of these, 175 were reported dead in the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe as of early November 2018.

    The number of deaths resulting from the disease is higher than would be expected in a situation where timely and efficient treatment is available. This indicates inexistent or insufficient access to clean water, sanitation, hygiene and health services.

    “We are calling on the authorities to provide more space in camps and host communities for the construction of new water and sanitation facilities, and for the international community to provide the necessary funding. Only this way can we prevent new cholera outbreaks,” Cherono said.

    NRC has responded to the cholera outbreak by transporting at least 180,000 liters of clean water daily from Maiduguri to communities around Tungushe and Konduga towns, constructing more latrines where there are space and by sharing information about hygiene and choleraprevention with affected communities.

     

  • Victims narrates horrifying killings of loved ones in Borno

    Some victims of the horrifying killing that happened in Kalle village of Borno state at the weekend, which left at least 12 farmers dead, have narrated their ordeals.
    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the victims narrated their ordeal to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) that noted the level of violence registered lately in Northeast Nigeria is alarming.
    According to Anja Riiser, NRC’s Area Manager in Maiduguri, “Farmers have been easy targets” the attacks.
    Narrating his ordeal, one of the victims only identified as Haruna, who escaped the attack, told NRC: “We were on the farms when about 15 armed men surrounded us.
    “They took the men to a tree and started slaughtering them like animals. They repeatedly said they will not allow any of us harvest the crops we cultivated this year.
    Another victim, identified Indagiju, also told NRC: “My children and I stood by as they killed my husband. I cried and pleaded for their mercy but they didn’t listen. I will never return to the farm again.
    According to the NRC’s Area Manager, the latest attack against farmers underscore the vulnerability of rural communities, even as the authorities are encouraging displaced people to return home to rebuild their lives.
    “These attacks risk making people too afraid to cultivate their land and may worsen the existing food crisis. Farmers should be able to cultivate their land and return to their families alive,” she said.
    According to NRC, at least 1300 persons are reported to have fled after the attack and many have taken refuge at a displacement camp in Maiduguri and families and friends of the slain farmers said they are too scared to return to their farms.
    The attacks on farmers risk worsening the existing food crisis in Northeast Nigeria. It is estimated that 2.9 million people are facing acute food insecurity in the north-eastern states of Adamawa, Yobe, and Borno where violence has been on the rise. Crops have been destroyed and food stores looted, while farmers have either been killed or forced to flee their fields.
    Large parts of Borno state may experience emergency levels of food insecurity in the coming months, according to the latest forecast by Famine Early Warning Systems Network, with elevated risk of famine in several areas, NRC revealed.
    “There is an urgent need for measures to protect farmers against attacks and looting, so they can safely cultivate their lands and feed their families,” said Riiser, adding: “However, these measures to protect farmers should not translate into a restriction of their movements”.
     

  • Breaking: Buhari signs international consortium agreement in Washington

    President Muhammadu Buhari has signed an agreement with an international consortium led by world’s digital industrial company, General Electric (GE), for the interim phase of the concession of Nigeria’s narrow-gauge rail network.

    TheNewsGuru reports the international consortium including GE is made up of SinoHydro, Transnet and APM Terminals.

    The Presidency, which made this known on Monday morning, said in a statement that the program is expected to deliver an increase in the number of available locomotives, thus increasing the frequency of passenger and freight rail services.

    “In addition, freight haulage capacity by the end of the first 12 months of the interim phase is expected to increase roughly ten-fold, from its current less than 50,000 metric tonnes per annum to about 500,000 metric tonnes per annum.

    “Initiated by General Electric, the Consortium is comprised of SinoHydro, a leading infrastructure construction services corp., Transnet, a leader in transportation & logistics infrastructure mgt and APM Terminals, a global port, terminal and intermodal inland services provider,” the statement read.

    According to the statement, “in the interim phase of the rail concession, remedial works will be carried out on part of the narrow-gauge rail line system to make it technically and economically operable”.

    “Additionally, a joint operation will be established between the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) and the GE-led Consortium, with an initial supply of 10 locomotives and 200 wagons to augment the existing rolling stock in Nigeria,” it added.

     

  • NRC to construct temporary bridge at Tatabu after collapse

    The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) says it will construct a temporary bridge called ‘Temple bridge” for rail transportation from Lagos to Kano following the collapse of Tatabu bridge.

    The Managing Director of the Corporation, Mr Fidet Okhiria, made this known on Saturday while speaking with newsmen in Tatabu village during an inspection of the site.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the Tatabu bridge in Mokwa local government of Niger, collapsed on June 11 after a heavy rainfall.

    The rain affected the rail line including some residential buildings and farmlands in the area.

    Okhiria explained that the corporation had to result to apologising to its customers over its failure to help them transport their goods.

    He said the corporation would work very hard to fix the problems, so the Lagos to Kano line could begin operations again in the next two weeks.

    “We cannot say exactly what has happened because we have to investigate.

    “But this cannot not be unconnected with an overflow of a dam because I don’t see the level of a downpour that can cause these damages.

    “We are going to construct a temporary bridge that will cost us about N5 million.

    “We have some goods that are supposed to go to Kano but we have not been able to move them, so we cannot continue like that.

    “The trains bringing emergency materials from Lagos and Kano will arrive on Monday for proper work to commence,” Okhiria said.

    He said preliminary work had already started and his men were already protecting the rail.

    The NRC head said the corporation would lose about N50 million in revenue in the three weeks that construction work was expected to be completed.

    He said the corporation would employ the services of a surveyor to determine what to do to forestall future occurrence of the incident.

     

     

    NAN

  • Nigeria to start assembling locomotive trains soon – NRC Chairman

    Nigeria to start assembling locomotive trains soon – NRC Chairman

    The Chairman of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Alhaji Usman Abubakar, has said the country will soon start assembling locomotive trains for the entire African region.

    Abubakar disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday in Zaria during a familiarisation tour to NRC Northern District in Zaria, Kaduna State.

    “Under the terms of that arrangement, locomotive engines will first start to be assembled in Zaria for Nigeria and subsequently for the whole African sub-region,” he said.

    He also disclosed that the nation’s railway tracks would be concession to consortium of four foreign firms led by General Electric.

    According to him, rail workers did not oppose concession of railways but only clamoured for payment of their severance package before concession.

    “If you notice, the workers are not opposing it but all they are after is to be paid-off by their old employer before the new employer takes over.

    “If you change employer, the previous employer must pay you your cumulative entitlements, then you can enter another agreement with the new employer,” Abubakar noted.

    Earlier in his address, Abubakar told the workers not to panic as the concession would last about two years before it is finally actualised.

    “It has been the tradition of people, whenever a new thing is introduced they will become apprehensive about it.”

    Dr Aminu Gusau, NRC Director, Administration and Human Resources, also assured the workers that management was doing everything possible to protect their interest.

    “The workers should hope for good because the Federal Government means good and once the concession is completed all railway staff will be smiling,” Gusau said.

    In his address, Mr Aliyu Mainasara, Chairman, Senior Staff Association of Railwaymen, identified concession as a major challenge for railway workers.

    Mainasara advised that the concession should not be done at the expense of the poor Nigerian workers.

    “We are in support of concession but pay us off before concession,” Mainasara said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Abubakar inaugurated a Motorised/Manual Sleepers Straightening Machine during the visit.

     

     

    NAN

  • NRC announces 25% hike in fares for Kaduna-Abuja rail service

     

    The Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC has announced new fares on its Kaduna-Abuja route with effect from this Monday (yesterday).

    The 25 per cent hike, which came into effect from Feb. 6, had taken most passengers by surprise.


    TheNewsGuru.com reports that officials of the NRC were seeing handing over the list containing the new fares to passengers at the Rigasa station in Kaduna on Monday morning.

    The list, on the corporation’s letter-headed paper, which was unsigned, contained details of amounts for tickets from the Rigasa station in Kaduna to Idu station in Abuja, including other sub stations along the route.

    Passengers will now pay N1, 050 as against N600 for a standard ticket, and N1,500 instead of the N900 being paid for an executive seat from Rigasa to Idu.

    The document, written in English, Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa, indicated that the increase was “slight” and was to enable the corporation enhance services for the comfort of passengers.

    A passenger at the Rigasa station, Mukhtar Bello described the hike in fares as a “surprise”, and expressed the hope that the trend would not continue.

    Passengers are heavily patronising this service because it is cheap and affordable. With this increase, there is no much difference with what one pays to board taxis and buses to Abuja, i hope this would not draw away passengers from here.”

    Mrs Grace Adegbite, the NRC spokesperson Northern District, declined comment on the increase, saying she had just resumed from leave.

    NAN