My Blog

Category: North Central

  • Peter Opara Appointed as New FCT Police Commissioner

    Peter Opara Appointed as New FCT Police Commissioner

    The Police Service Commission (PSC) has confirmed the appointment of CP Peter Opara as the new Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
    The appointment was announced on Saturday by Ikechukwu Ani, the PSC’s Head of Press and Public Relations.
    Opara replaces CP Benneth Igwe, who has been promoted to the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police and posted to Zone 7, Abuja, as the Zonal Assistant Inspector General of Police.
    CP Opara brings extensive experience to his new role. He previously served as the Commissioner of Police in the Force Secretary’s office and as the Deputy Commissioner of Administration and Finance in Imo State Command. He has held various key positions, including Personal Assistant to former PSC Chairman, IGP Mike Okiro (Rtd), and DCP at the Legal Studies Police Academy (POLAC) in Wudil, Kano. His career also includes roles as Area Commander in Aba and Uyo, Area Crime Officer in Kubwa, and Senior Deputy Defence Adviser at Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, New York. Opara has served as Personal Assistant to several top police officials, including the Inspector General of Police, DIG Operations, and CP Lagos State Command.
    Additionally, the PSC has approved the appointment of CP Festus Eribo as the new Commissioner of Police for Akwa Ibom State, replacing CP Miller Gagere Dantawaye. Eribo, a law graduate from the University of Calabar, has held several prominent positions, including Liaison Officer at the Police Service Commission, Assistant Commissioner of Federal Operations at Force Headquarters, and Area Commander in Lagos and Oyo States. He was also previously the Commissioner of Police in Taraba State.
    The Commission had earlier sanctioned the posting of four other Commissioners of Police to Abia, Lagos, and Ebonyi states, in line with recommendations from the Inspector-General of Police.
  • Access Road: AMAC Chairman Assures Kafe District of a Facelift

    Access Road: AMAC Chairman Assures Kafe District of a Facelift

    Residents of Kafe District in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) may soon heave a sigh of relief as the deplorable access road to that part of town may soon get a facelift.

     

    AMAC Chairman, Hon. Christopher Maikalangu who made the promise yesterday, September 14, said however, that he shall convey the appeal of the residents for a complete revamp of the road to his boss, the Honorable Minister Nyesom Wike.

    He made the pledge during an inspection visit to the neighbourhood at the weekend, following earlier  appeals by the residents to the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory for some attention to be given to the only access road to the area.

     

    After touring the road that proceeds from the Junction of the MFCT Minister’s residence, Life camp, through the Magistrate Court till the end, serving about 48 Mass Housing Estates, Mr. Maikalangu expressed sympathy for the plight of the residents.

     

    While assuring that AMAC shall make arrangements to fix the widening potholes early next year, he promised to “report to his boss,” the Honorable Minister, who he said, shall be in the best position to construct an enduring carriage way.

     

    Earlier, Chief Uche Okereke, Chairman of Kafe District Stakeholders’ Forum (KDSF), while conducting the Chairman on the tour, hinted that the current stretch of road, complete with the solar street lights and other accessories were the private efforts of the Stakeholders.

     

    He explained that as a result of the numerous potholes and some failed portions of the road, residents have to endure commuting through traffic gridlocks, daily to work and return.

     

    The Chairman was accompanied on the visit by Amb. Alewa Akawu Nasiru, the AMAC Technical Consultant on Tenement Rate Administration.

     

    Amb. Nasiru enjoined the residents to ensure full compliance in the payment of their tenement rates and other levies to complement the gesture of the Chairman who has shown himself to be a listening leader.

     

    Expressing confidence in the likelihood of the current spate of development getting to Kafe, Amb. Nasiru said, “there is real presence of government in all nook and cranny of the FCT.

     

    The current minister, whom I call talk-and-do minister, is doing a great work in the delivery of democracy dividends. In no more than three months, we are sure that the FCT will become a brand new version of its old self.”

     

     

     

     

  • Governor Bago Declares 3-Day Public Holiday To Distribute FG Palliatives 

    Governor Bago Declares 3-Day Public Holiday To Distribute FG Palliatives 

    Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago has declared Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week as public holidays to allow for the effective distribution of palliatives to residents across all the 25 Local Government Areas of the State.
    Speaking at a press conference at Government House, Minna, the governor announced that the state had supplemented the N5 billion palliative fund from the federal government with an additional N250 million.
    Below are the highlights of the modalities adopted for distribution:
    All the Wards in Suleja, Chanchaga, Bida and Kontagora Local Governments are to have N20 million per ward.
    All the Wards in the remaining 21 Local Government Areas of the State will get 10 million Naira each.
    Traditional Institutions to get N80 million.
    Internally Displaced Persons to get N75 million.
    Logistics and Organized Labour, to gulp N110 million
    Political parties to get N150 million.
    All the money is to hit the Local Government council Account by Monday next week.
    The cash will be injected into the local markets in the state.
    Five trucks of Rice will be distributed to each Ward of the 25 Local Government Areas.
    40,000 bags of Maize is still anticipated from the Federal government and the state government will add 10,000 bags to make it 50,000 bags for distribution to all the polling units across the state.
    The governor said the state and local governments will repay 58 per cent of the N5 billion in 20 months, while the federal government covers the remaining 42 per cent. Local committees, including former and current public office holders, will oversee the distribution process.
    Local Government and Ward Committees are to decide what food items to buy depending on the needs of their people.
    Standing Committees comprising Former and serving public office holders are to ensure effective and efficient distribution of the palliatives in their respective Constituencies.
    Also to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal, Governor Umaru Bago disclosed some steps taken by the state government to ease movement of goods and services .
    200 CNG Luxurious Buses will be made available to provide free public transportation to all students and pupils in public schools.
    Civil Servants will also benefit at a discounted rate .
    100 of the Buses are to ply the Suleja to Abuja axis.
    50 Buses to ply Minna and 50 to other Local Government Areas.
    Directives have been given to the Ministries of Lands and Agriculture to provide 10,000 hectares of arable land in every Local Government.
    By December 2023, 250,000 arable lands should be cleared to boost national policy on food security.
    Farm Machinery to be provided
    500,000 youths are to be employed in the pilot scheme in Agricultural activities.
    400,000 women are to be employed as pickers of Shea nuts.
    On Education;
    Payment of bursary to students is to be revived.
    Governor Umaru Bago used the medium to appeal to Nigerlites to be patient as his administration remains committed to serving them better.
    He however warned that anyone who is found wanting in the distribution of the palliatives will be jailed to serve as a deterrent to others.

  • Abuja industrial park: FG targets 40,000 jobs

    Still savouring current surge in economic growth, the Federal Government is targeting about 40,000 jobs to be created from the Abuja Industrial Park with projected impact of catalysing further growth in Nigeria’s economy.
    The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Nyesom Wike, said on Wednesday that the park being developed by Zeberced Group, will create 40,000 jobs and improve Nigeria’s economy when fully operational.
    Wike stated this when he visited the site located at Idu Industrial Zone, Abuja, on Wednesday.
    The minister, excited by the level of development at the ark, promised to brief President Bola Tinubu on what he had seen.
    Quality and Size of the Project
    Describing the project as mind-boggling, Wike expressed optimism that it would grow the nation’s economy and create employment for the teeming youths in FCT.
    “As far as I’m concerned, I’ve never seen this in the entire country. This is the first time I am seeing this,” he said.
    He added that the project, which had been approved to operate as a Free Zone, would attract lots of businesses due to the availability of a stable power supply.
    The minister commended the company for its commitment to completing the project and for its decision to expand the access road to the park.
    He assured all of the continued support of the FCT Administration to ensure that the road project was completed.
    MFCT to Complement with Upgrade of Roads
    He expressed optimism that the road project, when completed, would accelerate the development of the Idu District.
    “From what the Managing Director of the company, Mr Adil Kurt said, the park is going to create not less than 40,000 direct employments and that is huge.
    “There is no government that will not support this kind of investment.
    “Having gone around, we can attest to the fact that this is really what we need to grow our economy. You can imagine how the whole of Idu will be developed.
    “This is what every government craves for, and we must give them the necessary support,” he said.
    Commendable Performance
    Wike further commended the Zeberced Group for maintaining a high standard in the delivery of the project.
    He particularly commended the company for branding all items being produced at the park, including polypropylene pipes, and sandwich insulation roofing sheets among others, as made in Nigeria.
    “For us, it is quality, and we thank God that we have some companies that are committed to making sure that they produce in Nigeria,” Wike said.
    The minister assured residents of adequate security and called for further investments in local production.
    Earlier, Kurt said that the park, which sits on 250 hectares of land, was being developed as a free zone, and currently features 208 workshops.
    He equally said that the park was designed to support small and medium-scale industries, among others.
    “The production of precast concrete, plastic and polypropylene pipes, as well as sandwich insulation roofing sheets among others, were already ongoing at the park.
    “The project will significantly contribute to the growth and development of the nation’s economy,” he added

  • Plateau Gov, Mutfwang reshuffles cabinet

    Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has given the nod for a minor resufflement of his cabinet to improve quality service delivery and productivity.

     

    This is contained in a statement by the Director of Press and Public Affairs to the governor, Mr Gyang Bere, on Tuesday in Jos.

     

    Bere quoted the governor as saying that the move would ensure effective and efficient service delivery to the people of the state.

     

    ”Under the new dispensation, Mr Noel Nkup, the current Commissioner for Water Resources and Energy, will take charge of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.

     

    ”Similarly, Mr Bashir Datti, the commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, has been posted to the Ministry of Water Resources and Energy,” he said.

     

    According to him, the new arrangement took immediate effect.

     

  • The Jabi Lake Recreation Park lies Waste

    The Jabi Lake Recreation Park lies Waste

    Barring an urgent intervention by ‘Mr. Project’, Chief Nyesom Wike, the Honorable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Jabi Lake Recreation Park may soon be taken over by hoodlums and street beggars who throng the arena daily in search of sustenance.

     

    The real danger however, is the definite possibility of dangerous criminals infiltrating the arena some day and effecting traumatizing acts like an abduction.

     

    The Jabi Lake, an aquatic splendour of some sort, is one of the iconic landmarks of Abuja, the Federal Capital city of Nigeria, Africa’s most important country.

     

    Jabi Lake, Abuja: Aerial View

    Constructed in 1981, as an earthen dam, Jabi Lake is a body of water that was initially created as the first major source of water supply to the people of Abuja. The lake is over 1,300 hectares in total surface area. The reservoir may have initially supplied water to about 100,000 people..

     

    Even though man-made and limited in size, the lake has morphed into a natural aquatic ecosystem, with the potential of standing Abuja in the same stead as one of the beautiful cities in a hinterland decorated with a body of water like Cairo on the bank of the Nile River or the six great lake cities of the United States.

     

    See: Egypt Nile River_ Map, History, Facts, Location, Source

     

    In a bid to enhance its status as a recreation and tourist centre of good reckoning, the Jabi Lake area was reconstructed and re-kitted to become a beautiful recreation park in 2007. The new centre was inaugurated by then President Olusegun Obasanjo. As a reflection of the administration’s high hopes for the park, christened as the Jabi Lake Resort, it invited the American actor and global entertainment icon, Wesley Snipes to grace the occasion.

     

    Unfortunately, all that is history now. Jabi Lake Resort has become a shadow of its old self. The lake has been taken over be seaweed (water hyacinth) while wild bushes have grown around the precincts of the body of water, both completely defiling its scenic beauty.

    Overgrown with Seaweed

    Most infrastructural facilities provided have been totally vandalized. Armoured cables buried several feet in the ground to connect security lighting poles have been uprooted and carted away. Public conveniences have been taken over by hoodlums and the destitute who have converted them to their abodes.

     

     

    Uprooted Armoured Cable (left)

    Street beggars, urchins and hawkers abound, littering the complex with human and material wastes.  At the Jabi Lake recreation Park today, fitness enthusiasts who throng the arena daily to walk out, have to wangle through columns of beggars and their wards, mostly out-of-school children who pack into the arena to eke out a living.

     

    Mango and other ornamental trees planted for flora and climatic control are routinely violated and felled.

     

    Hawkers and other petty service providers have erected shacks and other makeshift shelters in the complex thereby giving it a complete slum-look.

    Destitute/Beggars

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Residents of the FCT, revelers, fitness enthusiasts and potential investors who spoke to Nigerian Anchor wonder why such a great recreation facility could be left to waste.

    Efforts to get the opinion of officials of the Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA) on the issue proved futile.

    Experts on tourism suggest the Ministry of the FCT should take steps to extricate property from whatever ownership encumbrances, revamp the facility and put it to some kind of commercial use.

    Better still, a Private, Public Partnership could be evolved to ensure that the complex, which was constructed at a great cost to taxpayers is not lost to hoodlums.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Humanitarian Worker Killed In Benue

    Humanitarian Worker Killed In Benue

    An incident observers described as one more death too many has occurred as a humanitarian worker and Executive Director of Concerned Youth Development Initiative (CYDI), Chris Terfa, has been reportedly killed by yet-to-be identified gunmen near Logo 1 axis in Makurdi metropolis, Benue State.

    The deceased was said to have been gunned down Friday evening by the assailants who allegedly traced him to his office within the Logo 1 vicinity in Makurdi.
    Terfa’s killers also reportedly shot at the security man on duty while trying to gain access into the office premises.
    The assassins reportedly covered the deceased’s mouth with a pillow before shooting him.
    Witnesses said that Terfa was rushed to the hospital after the gunmen fled but was confirmed dead on arrival.
    His corpse was said to have been deposited at the morgue of the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH) in Makurdi.
    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Catherine Anene, had yet to confirm the incident as her telephone line was not reachable.
    Lamenting the spate of killings in Benue state, Joseph Anawah, a community leader and former aid to Sen Gabriel Suswam, erstwhile Governor of Benue state said, “I lost more than 100 relations, very close to me, to Fulani herders. There was a time when they invaded my settlement at Chembe, out of the 43 people killed in just one night, 23 of them were my blood relatives.”
  • Gov Mutfwang relaxes 24-hour curfew in Jos-Bukuru

    Gov Mutfwang relaxes 24-hour curfew in Jos-Bukuru

    Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State on Wednesday relaxed the 24 hour curfew imposed on Jos-Bukuru metropolis as a result of the violence that trailed the #EndBadGovernance protests.
    Residents are now to move freely between 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm.
    The governor says the decision became necessary in order to enhance the security of lives and property, and also maintain public order.
    The announcement relaxing the curfew was made in a statement by Gyang Bere, the Director of Press and Public Affairs to the Governor.
    The statement reads: “Following the improvement in security situation within the Jos-Bukuru metropolis, the Plateau State Government has announced a relaxation of the earlier imposed 24-hour curfew.
    “Effective from Wednesday, August 7, 2024, residents of the area can now move freely between the hours of 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm daily until further notice.
    “Governor Caleb Mutfwang, who ordered the relaxation after consultation with the security agencies, praised them for their diligence and commitment to ensuring strict compliance with the curfew.
  • JUST IN: Gunmen kidnap Kogi LG chairman

    JUST IN: Gunmen kidnap Kogi LG chairman

    The caretaker chairman of the Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, Zacchaeus Michael, has been kidnapped by gunmen.
    The state Police Public Relations Officer, William Aya, confirmed this on Saturday.
    Aya told our correspondent that the caretaker chairman was kidnapped on Friday night along Kabba-Okene Road in the Kabba area of the state.
    “Yes, I got the information. The state Commissioner of Police, Bethrand Onuoha, has already deployed officers for a search-and-rescue mission. We are on top of the situation,” he said.
    Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter said that Michael was abducted alongside some of his aides.
    One of the sources said, “Reports indicate that CTC Kabba/Bunu Chairman, Zacchaeus Dare Michael, and some of his aides have been kidnapped by gunmen on the Kabba-Okene Expressway in Kabba.
    “Authorities are seeking any credible information that may aid their safe rescue.
    “I urge everyone to pray for their immediate and safe release, asking for divine intervention and protection during this critical time.”
    Details later..
  • Protesters Shot Dead In Niger State

    Protesters Shot Dead In Niger State

    The victims were said to have been killed while security operatives were struggling to dislodge a group of protesters who mounted barricade on a section of Abuja-Kaduna highway.

    At least six people have been reportedly killed while some sustained injuries in the ongoing #ENDBADGOVERNANCE protest in Suleja, Niger State.
    The victims were said to have been killed while security operatives were struggling to dislodge a group of protesters who mounted barricade on a section of Abuja-Kaduna highway.
    Daily Trust had reported how passengers and motorists were trapped on the road for hours.
    Some policemen who were around the barricade could not control the youths who outnumbered them.
    However, a reinforcement team was sent to the scene where pandemonium occurred.
    Among those killed was said to be Yahaya Nda Isah, a resident of Hassan Dalatu Road, Suleja, who was hit by a stray bullet.
    The bullet reportedly hit Isa on his bike in front of the Suleja Police ‘A’ division where protesters had assembled.
    A nephew of the deceased told Daily Trust that his uncle was on his bike when the bullet fired to disperse the protesters hit him on his chest and he died on the spot.
    “He was my uncle. He was not even protesting. He was passing in front of the Police ‘A’ division where some people were protesting when stray Bullet hit him on his chest and he died. As I speak with you, I am in his house alongside other mourners. It’s unfortunate”, he said.
    Another victim was simply identified as Mallam Abu also said died on the spot.
    One of the residents who did not want his name mentioned told Daily Trust that 3 other people were shot at the same scene while 2 others were shot at the Suleja Junction on Abuja-Kaduna road but could not confirm if other victims were dead.
    Another resident who said his shop was not far from the Suleja Police “A” division said he had to close to run for his life.
    “We heard people shouting and gunshots were heard for about 20 minutes at Emir Roundabout. The situation in Suleja is ugly”, Bala Abdullahi, another resident.
    Spokesperson of the Niger State Police Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said some hoodlums also attempted to set the Tafa LGA ablaze but they were dispersed by security operatives.
    “The miscreants attempted to set the Tafa LGA ablaze, they were dispersed by the Police and military. Kaduna road and toll gate was cleared”, he said.
    When contacted over the phone, Wasiu Abiodun, Police Public Relations Officer in Niger, said, “Let me verify and get back to you.”
    However, he had not sent his response as of the time of filing this report.