Metro
Interstate restriction: FCTA taskforce arrests 27 Kogi, Edo-bound travellers hidden in trucks, impounds Dangote trucks
The FCT Ministerial Enforcement Task Team on COVID-19 restriction arrested twenty seven (27) persons trying to make their way through the city to other parts of the country.
The apprehended travellers were said to have been hidden in Dangote trucks, conveying bags of rice and onions from Zaria in Kaduna. js">
They were arraigned at the Zuba Mobile Court, where the presiding Magistrate, Ebiwari Damini convicted the driver, Olalekan Wasiu and other passengers for violating the ban on interstate travelling imposed by President Buhari to contain spread of the deadly coronavirus.
Unlike previous sentences, the magistrate who fined the driver five thousand Naira (N5,000) ruled that the Dangote company’s truck used to transport the violators be impounded until after the interstate travel restriction is lifted. He also ruled that those caught should be guided out of the FCT to the place of departure.
Speaking to journalists at Zuba after the judgement, Chairman of the FCT Ministerial Enforcement Task Team on Covid-19, Comrade Ikharo Attah, lauded the verdict by the magistrate, saying that it would deter violators of the interstate travel ban.
“Now that the truck drivers know that whenever they are caught transporting people from one state to another, their trucks would not be released, they would stop such act”
Attah stated this and appealed to Nigerians “To be mindful of their health”, decrying that “A situation in which people are hidden in between bags of onions in trucks and covered with tarpoline, as it is in this case, is not good for their health. Some even hid on the floor of trucks carrying cattle, which is also not hygienic.”
Warning owners of the trucks to desist from aiding violation of the interstate ban, Attah said: “Management of Dangote company, who are the owners of most of the trucks used for this illegal act must do all to ensure their trucks which are meant for haulage of goods are not converted to be illegally transporting persons from one state to another, thus violating the lockdown directive of the president”.
Speaking while pleading for mercy, the driver of The Dangote truck, Olalekan Wasiu admitted that after delivering items in Zaria, he was hired by someone to convey food items to Edo State, adding that he had to carry passengers to increase his profit.
In a related developmen, a mobile court sitting at Dei-Dei also convicted two bus drivers who were coming from Minna, Niger State for violating the same travel ban. They were fined by the magistrate who also ruled that they be returned to Niger State where they came from.
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We will choke them with what we have done in education – Wike
By Wumi Tewogbade, Abuja
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike,on Tuesday,said his administration has concluded arrangement to commence the commissioning of projects that have been concluded in Education Sector.
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Wike stated this during the commissioning of the newly Provided Engineering Infrastructure in Wuye District Abuja.
After 20 days of flag offs and commissioning, he said he will take a break and come back for commissioning of projects in the education sector.
He said, “After this series of flag-offs and commissionings, we’ll take a short break. Twenty days of events is not a small feat. Afterward, we’ll turn our focus fully to education. For twenty more days, we’ll show Nigerians what we have done in that sector — and it will surprise many. Our work is not only about roads and infrastructure; it also extends to education.
Taking a swipe at the last administration, he said the project was awarded in 2009 but President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, came in and completed the project.
“Under previous administrations, projects were abandoned. But today, those roads are being dualised and completed. President Tinubu has transformed not just the city but the satellite towns as well.
“People often come to us to say this contract was awarded long ago. Yes, it was awarded in 2009, and yet it remained abandoned because there was no payment. From that time till 2023, nothing was done.
“When this administration came in, the President took immediate steps to revive it. The entire Gwagwalada district — with hundreds of hectares of land — was developed to include road networks, sectoral arterials, tunnels, water and electricity. The President said clearly: I have come to bring renewed hope to the people.
“Many had lost faith, but he restored it. Within one year in office, major projects were completed — including the interchange that had caused traffic chaos in the area. Today, the entire district is fully developed”,he said.
He therefore challenged, “If there’s any administration since the creation of the Federal Capital Territory that has done more than what we are doing, let them speak up now. Their silence says it all — this is leadership that is committed, leadership that is changing lives”.
He commended the management and staff of FCT for all their supports and hardwork and urged them to be proud of themselves anywhere they go.
“Let me thank everyone working with the FCTA. You’ve done well. Stand tall and be proud of your efforts. You’ve broken records. Wherever you go, carry your shoulders high — tell anyone who doubts it that the FCT is working”, he noted .
In her remarks, FCT Minister of State, Dr Mariya Mahmoud, described the project is about giving communities the infrastructure they deserve and the comfort they have long awaited.
In her words, “As we celebrate this achievement, let us remember that every milestone is a promise kept, and every completion is a beginning anew.”
Mahmoud, therefore, expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose Renewed Hope Agenda continues to illuminate every corner of the Federal Capital Territory.
In the same vein, Mahmoud extended the administration’s profound appreciation to the FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, for his exemplary leadership and relentless drive to deliver projects that touch lives and uplift communities.
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- Prince Abdulrahman Obaje is a Media, Information and Computer Technology Consultant. A quintessential Journalist, online marketer, social media strategist, Mathematician and Computer Scientist is based in Abuja, Nigeria. He is the Founder and the Publisher of The Informavores!. You can reach me on +234 805 939 5252 or send i-witness report directly to me on news@informavores.com.ng.
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There would be Improved Budgetary Provisions For Physical Planning – Aliyu
Federal Capital Territory, FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ranatu Tijjani Aliyu, has assured members of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, that efforts would be made for improved budgetary provisions in 2021 budget in view of the critical roles town planners play through review and implementation of physical plans for satellite towns, urban renewal, and other levels of planning interventions. googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js">
Aliyu, who gave this commitment when members of the topmost management of the planning profession paid her a courtesy visit, recently, also stressed that recent flooding in most parts of the territory could have been avoided if town planners were actively engaged in the physical planning of satellite towns and settlements.
The minister who is also a town planner by profession frowned at the conflicts of roles between physical planners and engineers and other allied professionals, saying “this is an era to redefine the essence of town planning in Nigeria”.
According to her, “How can town planning not be given prominence and engineering takes precedence? And this what we faced as a professional body. The flooding which is unexpected is as a result of neglecting town planners. Perhaps, it is an opportunity for town planners to also sit together and see how they can salvage the situation.
“However, in the FCT and with the approval of the FCT Minister, we set up an adhoc committee of town planners to go round the city to see what has been done and what is left undone. This is because if we continue to do the same thing again and again, we should not expect different result. I can tell you proudly that in the past, powers were usurped and realities are now telling on us. This is an era to redefine the essence of town planning in Nigeria”.
She, therefore, appealed to members of the National Assembly to assist the profession for improved budgetary provisions for the implementation of physical plans for satellite towns and urban management.
Earlier in his remarks, the leader of delegation and National President of Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, Tpl. Lekwa Ezutah, commended the minister for what he described as “demonstrated passion and commitment to the course of physical planning” in Nigeria particularly in the Federal Capital Territory since assumption of office as FCT Minister of State.
While appreciating the efforts at creating the Directorate of Physical Planning in FCT Satellite Towns Development Department (STDD), he implored the Directorate of Physical Planning be given the full latitude to exercise its functions instead of being subsumed under the Directorate of Engineering Services of the STDD, noting that such step would promote effective delivery of services by the Directorate.
“We have observed that the FCT is in dire need for planners at all levels to facilitate organised development and achievement of the intents of the New Urban Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals and the provisions of the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Law.
“We recommend an aggressive manpower hunt for professional planners into the services of FCTA, provide adequate equipment for enforcement and improve the capacity of planners through training and retraining programmes either locally or international programmed,” he stressed.
Ezutah, however, pledged the Institute readiness to be part of providing affordable housing for rural dwellers in the Federal Capital Territory.
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