Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has challenged the newly inaugurated Chairmen of the six Area Councils to be proactive and think out of the box towards improving the councils’ revenue.

Muhammad Bello who spoke on Friday at the inauguration ceremony of the Chairmen and Vice Chairmen at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, stressed that the dwindling economy has affected all tiers of government with the ever increasing obligations.

“Permit me to tell you that serious challenges await you at the Area Councils. The bitter truth is that all the six Area Councils cannot be able to pay staff salaries and other obligations.

“Even though the FCT Administration has gone extra mile to assist the Area Councils, you are better off taking proactive measure to your various councils”.

Muhammad Bello reminded the new chairmen that they made a lot of campaign promises and the people have a lot of expectation on them to deliver.

He advised Chairmen to provide leadership to all the people in their areas, irrespective of party affiliation, tribe or religious inclination, even as he enjoined them to lead with the utmost fear of God and the best interest of the people at all times.

“You are now for all, irrespective of party, religion, tribe, age or gender. So be humble in your leadership and appreciate the role played by all stakeholders towards your victory.”

Muhammad Bello asked the chairmen to ensure accountability and prudence in the management of their councils’ resources, saying: “you must turn around the potentials of your Area Councils into wealth, by boosting revenue and blocking leakages, so that your Councils’ can be financially independent and you will be able to deliver the expected dividends of democracy.”

Those sworn-in were Abdul_Rahman Ajiya-Abaji; Abdullahi Adamu Candido-AMAC; Musa Dikko-Bwari; Adamu Mustapha Denze-Gwagwalada; Abdullahi Galadima- Kuje and Joseph Shazin-Kwali. [myad]

“We have to be very serious with the situation in the Niger Delta because it threatens the national economy. I assure you that everything possible will be done to protect personnel and oil assets in the region.”

President Muhammadu Buhari made this declaration on Friday in Abuja at a meeting with the Global Director (Upstream) of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, Mr. Andrew Brown.

The President assured oil companies operating in the Niger Delta that the Federal Government is taking all necessary actions to protect strategic assets in the region from vandals and criminals.

President Buhari said that he has directed the Chief of Naval Staff to reorganize and strengthen the military Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta to deal effectively with the resurgence of militancy and the sabotage of oil installations.

The President told Mr. Brown that the operations of the JTF were also being enhanced with increased support and cooperation from the United States and Europe in the areas of training, intelligence, equipment and logistics.

The President urged aggrieved persons, militants and communities in the Niger Delta to drop their confrontational stance and work with those who have been charged by the Federal Government to review the Amnesty Programme initiated by the Yar’Adua Administration for the benefit of all parties.

President Buhari praised the resilience and staying power of Shell in Nigeria despite the operational challenges of the environment.

He urged the company to do its best to end  gas-flaring in the Niger Delta quickly and produce more gas for electricity generation to support manufacturing and job creation in the country.

Mr. Brown had appealed for an urgent solution to rising crime and militancy in the Niger Delta.

The Shell Executive also dispelled speculations that the company was pulling out of Nigeria.

He said that contrary to such speculations, Shell was currently in discussions with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation  (NNPC) on new joint oil and gas projects. [myad]

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has called for a decentralized policing and reinforcement of the federal police to help combat the nation’s security challenges.

“I still hold my view that in addition to the central police, which we have today, we need other levels of policing. States, local governments, and possibly other major institutions should be able to have their own police that is well coordinated.”
The Deputy Senate President spoke on Friday in Abuja while decorating one of his newly promoted security aides, Mr. Uchenna Igwebuike, with the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.

Ekweremadu, who commended the Police for rewarding hard work through the promotion, observed that Nigeria could no longer afford to do the same thing continually and expect a different result.

He said that unitary police, which the country currently operates, is out of tune with a federal arrangement.

“First of all, let me say that I am happy with this promotion. It shows that hard work pays and this is the reward for hard work. The officer has showed exemplary dedication to his work; he has been a true professional. So, he deserves this promotion and I also believe that the sky is his limit in his chosen profession.

“But, in the interim, we need to ensure efficiency in the central policing we have. We need to ensure that they are equipped, trained, and motivated to do the work they have been constitutionally empowered to do, while we explore modalities to work out the decentralized policing system for our country in tandem with all federal institutions all over the world.” [myad]