Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo has told the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that his Bachelors and Masters degrees certificates in Architecture from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, have been consumed by fire.
Sambo, who is the Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), made the declaration in the documents he filed with INEC and displayed on the commission’s office in Abuja although the details of the fire that consumed the certificates were not given.
Sambo’s papers were received and stamped in INEC headquarters between December 10 and 18, 2014. The Vice President’s declaration was validated by two letters from the ABU, a copy of which was made available to newsmen today.
The first letter, signed by one Alhassan Garba for the institution’s registrar under the title, “To Whom it may Concern: Mohammed Namani Sambo,” read: “I certify that the above-named person having completed an approved course of study and passed the prescribed examinations was awarded the Bachelor of Science (Architecture) with Second Class Honours (Lower Division) in 1976 by the Senate of this University. His original certificate got burnt. Please treat his case in view of this certification. Thank you.”
The second letter, also signed by Garba for the ABU registrar, read: “I certify that the above-named person having completed an approved course of study and passed the prescribed examinations was awarded the Master of Science (Architecture) on May 25, 1978 by the Senate of this University. His original certificate got burnt. Please treat his case in view of this certification. Thank you.” [myad]
Wife of President Goodluck Jonathan and First Lady, Dame Patience has warned against the scraping of the office of the First Ladies in Nigeria. She argued that First Ladies have made profound contributions to the development of Nigeria.
Presidential candidate of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari said recently that he would cancel the office of First Lady if he is elected as President of the country next year.
But, Mrs. Jonathan, who spoke in Umuahia, Abia State while at the grand civic reception in her honour by her maternal kinsmen of the Ohuhu clan saidd that contrary to opinions and wrong impressions by some people, First Ladies play essential roles in moving the country forward.
According to her, those who are against the position of First Lady do not appreciate the good parts being played by her, adding that she had through her office, touched positively on the lives of many Nigerian women and youths.
Dame Patience said that many governors’ wives have also affected lives in their various states, even as she maintained that First Ladies all over the world play supportive roles that are essential to the successes recorded by their husbands. [myad]
Nigerian midfielder, Dickson Etuhu has said that he rejected big monetary offers in Englan but decided to join Swedish club, AIK Stockholm for the purpose of winning titles.
Etuhu said he had offers that could have fetched him more money, but opted for a change of scene so as to win trophies.
“That’s why I’m here – if it was for the money I wouldn’t be here, would I? I feel like I’m as fit as the younger ones. I want to feel like I enjoy football and make an impact.
“In England, I am going to play some games, win some games, but I’m never going to win a title. I want to come here and test myself, a different language, different style, different players and real fans. I am excited; I have got this feeling inside me that I have never had.
“A lot of people said to me ‘stay in England’. I’ve played in England all my career. I wanted something different.”
Etuhu who played at AFCON 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup with Nigeria, has been training with Fulham prior to signing a two-year deal with AIK. [myad]
A casual look at the events that shaped the activities of Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA) as 2014 winds-up would reveal interesting scenario where there is a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly. The FCTA team under Senator Bala has attracted a lot of investments and made a good stride in the provision of critical infrastructures for the development of Abuja. This was not without the activities of insurgents that showed its ugly face at the Nyanya and Emab Plaza. Amidst such dastardly acts have been a lot of achievements. In keeping with its promise and mandate, the Bala Mohammed –led FCTA has taken bold steps to deliver dividends of democracy to FCT residents. Apart from the celebrated land-swap system or mass housing, officials of the FCTA are now collaborating with the World Bank to finance and empower poor residents of the FCT, especially those living in the rural areas to be self-employed. Many people–oriented projects, whose list is inexhaustive have been executed. They include among others, the on-going rehabilitation and reconstruction of urban and rural roads, building of Schools and new school laboratories, rehabilitation of hospitals and rural health centres. Others are expansion of social facilities, provision of pipe-borne water to rural areas, introduction of Sure–P in remote areas of the FCT, supply of fertilizers, tractors and farming implements to farmers at subsidized rates, creation of grazing areas, introduction of new environmental guidelines and machines to help in cleaning the city and enacting new bye laws for urbanization and development of area councils. The Minister of State, Mrs. Olajumoke Akinjide, described as a bold step ever taken by any FCT Minister to attract the numerous development challenges of the ever expanding and dynamic Abuja city. The same view was also expressed by the FCT Permanent Secretary, Engr. John Chukwu and other FCTA/FCDA directors as well as Chief E. Awodu, the Minister’s Senior Special Assistant at a recent discussion forum in Abuja. As a mark of good faith and his commitment to the success of many laudable programmes, and as the longest serving FCT Minister, having been appointed by President Jonathan in 2010, Bala’s passion for the land-swap, mass housing, Rail-line and provision of infrastructure will enable him to leave a durable legacy at the end of the day. For more than four years now since Senator Bala assumed duties, he has passionately tackled the issue of land-reforms, resettlement, compensation, provision of infrastructure and providing good roads and security for the lives and properties of FCT residents. He has also been vigorously involved in the land-swap, sanitation, parks and garden enhancement, youth empowerment, improvement of transport system and mass housing for the less–privileged. I must admit that the pace of development activities, especially on real issues that concerns the FCT residents directly, like the provision of critical infrastructure is much higher in the last four years or so. A consensus opinion seems to suggest that FCT Minister falls in line with the dictum of a “square peg in a square hole.” His uncommon achievements and giant strides must therefore be given proper perspectives. Political associates, friends and even foes, see the Minister as a respected politician whose love for humanity is boundless. Many people actually believe that Senator Bala has opened a new chapter in the index of development in the FCT, as his interventions in the process of good governance, particularly in the provision of social infrastructure are impressive. I term these achievements, as the “Kaura Revolution.” With eyes for aesthetics and the resolve to add value to the existing structures in the FCT, Bala’s passion towards transformation of the grass-root to meet the challenges of a modern federal capital is legendary. The minister has constructed some vital road network as a solution to the harrowing problems of traffic grid-locks on major entry and exit points in the FCT that made life hitherto unbearable. The near completed network of asphalt roads along the Airport and Kubwa expressway has been opened to commuters, thus bringing relief to the residents of these areas. These projects were captured under the primary infrastructural development in the territory, which covers rehabilitation and expansion of Airport Expressway and extension of inner southern Expressway. This road is said to have also touched the outer-southern expressway to the southern parkway. Among his many other achievements is the provision of primary roads in mass housing schemes and circle road in the Abuja central area. The minister has commenced the construction of the Abuja International Trade Centre, the first of its kind in sub-Sahara Africa. When completed, the trade center will open the floodgate of trade and commerce to flourish, while its ultra-modern facilities will bestow on the edifice “the World Conference Capital” in Abuja. As part of dividends of democracy to the FCT residents, the minister, who is also conscious of the increasing population of the territory, has embarked on the development of Kagini district in the Abuja northwest, while work on engineering infrastructure to Wuye, Jahi, Mbora and Idu districts have started in earnest. Also, infrastructural projects in Karmo are in progress, while the provision of facilities to Maitama Extension, also known as Goodluck District, is under way. Several hospitals and health centres were similarly established with enhanced drugs and service delivery. Conscious of the fact that education is the bedrock of any modern society, the administration is leaving no stone unturned in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target. It has invested a lot in the education sector. The success story is that, today, there is increased enrolment in schools, colleagues and tertiary institutions, while the non-formal education also got a boost. The mother of all the achievements recorded in the FCT is the introduction of the land-swap model which will lead to the provision of more critical infrastructure as the magic that will fast-track the development of the entire 8,000 kilometres of the new capital city. In line with the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, Bala Mohammed has teamed-up with the public private partnership (PPP) for the successful execution of the infrastructural development projects in Durumi, Kada, Mabushi and Gwarinpa Districts. Under the infrastructure development, the FCTA has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) of the private sector driven centenary city project worth over $18 billion to make the Abuja city as the center for Nigerian political history, political and cultural hub for the peace and progress of the nation. Senator Bala’s team also introduced a new transport policy and provided nearly 7,000 high capacity buses to ply major routes in the city center apart from providing brand new transit buses in order to ameliorate transport difficult by commuters in the city. This is apart from the Abuja Light Rail project and the new Abuja Taxi mode which will complement the Abuja Railway Project for the ever-busy Nyanya-Maraba axis aimed at slowing the notorious traffic hold-up in that areas. There is also Bala’s efforts to vigorously protect and implement the Abuja Master Plan provision by constituting a powerful committee for effective supervision apart from giving a solid support to the Abuja management metropolitan council to do its work properly. Nigerian’s First Lady, Madam Patience Jonathan once said that the various landmark projects which Bala initiated and currently executing were a clear demonstration of the Minister’s determination to properly implement the government transformation agenda in Abuja for the benefit of the residents.
Biu, biuibrahim@gmail.com, Tel: 09092296111 (sms only) sent this from Kuje, Abuja. [myad]
What happened in 1993 between Alhaji Bashir Tofa and the late Chief Moshood Abiola of the blessed memory is about repeating itself in Nigeria today. Before the June 12 1993 presidential elections, handlers of Alhaji Bashir Tofa knew that comparing Bashir Tofa and Chief Abiola is like Apples and Oranges comparison. They knew that it is like comparing a giant with a dwarf. They knew that there is no basis for the comparison, and if it is a 100m dash, Chief Abiola would have hit the tape while Tofa is at the starting point. The handlers led by Dr. Doyin Okupe initiated a strategy to hit Chief Abiola from all corners and try to panel beat him to Tofa’s level. They failed miserably and woefully too. In the process of doing that they helped in no uncertain terms to catapult Chief Abiola to an unprecedented height. The rest is now history.
In 2015, the reckless, useless and fraudulent historians and hack writers are at work again. This time it is a battle between President Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari. Buhari has contested presidential elections in 2003, 2007, 2011 and even though he did not make it, he gave a good account of himself. Though he was cheated out, he got millions of votes. He remained consistent, committed and courageous even in the face of all the troubles he had to go through. President Jonathan became a deputy Governor and through luck he became Governor, Vice president and now President and he would have ruled Nigeria for six years by next year.
In 2015, Nigerians will take stock. Nigerians are looking back, they are looking at the present and as well as the future. In the past sixteen years, a lot of water has passed under the bridge. Nigerians have seen a lot. Devastated, pillaged and gang raped in all fronts, Nigerians are now thinking seriously. Shall we continue with this mess? Do we have an alternative? Can we do things differently? Is Nigeria a basket case? Are we helpless and hopeless? Are our destinies in our hands? Can we bring the change we all desire? Can we raise the bar of leadership in 2015? Can we recover our stolen country? Many hard questions demanding hard answers.
After the 2011 elections, General Buhari said he may not seek the highest office again. But the crisis of leadership in our country has pushed him to throw his hat into the ring again. He has been compelled by the forces of history to step forward again and this time it is a different ball game. General Buhari of yesteryears is no longer the same Buhari of today. Things have changed. Time has changed. The calculations, equations and permutations have changed. Nigerians want Buhari to come clean up the Augean Stable PDP led federal government is leaving behind. GMB is coming to change the way we think and the way we work.
But the enemies are at the door again. The thieves are at the door once again. They are with guns, bombs, Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (IBM), Rocket Launchers (RL), Warships, Jet fighters, Bows and Arrows, AK-47s, etc to shoot him down. They tell us he is a Religious Bigot, an Islamic fundamentalist, a semi-illiterate person, too old and too weak to get things done. They are still manufacturing every bad thing under the sun and are heaping them at GMB’s doorsteps.
They are desperate, vicious, hopeless, helpless and potentially dangerous. They are doing everything humanly possible to stop and if possible to kill General Buhari. This is the reason why l want maximum security for General Buhari now.
These meretricious mediocrity can pull the house down to remain in power. They are ready to slaughter thousands to remain. They are ready to continue to divide the country to remain in power.
The corrupt people and criminals in the land will do everything humanly possible to stop Buhari. We have seen them at work. They know the consequences of General Buhari’s presidency. They know that he is a no nonsense man. They know he will fight criminals head on. They know he is going to remove feeding bottles from their mouths. They know he will do things differently. They know his puritanical disposition and they know he will stop at nothing to stop the mess in the land. General Buhari may be a religious bigot, he may be a fundamentalist, he may be a dictator, he may be an old man and semi illiterate, he may be everything they claim he is but these congenital liars from the pit of hell will kiss the dust. They will swallow their words when the chips are down. They will go down with their pathological lies when it dawns on them that no 21st century idiot will stop an idea whose time has come.
They can call General Buhari names, they can call him anything but it will amount to nothing. Those who claimed they are PHD holders have disappointed us. Those who claimed they are not dictators have bruised and oppressed us. Those who claimed they are young brought shame and mediocrity to us. Leadership is not measured by height or age. Mr Webster wrote Webster Dictionary at the age of 80. Buhari remains a candidate to beat in the 2015 presidential election and I pity these characters who will dare to stand on his way. I pity those who did not know when the train left the station. I sympathize with those who did not know when to call a spade a spade. I fear for those who did not know that an idea whose time has come is here. I worry that history is leaving some people behind in Nigeria. I fear that some compound idiots who have ruined Nigeria for years are yet to come to terms with GMB’s towering personality.
Liberian opposition politician and former football star, George Weah has won a landslide victory in Senate elections in Ebola-ravaged Liberia.
Official results showed today that Weah got 78 percent of the vote in Montserrado county in the December 20 poll to fill half the seats of the Senate. He defeated his rival, Robert Sirleaf, the son of Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who contested the election as an independent. He got 10.8 percent of the vote.
Turnout for the election was said to be about 25 percent, according to the national election commission. The election was originally due to be held in October but was postponed over the Ebola outbreak in Liberia.
Weah, in 1995, became the first and only African yet to win the Ballon d’Or as European footballer of the year and who played for AC Milan, Paris Saint Germain and Monaco.
Montserrado county, in northwestern Liberia, is the west African country’s most populous region and home to nearly a third of its population of four million.
Liberia tops the number of Ebola deaths in the current outbreak with 3,384 fatalities, but it has seen a clear decrease of new transmissions in the past month.
Ebola has killed 7,693 people, almost all of them in the West African epicenters of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Weah, a popular figure in Liberia since his days as a deadly centre-forward, won the first round of the 2005 presidential election, but lost the runoff to Johnson Sirleaf. A 2011 election campaign was also unsuccessful. [myad]
Leader of the Niger Delta People’s Salvation and Volunteer Front (NDSVF), Alhaji Asari Dokubo has made it clear that it is not possible for the incumbent President, Goodluck Jonathan to lose the 2015 election.
Asari Dokubo who spoke at the burial ceremony of Late Princess Preba Abigail Prince Ekineh, Asari’s grandmother, at Buguma in Asari Toru Local Government Area of Rivers state, Jonathan who is the Presidential candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) must win and has even won the election long before the election.
He said that Jonathan who is from the Niger Delta region of the country cannot lose the election that would return him for the second term in office.
According to him, the next year’s election election is a walk over for the President, adding however that he does not know how it will be done but that measures have been put in place for the success of the election in favour of the president.
“2015 Goodluck Jonathan will win, in whatever way they want him, he will win. I am not afraid of anybody. My confidence is that he has already won, but in River state I don’t know because there is injustice in Rivers state.”
“The injustice in Rivers state is that one set of People cannot rule. Rivers state is a multiethnic state and all the ethnic nationalities must have access to government. So whoever is encouraging this perfidy does not mean well for the people because it will explode one day. The only way out is for justice to be done in the state and that means an Ogoni candidate should be feed in all the political parties.”
Concerned elders and stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Borno State have warned against move to substitute Alhaji Gambo Lawan as the party’s governorship candidate for Borno State in the 2015 election. Lawan, who is former Chairman of the Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM) and ex-Chairman of Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, had picked the party’s governorship ticket at a process in Abuja which was supervised by President Goodluck Jonathan as part of his intervention to resolve the lingering disagreement over the PDP governorship ticket in the state. The former GDM chairman and founding leader of PDP in the state was affirmed by the party’s delegates and a Certificate of Return issued to him after the election. In attendance during the primary election were Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark, PDP National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu, Chairman PDP Board of Trustees Chief Tony Anenih, Borno State PDP Chairman, Minister of State for Power Muhammed Wakil, and BOT members and other stakeholders from the state. But on the eve of the submission of parties’ governorship flag bearers to the Independent National Electoral Commission, Lawan’s name was, however, substituted by the PDP National Chairman with that of Mohammed Imam, a nominee of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. In an open letter to President Jonathan dated December 26, 2014, the PDP stakeholders called for a reversal of the wrongful substitution in the interest of justice and fair play. The petition was signed by Aminu Yakudima, Ibrahim Abatcha and Salisu Aliyu. Speaking about the process that produced Lawan, they said, “the process and composition of the people present is first of its kind in the history of our great party, which Your Excellency described as the Supreme Court of the party whose decision is final. You may wish to recall further that Gambo Lawan having emerged from the old PDP as the Candidate, you directed the new entrants to the Party to nominate the Candidate for the Deputy Governor. “It is disheartening to note that 14 days after the nomination and affirmation of Gambo Lawan as the Candidate, he was wrongly and illegally substituted with Mohammed Imam on the eve of the closure for the submission of the Gubernatorial nominees to INEC. “We want to believe that Your Excellency is unaware of this ugly and sad development particularly in a nomination process of this magnitude that was conducted by the highest office of the Federation. In this regard and in the best interest of the party, we call for the immediate reversal of the decision to substitute Gambo Lawan. “Your Excellency may wish to note: 1. Gambo Lawan is the only Candidate who is recognized and acceptable to the party and party faithfuls in the State because he is the one elected and holds the Certificate of return to fly the party flag. 2. It is completely unacceptable to have Mohammed Imam (a nominee of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff) as the PDP Governorship flag bearer. It is on record that Imam contested and lost the House of Representatives seat in the 2011 general elections to the incumbent, Hon. Kaka Kyari Gujbawu of the PDP. 3. In the 2011 general elections, the PDP did well, having won two Senatorial seats in the process of which the then incumbent Governor, Senator Ali Sheriff was defeated by the PDP Candidate for Borno Central Senatorial seat. In addition, two House of Representatives and six House of Assembly seats were also won by the PDP. 4. In the spirit of accommodation and in spite of the Senator Ken Nnamani Reconciliation Committee’s template of sharing 60/40 in favour of the old PDP, the new entrants were allowed to have two out of three Senatorial seats, five out of ten House of Representatives seats and fifteen out of twenty eight House of Assembly seats. These concessions were agreed to by the old PDP as a result of the fact that the Governorship Candidate in the person of Gambo Lawan has already emerged from the old PDP. All these concessions and magnanimity notwithstanding, the new entrants surreptitiously took over the Governorship Candidate of the party in total disregard of the spirit of give and take extended to them. This is tantamount to short-changing the old PDP members and the party in the State.”
President Goodluck Jonathan took off for London today for reason he did not disclose, other than it was private. A three short paragraph statement from his special adviser on media and publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati simply said the President was on a brief private visit to the United Kingdom. Abati also was not specific on the officials that accompanied the President, but that they include “some of his principal staff and personal aides.” The presidential spokesman said that the President would return to Abuja tomorrow ahead of official engagements at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, including scheduled audiences with groups from Delta and Lagos States. [myad]
”On our part, in addition to other efforts aimed at ensuring a peaceful election, we pledge to accept the result of an election that is not only free, fair, credible and transparent, but one that is also seen to be so. We hope other parties will make a similar pledge.” These were the pledges made today by the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). It assured Nigerians and the international community that it will do all in its power to make sure that the 2015 general election is violence-free, adding that the rising apprehension about the polls among the populace is inimical to the conduct of a successful election. In a statement issued in Lagos today by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party, however, wanted the PDP-led federal government, which has a propensity for using the security agencies to harass and intimidate the opposition and ordinary citizens to follow suit. APC asked the federal government to take all measures necessary to ensure that the elections are free, fair and credible, since rigging and other acts of electoral malpractices constitute the immediate trigger for anger and violence during and after elections. ”We have heard from Nigerians who are so afraid about possible violence during the forthcoming election that they are even willing to relocate to other countries until after the elections. But, as the biggest opposition party in Nigeria and a major stakeholder in our nation’s democracy, we are assuring, on our part, that there will be no violence. ”Though our party has no history of violence, we have commenced a nationwide effort to sensitize our members and supporters to the need to eschew rancour and embrace non-violent methods, even in the face of the kind of provocations to which we were subjected during the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections, when our members were needlessly harassed, arrested and detained by partisan security agencies acting under orders from the federal government. ”If the federal government allows a level playing field for all contestants, if the security agencies stop acting as the armed wing of the ruling PDP, if the electoral umpire will carry out its duties without fear, favour or bias and if citizens are allowed to exercise their franchise unmolested, the stage will be set for a non-violent, free, fair and credible polls. In other words, the government has a major role to play in making the forthcoming polls peaceful.”
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2014: An Eventful Year In Nigeria’s Federal Capital, By Ibrahim Biu
A casual look at the events that shaped the activities of Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA) as 2014 winds-up would reveal interesting scenario where there is a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly.
The FCTA team under Senator Bala has attracted a lot of investments and made a good stride in the provision of critical infrastructures for the development of Abuja. This was not without the activities of insurgents that showed its ugly face at the Nyanya and Emab Plaza.
Amidst such dastardly acts have been a lot of achievements. In keeping with its promise and mandate, the Bala Mohammed –led FCTA has taken bold steps to deliver dividends of democracy to FCT residents.
Apart from the celebrated land-swap system or mass housing, officials of the FCTA are now collaborating with the World Bank to finance and empower poor residents of the FCT, especially those living in the rural areas to be self-employed.
Many people–oriented projects, whose list is inexhaustive have been executed. They include among others, the on-going rehabilitation and reconstruction of urban and rural roads, building of Schools and new school laboratories, rehabilitation of hospitals and rural health centres. Others are expansion of social facilities, provision of pipe-borne water to rural areas, introduction of Sure–P in remote areas of the FCT, supply of fertilizers, tractors and farming implements to farmers at subsidized rates, creation of grazing areas, introduction of new environmental guidelines and machines to help in cleaning the city and enacting new bye laws for urbanization and development of area councils. The Minister of State, Mrs. Olajumoke Akinjide, described as a bold step ever taken by any FCT Minister to attract the numerous development challenges of the ever expanding and dynamic Abuja city.
The same view was also expressed by the FCT Permanent Secretary, Engr. John Chukwu and other FCTA/FCDA directors as well as Chief E. Awodu, the Minister’s Senior Special Assistant at a recent discussion forum in Abuja.
As a mark of good faith and his commitment to the success of many laudable programmes, and as the longest serving FCT Minister, having been appointed by President Jonathan in 2010, Bala’s passion for the land-swap, mass housing, Rail-line and provision of infrastructure will enable him to leave a durable legacy at the end of the day.
For more than four years now since Senator Bala assumed duties, he has passionately tackled the issue of land-reforms, resettlement, compensation, provision of infrastructure and providing good roads and security for the lives and properties of FCT residents. He has also been vigorously involved in the land-swap, sanitation, parks and garden enhancement, youth empowerment, improvement of transport system and mass housing for the less–privileged.
I must admit that the pace of development activities, especially on real issues that concerns the FCT residents directly, like the provision of critical infrastructure is much higher in the last four years or so.
A consensus opinion seems to suggest that FCT Minister falls in line with the dictum of a “square peg in a square hole.”
His uncommon achievements and giant strides must therefore be given proper perspectives. Political associates, friends and even foes, see the Minister as a respected politician whose love for humanity is boundless.
Many people actually believe that Senator Bala has opened a new chapter in the index of development in the FCT, as his interventions in the process of good governance, particularly in the provision of social infrastructure are impressive.
I term these achievements, as the “Kaura Revolution.” With eyes for aesthetics and the resolve to add value to the existing structures in the FCT, Bala’s passion towards transformation of the grass-root to meet the challenges of a modern federal capital is legendary.
The minister has constructed some vital road network as a solution to the harrowing problems of traffic grid-locks on major entry and exit points in the FCT that made life hitherto unbearable. The near completed network of asphalt roads along the Airport and Kubwa expressway has been opened to commuters, thus bringing relief to the residents of these areas. These projects were captured under the primary infrastructural development in the territory, which covers rehabilitation and expansion of Airport Expressway and extension of inner southern Expressway. This road is said to have also touched the outer-southern expressway to the southern parkway.
Among his many other achievements is the provision of primary roads in mass housing schemes and circle road in the Abuja central area. The minister has commenced the construction of the Abuja International Trade Centre, the first of its kind in sub-Sahara Africa.
When completed, the trade center will open the floodgate of trade and commerce to flourish, while its ultra-modern facilities will bestow on the edifice “the World Conference Capital” in Abuja.
As part of dividends of democracy to the FCT residents, the minister, who is also conscious of the increasing population of the territory, has embarked on the development of Kagini district in the Abuja northwest, while work on engineering infrastructure to Wuye, Jahi, Mbora and Idu districts have started in earnest.
Also, infrastructural projects in Karmo are in progress, while the provision of facilities to Maitama Extension, also known as Goodluck District, is under way.
Several hospitals and health centres were similarly established with enhanced drugs and service delivery. Conscious of the fact that education is the bedrock of any modern society, the administration is leaving no stone unturned in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target. It has invested a lot in the education sector.
The success story is that, today, there is increased enrolment in schools, colleagues and tertiary institutions, while the non-formal education also got a boost.
The mother of all the achievements recorded in the FCT is the introduction of the land-swap model which will lead to the provision of more critical infrastructure as the magic that will fast-track the development of the entire 8,000 kilometres of the new capital city.
In line with the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, Bala Mohammed has teamed-up with the public private partnership (PPP) for the successful execution of the infrastructural development projects in Durumi, Kada, Mabushi and Gwarinpa Districts.
Under the infrastructure development, the FCTA has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) of the private sector driven centenary city project worth over $18 billion to make the Abuja city as the center for Nigerian political history, political and cultural hub for the peace and progress of the nation.
Senator Bala’s team also introduced a new transport policy and provided nearly 7,000 high capacity buses to ply major routes in the city center apart from providing brand new transit buses in order to ameliorate transport difficult by commuters in the city. This is apart from the Abuja Light Rail project and the new Abuja Taxi mode which will complement the Abuja Railway Project for the ever-busy Nyanya-Maraba axis aimed at slowing the notorious traffic hold-up in that areas.
There is also Bala’s efforts to vigorously protect and implement the Abuja Master Plan provision by constituting a powerful committee for effective supervision apart from giving a solid support to the Abuja management metropolitan council to do its work properly.
Nigerian’s First Lady, Madam Patience Jonathan once said that the various landmark projects which Bala initiated and currently executing were a clear demonstration of the Minister’s determination to properly implement the government transformation agenda in Abuja for the benefit of the residents.
Biu, biuibrahim@gmail.com, Tel: 09092296111 (sms only) sent this from Kuje, Abuja. [myad]