Abuja Airport to be Shut Again

The runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, will again be closed this weekend for what aviation authorities have termed the second phase of the repair.

 

This was contained in a statement this afternoon by the head of media relations of aviation parastatals, Mr Yakubu Dati. He said the second phase of the repair of the runway would take place between 12 and 14 July.

 

“The runway rehabilitation is being done in two phases to minimize the inconvenience the runway closure would have on air passengers and aircraft operators if it was carried out at once,” Mr Dati said. “A NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) to this effect has already been sent to all aircraft pilots and other relevant stakeholders, informing them of the impending closure.”

 

He regretted the inconvenience the closure would cause passengers and other stakeholders.

It would be recalled that the airport was first shut last weekend and reopened on Monday.

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Nigeria/Cameroon Trans-Border Security Committee to Meet in Abuja

The second session of the Nigeria/Cameroon Trans-Border Security Committee will meet in Abuja between 8-11 July.

 

This was revealed in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by the Special Assistant, Media, to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr Karounwi Adekunle. It said that the session would be organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in partnership with the office of the NSA.

The statement quoted the Head of Nigerian Delegation, Maj-.Gen. Babatunde Samuel (Rtd), as saying that “the purpose of the second session is to move the cooperation of both countries to the next level.”

The statement also said that prior to the first session held last year in Yaounde, Cameroon, the Presidents of both countries resolved that there was need to deepen the bilateral relations between them, particularly in the area of security.

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ASUU, Others Approve Adikwu as New UniAbuja VC

Various unions, including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Associations of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and National Association of Academic Technicians (NAAT), have at separate meetings over the weekend endorsed the election of Prof. Michael Umale Adikwu as the Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Abuja.

 The University of Abuja ASUU chairman, Dr. Ben Ugheoke who disclosed this on behalf of the other unions, said they had written the governing council and other relevant authorities, conveying their readiness to work together and cooperate with Prof. Adikwu in the interest of the institution.

 Meanwhile, it has denied reports that some lecturers have sued University of Abuja at the National Industrial Court over the accusation that the appointment of the third best candidate as the VC did not follow due process.

ASUU said that the Council did not break any law, particularly the university Autonomy Law, in the appointment of Prof. Adikwu, as the tradition in the appointment of VCs for the university has always favoured any one of the candidates in the final three-person list submitted to the Council.

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Security Operatives Stop #BringBackOurGirls Protesters from Entering Villa

Security operatives yesterday prevented the #BringBackOurGirls group from entering Presidential Villa.

The security men barricaded the road leading to the Villa, saying they have been ordered to stop the protesters who are demanding for the urgent rescue of the abducted Chibok girls.They however promised that the message of the group will be relayed to the relevant authorities.

 

One of the leaders of the #BringBackOurGirls group, Mrs. Aisha Yusufu, said that the group decided on the impromptu march during its daily sit-in to remind President Goodluck Jonathan and Nigerians that the abducted girls are still in captivity after 83 days.

 

Also at the protest was former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dino Melaye.

 

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Ministry to Partner CBN on N220bn for Women

The Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development is set to collaborate with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure that Nigerian women are included the financial system, by promoting financial inclusion through such initiatives as the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) and Agricultural Financing Scheme.

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Zainab Maina who spoke over the weekend in Abuja, while receiving the executive members of the Nigerian Quintessential Business Women and the Association of Non-Bank Micro-finance Institution of Nigeria in her office, noted that the economic well-being of women was urgently required to guarantee their full participation in governance and decision-making.

The Minister noted that the economic well-being of women was necessary to guarantee their full participation in governance and decision-making.

“My dream is to see that Nigerian women become economically and politically empowered and independent, to enable them to contribute more meaningfully to national development endeavours,” she said. “This is because the most important independence anybody can acquire is economic independence. Once you are economically empowered, the sky is your limit.”

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The Untold Costs Of Insecurity In Abuja

“I no dey carry anybody wey get bag and I no dey go all those Wuse side.” (*I don’t carry passengers with bags and I don’t ply Wuse) These are the exact words of an Abuja taxi driver.  Asked if he’d take us to Nyanya, his answer was very emphatic, ‘Argh! I no dey go Nyanya o. Nyanya? Go do wetin?’ (*I don’t go to Nyanya. Nyanya? To go and do what?) Two nights before, I had visited my favourite shawarma joint on Aminu Kano Crescent and immediately noticed something was missing. Within seconds, it dawned on me: the usual crowd that thronged the joint had become a handful of people. I often patronize the joint after midnight but unlike previous nights, I didn’t have to wait to be served because there was no queue. This was the fastest time it took the men in charge to serve my friend and me. Unlike times past, there was no crowd waiting to be called to come have their prepared shawarma. The numbers had taken a plunge!

My friend runs a human resource company in Abuja. She lost two staff members in a week. One of them got a call from her parents saying they needed her to leave Abuja for her safety, the other tendered her resignation to the boss because she no longer ‘felt safe’ in the city.

Clubs have seen their numbers reduce drastically and other points of leisure have suffered the same fate. Having explored the city over the last three nights, I can safely conclude that the terrorist attacks have taken a toll on the Federal Capital Territory. God forbid, another attack would amount to a fatal punch for small and medium scale businesses in Abuja.

As at three nights ago, the bombed EMAB Plaza had police presence and tapes, while the construction of what would be anti-bomb concrete columns seemed abandoned for the night. The columns themselves have now become a permanent feature of most government and private buildings in the city centre. One of the consequences of previous terrorist attacks.

An expatriate client required her staff members to close early days ago while also excusing them for the next two days. Everyone in the city expects a bomb to go off somewhere in the city. The fear is so palpable it is scary.

The cost of terrorism is a lot more than the billions of Naira that go into defence spending, it is much more about direct costs to the lives of citizens. Students that must change schools to avoid being kidnapped, their parents that now accommodate the reality of less turnovers because of reduced human traffic to the shops and business places.

Our authorities are doing their best but they must understand that that best can be better. If anything, Abuja cannot afford to be bombed again anytime soon. Citizens must help the authorities by reporting suspicious movements and persons. By now we must all know that our security is our collective responsibility.

The best time to know a city that works is after midnight because every city pretends to work in the day. That explains why this piece is not about what happens in the day. Needless to say, the cost of terrorism affects the day as much as the night but this is a war Nigeria can win and Nigeria, through its leaders must indeed defeat terrorism. We can win this war, first we must understand the cost of this war, pay attention to the effective distribution of resources and genuinely commit to making terrorism a thing of the past as soon as possible. Easier said than done. But it is not impossible.

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We Are not Overwhelmed by Emergencies – FCTA

Despite repeated bomb explosions in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has said it is not overwhelmed by emergencies arising from the disaster.

The Director General, FCT Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Ababs Idriss, made the statement yesterday in his office while responding to questions from journalists. Alhaji Idriss, who was represented by the Director of Administration and Finance of the agency, Mrs Alice Odey-Achu, said that the agency maintains its five minutes response time to emergencies.

“We are not overwhelmed because our men were there. Within seven minutes of getting the call, Asokoro Fire Service was already there and was later joined by Gwarinpa and then these two fire stations were able to put the fire under control,” he said.

Alhaji Idriss revealed that the agency has engaged voluntary workers known as 'Voluntary Vanguard' to assist in rescue operation in times of emergency, adding that the vanguards exist in all the six area councils of the FCT.

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