FCT doctors suspend warning strike, following Wike’s intervention

The Association of Resident Doctors in the Federal Capital Territory (ARD-FCT) has suspended its three-day warning strike after the intervention of the FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike. The President of the Association, Dr. George Ebong, in a statement on Friday night said the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) under the minister had met their demands. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that ARD-FCT had on Wednesday, Jan. 22, commenced a three-day warning strike to press home some demands from the FCTA. The strike grounded most the government hospitals in the FCT, as the doctors claimed that some of them employed in 2023 were yet to received some arrears, allowances, and other benefits. The doctors also listed the deplorable conditions of some the hospitals in the FCT, manpower shortage among other demands. READ ALSO: Protest against telecoms tariff hike: NLC suffers setback However, Ebong in the statement revealed that its members have started receiving the alerts of unpaid six-month salary arrears. The ARD-FCT President said that the Minister had approved, as well as ordered immediate payment of the accoutrement allowance owed members. He said that the Minister had also given approval for medical residency bonding training to 2 years; approval of immediate employment of doctors and allied health workers. Ebong said that the Minister had also given approval for payment of locum doctors and other health workers that were being owed, noting that “with the intervention of the Minister, doctors are expected to resume work with immediate effect.” He added that the intervention had also put an end to the impending indefinite shutdown of hospitals in Abuja, while urging the Minister to brace-up and meet other demands to avert future strike action. “On behalf of the executive members and the entire supreme congress of ARD-FCTA, I, Dr. George Ebong, deeply appreciate the Minister for his prompt and timely intervention in meeting our demands, thereby ending our warning strike. READ ALSO: Information ministry partners with BPP “We also humbly plead with the Minister to put a mechanism in place to avoid a repeat of this anomaly. We are hopeful that other demands will be attended to in due time,” Ebong said. The ARD-FCTA President expressed the association’s believes in the capacity of the Minister to turn the FCT health sector around as a stakeholder in the renew hope agenda. Ebong also used the opportunity to invite the Minister to all the district hospitals in the FCT, while assuring him of doctors continued support in the realisation of the administration’s renew hope agenda.

Bandits Kidnap FHA Director In Abuja

Gunmen suspected to be bandits have abducted Aondo Ver, a director at the Federal Housing Authority in the Federal Capital Territory.  The attack occurred around 12:30 am on Thursday merely 200 meters from a military base in Pambara, Bwari Area Council, Abuja. The assailants, firing indiscriminately, created panic before fleeing through the bushes with their captive.  Residents, including serving and retired military personnel, confirmed the incident, expressing shock at the audacity of the bandits given the proximity of a military base. Sources revealed that the targeted area, Pambara Extension, housed both civilians and military personnel.  The abducted director’s home was located a short distance from the military base known as ‘camp.’ Witnesses reported that despite the military presence, the bandits executed the kidnapping successfully. Concerns are escalating over the rising insecurity in the Federal Capital Territory, with residents and authorities expressing growing apprehension.  Efforts to obtain comments from the Nigerian Army’s spokesperson, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, and the FCT Police Command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, were unsuccessful at the time of reporting. 

FCTA Shuts Down 2 Substandard Schools In Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has closed two private schools for operating below minimum standard in the FCT. The affected schools are Erudite Bright Kids at Kagini and Jane’s Angela School in Abuja Municipal Area Council The schools were closed during an operation to close all substandard schools operating in the FCT. The Mandate Secretary, Education Secretariat, FCTA, Dr Danlami Hayyo, who led the team in Abuja on Wednesday, explained that the measure was to ensure quality of teaching and learning in FCT schools. Hayyo said that the move was in line with the mandate of the Department of Quality Assurance charged with the core responsibility of proper accreditation of schools, monitoring and inspection. This, according to him, is to ensure quality educational services, compliance to the requirements for the establishment of schools and enforcement of minimum standards as stipulated in the operational guidelines for Schools. “In a normal situation, no school should be allowed to operate in the FCT without due registration, payment of dues and obtaining the necessary requirements. “The secretariat through the Department of Quality Assurance is determined to sanitise the system for a better teaching and learning process. “We will also intensify its efforts to ensure FCT schools compete favorably in the global education space,” he said. He called on the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) to enlighten their members on minimum standards and the need to key into FCT Administration educational policies. Hayyo, also called for robust partnership of the private sector in the delivery of quality educational services to the teeming residents of the FCT. The mandate secretary also frowned at the attitude of some school proprietors who denied evaluators and inspectors from accessing school premises. On her part, the Director, Department of Quality Assurance, Dr Favour Nse-Edem, explained that the sealed schools failed to satisfy the conditions of establishment of regular schools. Nse-Edem added that there were no records of their existence and has been operating for years, adding that the closure was key to maintaining standards in schools. She said that the department would continue to ensure that both public and private schools operate within expected standards. She added that all schools must operate in line with minimum requirements, duly accredited, registered and adhere to operational guidelines. The director said that the closure exercise was with the approval of the Minister of FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike. She explained that the department had created awareness through public announcements in various media organisations on the need to comply with operational guidelines to provide quality educational services. The director said that the announcement served as a warning signal to defaulting and substandard schools operating in an unconducive environment. “There are other schools operating in an environment that predisposes students to health hazards and those operating in faulty physical structure among others. “The department has continued to advise the schools owners on what is expected of them but have continued to ignore such professional advice of quality assurance evaluators,” he said. 

IGR: FCTA Sets N250bn Monthly Target, Mobilises Agencies

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has mobilised its revenue generating agencies to improve its Internally Generating Revenue (IGR) to N250 billion a month. Mr Chinedum Elechi, Mandate Secretary Economic Planning, Revenue Generation and Public Private Partnership (EPRGPP) Secretariat, FCTA, stated this in Abuja at the weekend. Elechi told journalists after a meeting with revenue generating agencies that FCTA had the capacity to generate from N200 billion to N250 billion a month as IGR. “We think that FCTA has the capacity to do N250 billion a month, on a good day and that is the sort of target we are looking at. “We can even do N300 billion a month in some good periods. So that is what we want to work out. “However, in trying to grow revenue, it will also have a human face, because we are going to be dealing with issues of multiple taxation, so things are going to be streamlined. “We are going to make sure that taxation has a human face,” he said. Elechi stressed the need for the citizens to perform their civic duty of paying their taxes as at when due. He explained that the meeting was to find ways to improve IGR in FCT, which he said was pivotal to the aspiration of making Abuja one of the developed capital cities of the world. Elechi said that the meeting was necessary for all the revenue generating agencies to be on the same page and work as a team towards tapping the full revenue potential in the FCT. Describing the meeting as “exploratory”, the secretary stressed the need to lay down some strategies on how to improve IGR. He added that oil revenue was no longer sustainable, stressing, “for us in the FCT, the fall back is the IGR, and we have to work together to make a difference. “The goal is not just to harness what we have but also to improve it. This means that the more we grow our revenue, the better it will be for all of us. “The message is that every person in this room has a responsibility to generate more revenues for the FCTA.” Elechi reminded the revenue generating agencies that their mandate based on the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu was to grow IGR. He assured the agencies that the secretariat would find ways to incentivise performance by agreeing on certain percentages that would go to agencies based on what they generated. “We have all agreed that we are going to work in synergy for the purpose of growing the IGR of the FCT. “This is key because revenue is everything. Without revenue, without income, FCTA will not be able to deal with development issues that require funds. “The Minister of the FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike has made it clear that he is prepared to run the FCTA with IGR and whatever comes from the federation account will be extra,” he said. On blocking revenue leakages, the secretary said that the agencies would work together in synergy to ensure that all revenue due to FCTA goes to the FCTA. Earlier, the Director, Administration and Finance, EPRGPP, Mr Prospect Ibe, explained that the objective of the meeting was to interact, document challenges and suggest ways forward. The goal, according to him, was to enable FCTA to achieve its mandate. During the interactive session, Dr Babagana Adams, Director, Department of Outdoor Advertisement and Signage, said that the department generated N3 billion in three years and expressed commitment to improve revenue generation. Also, Alhaji Dan Maradin, Head of Commerce, FCT Water Board, said it had increased its revenues from an average of N1.5 billion annually to over N2 billion. “We were hovering around N150 million to over N300 million monthly,” he said. On his part, Alhaji Malik Tukur, Director, FCT Inland Revenue Service, stressed the need for inter-agency collaboration as against working in silos. Tukur said that FCTA would generate more revenue with strong collaboration among revenue generating agencies. 

Wike Sacks Heads Of FCTA Parastatals, Agencies

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has taken the decision to dismiss the heads of various parastatals, agencies, and companies operating under the FCT administration (FCTA). This significant move was announced by Anthony Ogunleye, the Director of Press in the Minister’s office, through an official statement released on Wednesday. “The minister’s directive to relieve these officials of their positions is effective immediately, and new appointments to these offices will be made in due course. “As part of the transition process, all affected officials have been instructed to facilitate the smooth handover of their duties to the most senior officers in terms of rank,” the statement said. Below is a list of the entities and individuals affected by this decision: This development marks a significant change in the leadership landscape of the FCTA parastatals and agencies as the minister seeks to implement his vision and objectives within the Federal Capital Territory.

Scandal rocks FCTA Park & Pay investment project

*Original owners seek justice from Tinubu, Wike Trouble appears to be brewing in the Federal Capital Territory as an ongoing scandal involving the Park & Pay investment has sent shockwaves through Abuja, raising concerns about transparency and justice. Otumba Olusegun Olarewanju, CEO of Platinum Parking Management, and Iliyasu Abdu, MD/CEO of Integrated Parking Managers, who claim to be the pioneers behind the recently reintroduced Abuja Park and Pay project, are demanding fair treatment from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the newly appointed FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. To attract investments from Nigerians in the Diaspora, especially in the Capital Territory, Olarewanju and Abdu assert that President Tinubu and Minister Wike should investigate the activities of top officials within the Federal Capital Territory. The duo allege that they were unjustly sidelined by the Adesola Olusade-led leadership of the FCT, despite having initiated the Abuja Park and Pay project. It’s reported that the former Minister of the FCT, Bello Mohammed, had upon leaving office, advised the Permanent Secretary to prioritize the pioneer companies’ right of refusal to ensure fairness and prevent the perpetuation of impunity. However, the Permanent Secretary and his colleagues allegedly disregarded this advice, moving swiftly to bring in their proxies and seized the concept developed by the original initiators. The situation is complicated further by an existing court judgment requiring the FCTA to pay damages for the abrupt disengagement of the two companies, causing significant financial losses. Olarewanju and Abdu detailed their journey, explaining that they returned to Nigeria as a response to then-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s call for Diaspora investments. They designed an “On-Street Parking Management” solution for Abuja, aiming to generate revenue and provide employment opportunities. “At the onset of democracy in 1999, the then President Olusegun Obasanjo invited people in Diaspora when we tried to romance with his government. He said we should come back home, bring all our ideas, and come and invest in the country. “This gingered us to come back home, and looking at the esthetics, the design, and the road network of Abuja, we came on board that we could do ‘On street Parking management’ on the streets of Abuja in other to generate revenue for the FCT and also to create massive employment for the teaming youths of Nigeria. “And we also had it in mind that one day the influx of vehicular movement in Abuja city will be uncontrollable. So, in other to have a plan in place was what necessitated us coming up with ‘On street parking’ project in the street of Abuja. “And we came with everything, we came with all our technical partners, we set it up, we did everything, and we tendered for the project. The FCT Minister later set up a technical committee to look into the proposal and here we are, we signed an agreement with them in 2010. “When we started, we put the entire infrastructure in place, synergies or what have you. We did all the line markings in all the roads of Abuja. I and my PPMS went back abroad and brought technical partners to set up all the infrastructure. We engaged thousands of Nigerians. “My company engaged over four hundred and fifty direct and indirect labour to start the project, same with my friend. We brought the state-of-the-art applications to manage the projects and start setting everything up, until one day we saw two companies that took over the street of Abuja saying the Minister said they should drive us away from the streets. “And then these people took over the streets, and then mayhem started; chaos, and pandemonium on the streets of Abuja. This was what led to Justice Peter Afe to place a suspension on the project because people sued us, they sued one of the illegal operators in court.  And when they suspended us they told FCT to go and get a proper traffic law to support the project,” Otumba Olarewanju explained. However, their vision was derailed by the actions of FCT officials, who allegedly favored their own interests over the original initiators’ rights. The two entrepreneurs stressed their demands: a return of their original zones for operation, compensation for incurred losses due to disengagement, and adherence to the arbitration judiciary award. “This is because as pioneers, and in the agreement we had with FCDA we have the right of first refusal. It’s in the agreement, and that agreement has been certified by a court of competent jurisdiction, so our agreement is valid and subsisting and anything contrary to that is against the law. And number two, the arbitrary award is a legal thing that nobody can wish away except the court of competent jurisdiction. Since they have gone to the High Court, the high court could not set it aside; the Court of Appeal court did not set it aside, and even the Supreme Court will not set it aside because arbitration has a time limit. If you cannot do anything within those ninety days that means it’s only God that can intervene,” he stated. Their plea hinges on their agreement’s legal validity, their certified rights of first refusal, and the binding nature of the arbitration award.