Connect with us

BIG STORY

How Construction Firm Completed Road To Buhari’s Kaduna Residence In Few Days

Published

on

Residents in Kaduna were astounded when the construction firm in charge of the road leading to President Muhammadu Buhari’s private Kaduna residence completed the work in a matter of days.

“This has shown that with the right people and the required resources, infrastructural development could be achieved in this country,” Malam Bala, a trader near Sultan road Kaduna has said.

He said the company engaged the engineers and other workers to work round the clock on the road that connects to the President’s house, and the result was marvelous.”

“We heard that the contractor was mandated to complete the section of the road leading to Buhari’s residence before the president’s arrival and before the president flew into Kaduna from The Gambia, the road had been completed, with street lights installed as well as road signs.

“The road is not opened for general use, security agents are still there. The construction workers worked day and night, for 4 days so as to deliver on the road. It’s a surprise that the road could be fixed within such a short time. As of last Saturday, that section of the road was under construction, a lot of work had not been done, only for me to see that a rapid project was being made and it was completed before the President arrived. This shows that if the leaders are determined, they can work for the people,” he said.

The President, who was impressed with the numerous projects he commissioned across the state, exclaimed that “if you had not been in Kaduna for some time now, surely you would miss your road home just like me. El-Rufai has really changed the face of this state. I relocated to Kaduna after serving my jail term in the 1980s from Daura. I cannot find my way home with the current development.”

On Friday, Buhari commissioned the ultra-modern Sabon Gari market in Zaria, amidst applause from locals who have not seen the President physically, some years.

President Buhari had commended Malam Nasir El-Rufai for committing himself to change Kaduna, noting that the Kaduna State Governor has been successful in that quest.

The president, who was on a two-day working visit to Kaduna State to commission some of the state’s urban renewal projects, was speaking at the Murtala Square in Kaduna.  He had arrived in Kaduna on Wednesday night direct from Banjul, Gambia.

From Kaduna, President Buhari, accompanied by Governor El-Rufai, flew to Kafanchan this morning to commission Emir Road, Katsina Road and Dan-Haya Road.

He returned to Kaduna around noon, and immediately commissioned the remodelled Murtala Square, a sprawling sporting, event and recreational centre.

Noting the impact of the urban renewal programme, President Buhari said that he can no longer find his way around Kaduna, even as someone who has lived in the city for a long. Commending El-Rufai, the president said, “you have committed yourself to change Kaduna and you have been very successful and people throughout the country are appreciating it. You are writing your history in letters of gold. I congratulate you for your achievements so far.”

The president commissioned some of the 19 completed urban renewal road projects, including the reconstructed Kawo Flyover, an almost one-kilometer long dual carriageway with three ground rotaries, the 5.6km Aliyu Makama Road, the multi-storey Basic Education Mega-School in Lokoja Road in Rigasa, and the dualised Yakubu Gowon Way and Leventis Underpass.

President Buhari also commissioned the Infectious Disease Hospital in Mando, after Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, explained the thinking behind the project. He also commissioned the fertiliser blending plant of Barbedos Group.

Malam Nasir El-Rufai launched the Kaduna State Urban Renewal Programme in June 2019 by Governor El-Rufai, shortly after which the projects commenced in Kaduna before those of Kafanchan and Zaria started. “The goal of the urban renewal programme is to regenerate Kaduna, Kafanchan and Zaria, the three major cities in the state.”

According to Malam El-Rufai, “these unprecedented investments in urban infrastructure are to consolidate the state’s position as an investment destination, improve its economic competitiveness and promote the welfare of the residents of the state.”

The president would be hosted at a state banquet in Kaduna on Friday.

BIG STORY

Two Brothers In Police Net For Alleged Gang-Rape In Ogun

Published

on

Olamijuwon Noibi and Lukman Olatunbosun, two brothers, have been taken into custody by the Ogun State Police Command on charges of gang rape at Oke Eri, Atan Ijebu Area, Ogun.

A trustworthy law enforcement source, on Thursday, revealed that Noibi had tricked Aminat Yakub into coming to his flat, where he then allegedly sexually abused her while plotting with Olatunbosun, his younger sibling.

Yakub was allegedly invited by Noibi to visit his mother on Saturday, but when she got to his residence, she didn’t get to see her.

After making her consume an alcoholic beverage called “Bullet,” he allegedly physically attacked her before raping her.

According to The Punch, Noibi was also coerced his younger brother, Olatunbosun, with a knife so he could join him in the act, and filmed both of them while they were having sex.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Ogun Police Command, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident and said that the suspects had been arrested and would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for a discreet investigation.

“On the 24/4/2024, at about 13:00hrs, one Aminat Yakub ‘F’, Aged 21 years, of Main Estate Oke Eri Area, came to the station and reported that on the 21/4/2024, at about 12:30hrs, she went to the house of one Olamijuwon Noibi ‘M’ at Oke Eri on invitation to come and greet his mother. When she got there, she discovered that his mother was not at home.

“Juwon forcefully pushed her into his room, then forced her to drink Black Bullet and forcefully had sex with her twice after a serious beating. He later invited his younger brother, Lukman, to come and have sex with her but when his younger brother refused, he took a knife threatening to kill both of them. In the end, his younger brother ended up having sex with her after a serious beating and equally took a video of them.

“Upon the receipt of the complaint, the team of patrol led by Asp Ayoola Alidu at the station and went to the scene of incident. The two alleged suspect was arrested one Olamijuwon Noibi, ‘M’, Age 27 Yrs and one Lukman Olatunbosun, ‘M’, Age 20 yrs,” a police statement.

The PPRO noted that both brothers confessed to the alleged crime, and the victim was taken to the General Hospital Ijebu-Ode for examination, saying that the suspects would soon be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for “discreet investigation and further development will be communicated.”

Earlier report had it that the operatives of the Rivers State Police Command had arrested a 30-year-old man identified as Jeffrey for allegedly defiling the teenage daughter of his landlady in an estate in Abuloma, Port Harcourt Local government Area of the state.

It was learnt that the suspect, who had a tailoring shop at the estate, lured the 13-year-old girl to his business place one evening under the guise of showing her clothes.

But Jeffrey ended up locking the shop, overpowered the girl, and allegedly had his way with her.

Continue Reading

BIG STORY

Lagos Government Pays N1.5bn WASSCE Fees For 58,000 Students

Published

on

58,000 pupils will be registered for the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination this year, with the state government spending N1.5 billion, according to Tolani Alli-Balogun, Commissioner of the Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education.

In announcing the ministry’s efforts to mark the first year of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second term in office, the commissioner made this statement on Thursday.

On May 29, 2023, Sanwo-Olu took the oath of office for a second term as governor, vowing in his inauguration speech to disappoint the people of Lagos.

The commissioner, who spoke at the state secretariat, said, “The administration of Babajide Sanwo-Olu has never defaulted on the payment of WASCCE fees of all public school SS3 students in the four years of Governor Sanwo-Olus’s first term in office. The state government paid over N4.2bn between 2020 and 2023 to keep our promise of full payment of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination fees.

“In the current school year (2024), the governor has approved the sum of N1,571,076,000 as registration fees and other cost for 58,188 SS3 students writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination.”

Last year, the West African Examination Council, which conducts WASSCE, noted that it had concluded plans to begin computer-based examinations in 2024.

It released the results of the first-ever CBT exam, 2024–First Series, in March this year.

The analysis of candidates’ performance showed that out of the 8,139 candidates that sat the examination, 3,424 candidates representing 42.07 percent obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects (with or without English Language and/or Mathematics).

Continue Reading

BIG STORY

Dana Air Has Been Flying With Unhealthy Status, We’ll Audit All Local Airlines — Aviation Minister Keyamo

Published

on

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, says Dana Airline has been flying with an unhealthy status for a while now.

In an interview on Channels television on Thursday, Keyamo said that an audit report completed by his predecessor verified the airline’s unhealthy status and that internal reports from two years ago demonstrated that Dana Air was unfit to operate.

He also stated that the airline’s repeated incidents prompted him to call for a suspension.

Replying to the criticisms that trailed the suspension, Keyamo said he never wrote to the airline but instructed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to do so.

“Before I came into office, I am sure you have heard consistent incidents involving perhaps Dana Airline, to mention a few of them. I am sure you heard that, at a point, on approach to the runway, the door flew open,” the minister said.

“I am sure you know that popular incident. Who are the engineers that are supposed to look at this? Who are the engineers that are supposed to check for the safety of the aircraft and its parts?

“There are also incidents involving one or two of its aircraft at different times, consistent. Of course, after the fatal crash of Dana, the other time that killed Nigerians.

“There were internal reports before I came in under my predecessor about a series of infractions by Dana Airline and the conclusion was that they were not healthy enough to fly but they went into the skies after such a report. What they did, how they did it before they told them to start flying again, we don’t know.

“While we argue back and forth about who has power and who doesn’t have power, the point is that the flying public is at risk, and if any tragic incident happens, it is the minister that would be called to resign. Nigerians will not spare the minister.

“For me, the last thing I want to happen to me as minister of aviation is to have blood on my hands. I mean the blood of innocent Nigerians as a result of either the negligence, deep complicity or corruption of those who are supposed to be regulators of the aviation industry.

“As minister, my job is to supervise them and to ensure that they carry out their duties. My duty is not to regulate. For those quoting the law, they should know that I know the law more than them.”

Speaking on the irregularities in the aviation sector, Keyamo said “there is deep complicity within the system”, stressing that the cleansing process would start and continue until they are resolved.

The minister said if the aircraft in the country’s aviation sector are not properly checked, then there will be “flying coffins” in the air.

He said beyond the suspension of Dana Air, the NCAA would carry out a comprehensive audit of all local airlines in the country to guarantee the safety of passengers and the health of the civil aviation industry.

On April 24, Keyamo directed the NCAA to suspend the operations of Dana Air after one of its aircraft veered off the Lagos airport runway on April 23.

Reacting to the suspension, the Aviation Safety Roundtable Initiative (ART) said it was unlawful for the minister to direct the NCAA to suspend an airline, urging the minister to respect the autonomy of the regulator.

Describing the directive as “external interference”, the aviation group advised the minister to focus his efforts on policy issues that positively impact the airline industry.

Continue Reading

Most Popular