FCTA vows to demolish all illegal structures, warns against infractions

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has vowed that it would demolish all illegal structures in the nation’s capital no matter how highly placed.

Acting director, FCTA department of Development Control, Tpl Garba Kwamkur who disclosed this Wednesday, during weekly inspection of on-going developments across the territory, warned developers to desist from violating the Abuja Master Plan with all sorts of infractions.

Kwamkur stated that the weekly exercise became necessary owing to increased illegal development activities, as developers took advantage of the period of lockdown to put up structures, hoping that the authorities would not find out. 

Speaking specifically on some of the major development abuses, Kwamkur stated that stop work notice was served on 11 Plc to stop work on the construction of a filling station on the corridor of Bill Clinton Drive, which connects the Umaru Musa Yar ‘Adua Expressway to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. 

Blueprint gathered that the developer of the filling station was coming under the guise of a title document granted to the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) for the building of the entire airport facilities, claiming to have had a partnership with FAAN to build the station to service the area around the airport. 

“But then, we have asked them to stop work because developments like will required a detailed site development plan of the whole of that area because it is a very versed. 

“And a structured plan will have to be prepared and so that we know the deleanation of each services that are to be provided to that piece of land. If not, the whole place will be destroyed completely beyond the vision of the Abuja master plan.”

In the case of an Army estate under construction in Idu, the development control boss revealed that Army moved into the land on the basis of an Area Council allocation and have taken up to 100 hectares of land. 

Kwamkur who said his department has written the Army on the matter, was hopeful of a meeting between the two government organizations to reach an amicable resolve, even as he regretted they (Army) did not approach the authorities to look at status of the land in the Abuja Master Plan and commenced development without necessary permit. 

Calling on the army to forward their permit for approval, he explained that the FCT Act of 1976 made it clear that all developers, private, institutional of governmental, must receive permit from the deplorable Development Control before embarking on any physical development within the city. 

Also explaining another infraction by the military (Nigerian Navy Housing Scheme), along the Airport, Kwamkur, again stated that they got the allocation from Area Council, which had since been quashed by a past FCT Administration, insisting that any allocation with the city must be made by the FCT Minister. 

The team also served a quit notice on a Fulani settlement, located off the Airforce Base, near Army Peacekeeping Operation Base on the corridor of the Bill Clinton Drive. 

The Acting Director therefore warned: “The city has a master plan and it must be followed to the latter”, even as he called on all developers in Abuja to comply right with all development laws and regulations or face necessary sanctions, including demolition and revocation.

Buhari, Return Home, You Have Failed Nigeria— Nigerians Protest In Paris

Nigerians on Tuesday protested in Paris, the French Capital where President Muhammadu Buhari is attending the Africa Finance Summit on a four-day visit.

The Nigerians who carried the #HarassBuhariOutofParis placards lamented that Buhari had failed the country and his government had been characterized by bad governance, bloodshed, killings and poor policies.


Some of the placards read, “Innocent Nigerians are dying daily”, “Buhari government has failed Nigerians” and “Harass Buhari out of Paris.”
“You have to go back to Nigeria. Paris cannot be for you. There are hunger, insecurity and kidnappings in Nigeria. People are suffering. And you are here to come and relax. Go and fix Nigeria. You have failed Nigerians,” one of the protesters screamed.
“Go back and fix the hospitals. Make the environment conducive. People are dying every day,” another person said.
“Buhari, what kind of a president leaves his country and comes to take refuge in another country? We are living in another man’s land because our country is not good. Look at me; I am a refugee in this country. I cannot go back to my own country. You have failed Nigerians,” a female protester lamented.
“Can you imagine Benjamin @Netanyahu leaving Israel for a summit in France, when his country is on fire? Yet, more people were killed by terrorists and bandits in Nigeria last week, than in the ongoing Israel Palestine conflict. This is why we convened #HarassBuhariOutofParis,” said Reno Omokri, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s aide, who is one of those who organized the protest.

SaharaReporters had on Tuesday reported that some Nigerians staying in South American countries and other European countries were to hold the #HarassBuhariOutofParis.
A Nigerian had confirmed he was flying in from Rio De Janeiro from Brazil into Paris for the protest while others were joining in from other European countries close to France.
On Monday, Omokri called for the #HarassBuhariOutofParis protest in the wake of Buhari leaving Nigeria for Paris on Sunday to attend the African Finance Summit.
The protesting Nigerians are angry that President Buhari left the chaotic state of Nigeria burning with insecurity and failed leadership, to attend the Africa Finance Summit In Paris, France for four days.
“Get ready to join us today for #HarassBuhariOutofParis by 12 noon Paris time, at the Temporary Exhibition Centre, front of the Eiffel Tower. Buhari can’t be globetrotting, while Nigeria is drifting. He should go back and fix Nigeria! And if he can’t do it, let him honorably resign.

“This made my day. This is a patriot. Flying all the way from Rio de Janeiro to join the #HarassBuhariOutofParis protest tomorrow, 12 noon, at the Temporary Exhibition Centre, at the Eiffel Tower. @MBuhari can’t be globetrotting, while Nigeria is drifting. Go back and fix Nigeria,” Omokri had said on Twitter on Tuesday morning.
On April 2, a crowd of Nigerians in the United Kingdom had also stormed the Abuja House, 2 Campden Hill, Kensington, London, demanding that President Buhari, then on medical leave, immediately return home.
#HarassBuhariOutOfLondon had trended after the president departed Nigeria for the UK to undergo a medical check-up.

Human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, had also advised Nigerians in the UK to occupy the London hospital where President Buhari planned to have his medical checkup.

FG suspends processing of new passport

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has suspended the processing of new international passports to enable it clear the backlogs of applications.

The suspension which took effect on Monday, May 17 was announced in a statement by NIS Deputy Controller General AB Yarima.

Minister of interior Rauf Aregbesola mandated Immigration to halt the issuance of new passports to clear the backlog ahead of a new passport regime which kicks off on June 1.

The deputy controller general also urged all passport control offices to make use of the period to ensure it clear all outstanding passport processing.

“Consequently upon the foregoing, all PCOs are therefore directed to utilize this period, May 17, 2021, to May 31, 2021, to ensure that all backlogs are produced and handed over to command controllers for collection by members of the public concerned,” Yerima said in an internal memo.

He added that new applications for passports, “whether fresh or renewal are by this circular suspend till June 1, 2021.”

“To this effect requests for Fresh and/or Reissue shall not be entertained with effect from 18th May 2021-31st May 2021 in all Centres except for locations in the Missions abroad,” Immigration said in a statement.

The commission also stated that notifications for the collection of produced passports are already going out to applicants who indicated functional phone numbers in their applications.

Yerima noted that the new passport application and processing regime shall commence by 1st June 2021.

He stated that the new criteria for processing new passport form June include applicant would have to apply online and applicant who has not booked an online appointment shall be attended to

Yerima also stated that no cash payment to anyone shall be entertained in any Issuing Centre and passport application processing and issuance shall take a period of six weeks after successful enrollment.

He noted that requests for reissue can be submitted six months before expiration.

BREAKING: Thugs Occupy NLC Office In Kaduna

Armed thugs have invaded the premises of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Kaduna State.

The armed men numbering about 100 occupied the secretariat, which is the meeting point of the ongoing 5-day warning strike.

The thugs were, however, stopped by a police detachment while 20 of them were arrested.

The police Public Relations Officer, ASP Muhammad Jalige, confirmed the arrest, saying security personnel have been deployed to avert break down of law and order.

Daily Trust reports that the protest turned violent on Wednesday when thugs attacked protesters at NEPA roundabout along Ahmadu Bello Way.

The protests continued on Wednesday as the protesters converged on the secretariat, chanting, “No retreat! no surrender!”

BREAKING: Two INEC offices set ablaze in Ebonyi

Two offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Ebonyi State have been set ablaze by unidentified persons.

The offices are located in Ebonyi and Ezza North Local Government Areas of the state.

It was gathered that no casualties were recorded but there were extensive damages to the building and facilities.

The Commission is yet to issue a full statement on the incident.

TrackNews Online reports that the latest attack brings the number of offices of the Commission that have been torched to 23.

This is coming weeks after the commission’s offices in Akwa Ibom, Abia, Anambra, Enugu and Imo were also razed by unknown hoodlums.

See The Man Who Built His Grave, Writes Will And Celebrates Burial Before Death

This is shocking as a Nigerian man, Clement Usoro, left members of his community in shock after he decided to build his grave and even celebrate his funeral before his demise.

The 73-year-year-old, in an interview with BBC Pidgin, said he made the necessary preparations for his death three years ago when he marked his 70th birthday anniversary.

According to the septuagenarian, he has also written his wills, but he keeps updating it to “keep up with time.”

“I have written my will and will continuously update it to keep up with time. I have built my grave. It is a 9 by 9 feet deep grave. I have also built a mausoleum around it.

“My friend went with me to the coffin site to see the one that I liked. He decided to buy for me. As somebody who is a chief, there are things you have to do before you die or they do after you die” he said.

Chief Usoro further disclosed that he has paid the necessary rites to his co-chiefs by giving “cow” so that his children will know what to worry about after his death.

He said he does not want his family to do a ceremony after his demise, adding that a party to celebrate his death is a “waste of money and time.”

Kaduna Crisis: NUPENG Threatens Nationwide Strike, Warns El-Rufai

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has threatened a nationwide shutdown over the faceoff between the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Kaduna State government.

Labour had declared a five-day warning strike over some policies of Governor Nasir El-Rufai, especially the sacking of 4,000 workers.

On Tuesday, the Kaduna government declared Comrade Ayuba Wabba, NLC president, and some labour leaders wanted over the effect of the strike on the economy.

El-Rufai later likened the protesters in his state to bandits and vowed that their action would not make his government reverse its decision.

Some protesters were also attacked by hired thugs.

In a statement, the National President of the NUPENG, Williams Akporeha, said the union which is one of the 46 bodies affiliated with the NLC, is observing the Kaduna situation closely.

He said if the attacks on protesters continue, NUPENG would withdraw its services nationwide.

“The Leadership of the Union is therefore calling on the Federal Government to immediately call on Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to order before his arrogance and power drunk ego further push the situation into horrendous calamity as he has been doing in all issues relating to human lives and wellbeing.

“Consequently, the Union reiterates that no Labour Leaders or workers as the case may be, be harmed, harassed, maimed, humiliated or victimized during this 5-day peaceful protests in the State.

“Our Union is raising this alarm following the very reliable report of the clandestine move of Governor Nasir El-RUfai to hurt and put the lives of NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and other Labour Leaders to danger in his usual blind egotistical style of running government in the State

“NUPENG therefore warns that if any harm is inflicted on any of the members of organized Labour, the Leadership of the Union will not hesitate to call on all our members throughout the nation for a total shut down of all our services in the upstream, mid-stream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry.

“In the light of the above, we are therefore putting all NUPENG members nationwide on red alert and may at very short notice of five hours call for a nationwide industrial action if situation arises.

“Our solidarity remains constant for the Union makes us strong,” the statement read.

El-Rufai orders dismissal of KASU lecturers, nurses

KADUNA State Governor Nasir El- Rufai has ordered the dismissal of Kaduna State University lecturers who have joined the ongoing industrial action in the state.

The governor made this announcement in a statement released on Tuesday, describing the strike action as “efforts to dress up criminal activity.”

“KDSG considers as unacceptable the serial violations of the Miscellaneous Offences Act that have occurred over the last two days,” it read.

El-Rufai described the actions of the labour union as illegal pressures aimed at disrupting activities in the state..

“The Ministry of Health will dismiss all nurses below GL 14 for going on an unlawful strike. Salaries that could have gone to them are to be given as extraordinary occupational allowances to the health workers who are at their duty posts to fill the gap of those absconding from duty.

“Any academic staff of KASU that does not report for work will be dismissed. The authorities of KASU are to submit a copy of the attendance register for all categories of staff daily to the Secretary to the State Government and the Commissioner of Education,” it read.

He described the actions of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) as equivalent to banditry, adding that the government would not respond differently to them.

According to a report by The ICIR, The NLC had directed all government workers on Tuesday, May 11, to embark on an indefinite strike to protest the sack of over 4,000 workers by the state government.

El-Rufai had attributed the sack to a decline in revenue and stated that he was not elected to pay salaries. He also claimed payment of salaries was taking up almost 90 per cent of the monthly federal allocation accruing to the state.

Suspended Governor Abiodun's Aide Faces 30 Years In United States Jail Over $350,000 Fraud

A Senior Special Assistant to the Ogun State Governor, Abidemi Rufai, faces up to 30 years in prison if he is convicted of wire fraud.

According to the United States Department of Justice, wire fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison regarding benefits paid in connection with a presidentially declared disaster or emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rufai, who served as the Deputy Director-General of the Dapo Abiodun Campaign Organisation in the last governorship election in the state, was arrested on Friday at the JFK Airport in New York, the United States of America, on a criminal complaint of wire fraud for his scheme to steal over $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department, the acting US Attorney, Tessa M. Gorman, announced.

Rufai, aka Sandy Tang, 42, of Lekki, Lagos, made his initial appearance in court on Saturday, May 15, 2021, in New York. He is scheduled for a detention hearing today (Wednesday).

"Since the first fraud reports to our office in April 2020, we have worked diligently with a federal law enforcement team to track down the criminals who stole funds designated for pandemic relief. This is the first, but will not be the last, significant arrest in our ongoing investigation of the ESD fraud," Gorman said.

The criminal complaint alleges that Rufai used the stolen identities of more than 100 Washington residents to file fraudulent claims with the ESD for pandemic-related unemployment benefits.

He was alleged to have also filed fraudulent unemployment claims with Hawaii, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Montana, New York and Pennsylvania. He used variations of a single email address in a manner intended to evade automatic detection by fraud systems.

Using this practice, Rufai allegedly made it appear that each claim was connected with a different email account.

The US Department of Justice stated on its website that Rufai caused the fraud proceeds to be paid out to online payment accounts such as 'Green Dot' accounts or wired to bank accounts controlled by 'money mules'. Some of the proceeds were then mailed to the Jamaica, New York address of Rufai's relative.

Law enforcement determined that more than $288,000 was deposited into an American bank account controlled by Rufai between March and August 2020.

"Greed is a powerful motivator. Unfortunately, the greed alleged to this defendant affects all taxpayers," said Donald Voiret, Special Agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations in Seattle.

"The FBI and our partners will not stand idly by while individuals attempt to defraud programmes meant to assist American workers and families suffering the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic," he added.

Ogun State governor, in his reaction, described the arrest as disturbing news and ordered the immediate suspension of Rufai.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, Abiodun ordered the immediate suspension of Rufai, who is his close ally, because of the gravity of the allegation, Punch reports.

The statement read, "The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has received the alarming news of the arrest of one of his political appointees, Mr Abidemi Rufai, in New York over alleged unemployment benefits fraud in the United States.

"Because of the gravity of these allegations, the governor has ordered the immediate suspension of the accused appointee. We will not condone any act bordering on criminality by anyone."

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State has described Rufai's arrest as an embarrassment.

The Chairman of the PDP in the state, Sikitullah Ogundele, said this in an interview with PUNCH Metro on Tuesday.

He said the arrest of Rufai showed that people of questionable characters were in the political system.

Ogundele stated, "People of questionable character should be kept away from our system. Unfortunately, the governor of Ogun State has chosen somebody of dubious character, and it is an embarrassment to the entire state.

"It is not the fault of the person that appointed him, but personalities must be well-vetted before they are given appointments."

A Russian woman allegedly killed her husband by "strangling him with her buttocks" after she sat on him during a row.

Tatyana O was charged with murder after she sat on her husband, Aidar, and refused to let go of him until he "begged forgiveness", it is claimed.
 

The man’s daughter saw her father pinned face down on the bed and ran to seek help from neighbours in Novokuznetsk, Russia, according to evidence in the case.
 

A female neighbour came in but decided this was a domestic dispute which the couple would solve, it was reported.
 

Also, the neighbour didn't get involved because Tatyana said she wanted to "calm him down" after they had been drinking.

Soon afterwards, it is alleged, Aidar died and Tatyana screamed, leading to the neighbour rushing back.

 

The neighbour called an ambulance but the husband was pronounced dead at the scene.

A later medical examination found that the man died from "asphyxia" - blocking the "respiratory system," as his face was wedged into the mattress, with the woman sitting on his neck, "using her legs so he could not lift it".
 

The wife "strangled husband to death with her buttocks after drinking too much alcohol", reported Life.

 

At a first trial, a murder charge was dropped and Tatyana was convicted of causing death by negligence, it was reported.

She had no intention to kill him, the court heard.

She was sentenced to 18 months of corrective labour and ordered to pay around £2,000 in "moral damages", reported Life.

 

But this week the Investigative Committee announced it is pressing for a new murder charge against the wife.

The woman had been angry "after drinking heavily" and "as soon as the man lay down on the bed, burying his face in the mattress, she sat on his neck, while holding his head with her legs so that he could not lift it."
 

After he stopped showing signs of life, "the accused, frightened, shook him and shouted at him to wake him up".

The murder suspect "weighs more than 100 kilograms", said the investigative committee.