Metro
COREN, FCDA Collaborate to Ensure Adherence to Master Plan

The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), have agreed to collaborate to ensure that infrastructural development in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), adhered to the master plan.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the two outfits arrived at the resolution when the Executive Secretary, FCDA, Mr Gambo Jubrin, paid a courtesy visit to COREN President, Mr Ali Rabiu, on Thursday 15th August, 2019 in Abuja.
NAN quotes Jubrin as telling his host that Abuja was unique as it was the only city in the country that had a master plan with all developments tailored toward conforming to it.
He said that the FCDA had the responsibility to ensure that whatever was put on ground in the city conformed with that master plan arrangement.
“Just like COREN is there to checkmate every activity of engineers and the engineering family, the FCDA is also expected to do everything to deliver infrastructure services and facilities that will be very functional and to the requirement of COREN.
“FCDA has been very professional in what we do; aside effective delivery of services to residents of FCT, we have played our role in various professional developmenst.
“I want to assure you that we will remain resolute as professionals to give service to FCT residents and to humanity,” Jubrin said.
Jubrin, however, said that numerous vices that were observed in the city were not mainly failures on the part of the services that were delivered by professionals.
“The failures result from the attitude of the citizens,” he said.
He said that there was a master plan that specified how things should be done, adding that any deviation would lead to failure in the system.
He urged citizens to be law abiding and obey regulations, especially in movement within the city, to make Abuja city habitable even as development continued.
He also called on estate developers to lay the secondary and tertiary infrastructure within the areas they wanted to develop.
Responding, Rabiu commended efforts of FCDA in actualising the core mandate of the agency which was the physical development in the FCT, and assured the outfit of the council’s support.
He noted that because the city was growing, there were bound to be challenges, such as flooding, arising from citizens’ poor attitude.
Rabiu said that it was the responsibility of FCDA to respond to such issues, and emphasised the need to resuscitate street lights in the city.
The COREN president said that the presence of light in all corners would address security challenges confronting Abuja.
He also called on the agency to curb illegal mining largely blamed for recent earth tremors experienced in the territory.
Mrs. Zalihau Ahmed, Director, Urban and Regional Planning, FCDA, in a remark, urged the COREN president to liaise with presidents of other regulatory bodies to ensure that professionals lived up to their tasks in the development of infrastructure. (NAN)
Metro
Over 100 Buildings Face Demolition as FCTA Clears Dutse Makaranta Waterways

By Laide Akinboade, Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has commenced the demolition of over 100 buildings constructed on waterways at Dutse Makaranta, a populated suburb in Bwari Area Council in order to prevent perennial flooding in the area.
The Administration said it could no longer wait for unwilling residents to comply with early warnings to save lives, after the destructive flooding that occurred in the community four days ago.
Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah who led the demolition team yesterday to the community, said it would be very irresponsible for any government to wait for residents who were not willing to obey extant directives.
Attah who expressed utmost disgust that occupiers and owners of the buildings on waterways in the community have deliberately refused to heed warnings, said the administration was welding the big stick to save lives, properties and environment.
He noted that it was an act of God that the heavy flooding that swept through the area four days did not leave any record of death, sparing the government of any careless social media backlash.
Attah explained that the owners and occupiers of the buildings on the waterways have been warned and asked to leave the area from the onset, but refused to comply, hence the forceful ejection.
He was particularly bittered that some of the doomed buildings were a private school, churches where innocent children, wards and worshipers would have been swept away, had the flooding occurred on working days or even during religious feast.
“Today we are commencing a citywide operation against buildings sitting on water plains and riverbeds. Here in Dutse Makaranta, you could see heavy flooding, we thank God the rainfall on Sunday afternoon at about 1 and 2pm when many had left the church and school was closed. The water got to the window levels and members had fled. The casualties here would have been extremely massive.
“Most people in this area were out, only two men who were on their beds. When the water came, one of the walls to a building fell on the bed of one man and the man fled his house and packed everything quickly.
“We hope that this will send a strong message to all those who have been on water plains and corridors.
“We thank God that we did not lose any life here. But we wonder how people will put their buildings without a building plan approval and now they are telling us to try and understand.
“FCTA has marked the buildings from Foundation level, they have been warned to leave that this is a disaster zone. They kept marking at window and roofing levels, warning them to leave that flooding was coming, but they never believed,” he added.
A resident of the Community, Ibrahim Shaibu confirmed that those affected by the demolition actually were aware that the area was prone to flooding, but ignored all warnings.
Shaibu who claimed he has lived in the community for about 20 years acknowledged that the flooding that occurred three days ago was unprecedented, but thanked God that no life was lost.
He claimed that the indigenous people should be blamed for whatever destruction the flooding has caused, as they have continued to resell the place after each demolition exercise.
Metro
Tricycle Riders Grounds Commercial Activities in Yola

From Yagana Muhammad, Yola
Commercial activities were Tuesday morning grounded in Jimeta, the commercial Headquarters of Adamawa State for over three hours following a violent protest by tricycle riders as a result of what they tagged as unnecessary extortion by Jimeta Marshal in the state capital.
The protesters obstructed commercial activities at Mubi roundabout, one of the commercial nerve centers in the metropolis, forcing business premises to shut down for fear of vandalisation.
The protesters, who barricaded all the four roads linking the Mubi roundabout, causing gridlock for several hours, also stopped business activities at the Jimeta Modern Market.
According to one of the riders, Saidu Abubakar, “early I the morning today (yesterday) one of the marshals stopped me while going about my normal activity and asked me to give him N100 or I should park my keke by the road side and I declined his request”.
According to the keke riders they have paid their annual dues and could not understand another due was being imposed on them.
“We pay N100 in the morning and by noon they ask you to pay another N100, more worrisome is that if you ride into Yola South from Yola North, you pay money, even when you can hardly differentiate between the two local government areas,” they alleged.
“Apart from this amount, we also pay N6,500 every year to the state government through the ministry of Transportation,” another rider said.
Another rider, Adamu Buba also accused the Jimeta Marshall established by Yola North Local Government Council of always forcing them to pay money, which sometimes they don’t issue receipt for.
“We blocked this roads because we leant that the governor will pass through this road today, this is only way the governor will not only hear our complain but also see us and help us address the matter once and for all.
When contacted, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Barrister Asiyale Ananze said the ministry introduced ICT registration for all tricycle owners and riders in the state to reduce security challenges involving tricycles, popularly known as Keke Napep.
“What we did was asking them to buy a form for N1000 and another N3000 which was paid to the Board of Internal Revenue, the N3000 is an annual fee for all tricycles in the state, it is not true that we collected N6,500,” Barrister Ananze said.
“Since we introduced the ICT registration of tricycles, we have been able to trace and recover items stolen from their passengers by the shila boys (criminals),” the Permanent Secretary added.
As at the time of filing this report, the office of the Jimeta Marshall is being destroyed by the aggrieved Keke riders.
When contacted, the Adamawa State Police Public Relations Officer, Sp Sulaiman Yahaya Ngroje said a team f policemen has been drafted to the scene of the incident to restore normalcy, adding there were no casualties of any sort during the protest.
Efforts to reach the Jimeta Marshall Commander failed as he was said to be holding a meeting with the chairman of Yola North Local Government Area.
Business News
FCTA Warns Apo Pantaker Market Plot Owners to Develop or Risk Revocation

By Laide Akinboade, Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), yesterday warned owners of plots in Apo-Dutse pantaker site to develop their plot within one month or risk revocation of their plots.
The Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to the minister of FCT, Ikharo Attah, lamented that after the administration spent the state resources to clean up the market, most of the owners of plots in the site haven’t taken possession of the plots.
He revealed that about 150 illegal shanties and shops were removed yesterday.
“We returned back to Apo-Dutse pantaker market to after spending several days to remove the illegalities on plots of land and we return back for a mop up exercise but somehow we are not too please that most of the allottees have not taken over their land, the Minister of FCT Malam Muhammad Bello, is very bitter and unhappy, because most of the allottees have not taken over their land and he is spending state resources to do the cleanup exercise in terms of buying diesel and paying personnel allowances, servicing the machines etc.
What we are hearing is that some of the allottees are speculating with their land and this cannot continue and is unacceptable.“People who have gotten land in this place and are waiting for us to clear it should immediately report to Development Control, within the next one month. Not just fencing the land but also getting building plan approval and building on it. They should not leave the land vacant for too long, people are going to go in here, we will be recommending to the FCT Minister and pleading with him that if in the next one month we do not see meaningful development in terms of fencing and ground breaking for structures because the Minister is spending huge amount of state resources to cleanup. And those who have properties are not taking it over. The Minister should revoke the land.
“The only way you can get them to move out of here is for the plot owners to take over their plots and start development. As long as the plot owners are speculating then pantaker and miscreants will take over their plots,” Attah stated.
On allocation of alternative to the Association of scrap dealer, Apo-Dutse pantaker market, he noted that the Minister is considering it and they should be patient.
But he warned them against operating with babanbola because it paints them in bad light.
The chairman Association of scrap dealer, Apo-Dutse pantaker market, Anas Ismail, while fielding questions from journalists, he said his people are not regrouping rather they are packing their belongings.
He said they have already written to the Minister to please give them more time to pack their things.
Bala Haruna, Secretary General Apo Dutse pantaker market, also collaborated with what their Chairman said he said nobody came back, that they are dealing with so many things which include cars and others and it will take them some time to pack them.
He also appealed to the Minister to consider their request of allocating a land to do their business.
He also revealed they are over 10,000 scrap dealers in the market.