COVER
FCTA Declares Trademore Estate Disaster Zone, Demolition Looms
By Laide Akinboade, Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), yesterday declared Trademore Estate, located in Lugbe, Abuja, a disaster zone that needs immediate action to remedy further damages and loss of lives and properties.
The Permanent Secretary FCTA, Mr Olusade Adesola, stated this in Abuja, when he led the FCT security committee team to unscheduled visit to Trademore estate, the scene of recent flooding.
He decries the fact that two days after the flooding disaster residents have already moved back into the flooded area.
Recall that after a heavy down pour two days ago, the heavy down pour, 116 houses were completely submerged in the Estate, including a police station, with unspecified number of people killed.
The link road was cut off and several property damaged after a heavy rainfall caused flooding at Trademore Estate, Abuja. Residents had to take refuge on the roofs of their houses.
Emmanuel Mbaka Road which connects that estate with the Abuja International Road was impassable as a result of the volume of the water.
“The flooding incident at Trademore Estate was among the issues reviewed at the FCT Monthly Security Committee meeting, to consider the effort that needs to be put in place to mitigate property damage and casualty from flooding in FCT.
“The Committee resolved to visit the flood affected areas, in order to have first hand information on the extent of the flood, and to be able to proffer appropriate solutions to address them.
“We just visited Trademore to see the developmental challenges occasioned by the nature of the drainage constructed against water across the roads in the area.
“We have seen the need to look into this urgently,” the Permanent Secretary said.
“We were quite amazed at the level of flooding that occurred there (Trademore Estate). More particularly is the risk that people took – to build in such a low level plain. While on the road, we saw that even the roof of the houses were bellow the road level, which makes them vulnerable to flooding.
“The taskforce will immediately swing to action to make recommendations on urgent issues or attention that must be given to the area. As we cannot fold our hands and allow the destruction to continue.
“We were amazed that only two days after the flood, people have returned to some of the properties. This doesn’t show regards for human lives, so in a couple of days, we will be taking appropriate action. Having seen the extent of the flooding, we hereby declare the Trademore Estate area a disaster zone that needs immediate action to remedy further damages and loss of lives and properties,” Adesola lamented.
He however added that the FCDA Executive Secretary, who chairs the Taskforce on Flood Mitigation in FCT, the CP and other officials of the FCTA particularly FEMA, Development Control, AEPB are now ready to go and evolve solutions that would immediately address the menace.
“For the rest of the year, rain predictions show that there might still be more heavy rains, which means that there could be damages and casualty.
“The FCTA will do everything possible within its power to ensure that we mitigate such occurrence,” he noted.
He therefore urged residents to exercise restraints in the places where they run to, so that they don’t run into where they would be trapped.
“So we will look at a programme of evacuating people from those areas, so as to ensure that we prevent the loss of lives and property,” he said.
By Mike Odiakose, Abuja
As Nigerians await full power restoration, the national grid has collapsed once again.The national grid collapsed on Tuesday, marking the 10th such incident since January 2024.It was confirmed that, as of 11 am on Thursday, the 22 power plants were only able to generate 2,323 megawatts of electricity, with generation dropping to 0.
00MW. The peak generation for the day was 3,743MW as of 10 am. The Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company reported a power outage at 11:29 am.“Dear Esteemed Customer, please be informed that we experienced a system outage today, 7 November 2024, at 11:29 hrs, affecting supply within our network.“Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders. Kindly bear with us,” IKEDC said.The Transmission Company of Nigeria has yet to provide an update on the incident at the time of this report which marks the 11th of such occurrences in 2024.The country recorded more than 93 cases of grid collapse during the eight-year administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023.This persistent grid collapse has led to frequent blackouts, impacting businesses and daily life across the country.Nigeria had, in the past decade, secured about 10 loans totaling about $4.36bn from the World Bank to address challenges in the sector but there has not been any significant improvement even with additional funds from multilateral and donor agencies.This has heightened speculations that a sizable chunk of the loans may not have been disbursed for the purposes for which they were obtained.The frequent fluctuations in power supply have continued to take a toll on industrial and domestic consumers leaving frustration and low productivity in the aftermath.The Bola Tinubu administration has continued to seek additional World Bank loans, securing $1.901 billion in new funds since he assumed office in June 2023.The administration has also been making frantic efforts to expand the nation’s energy options through renewable energy projects.The government has also initiated massive solar energy extension, especially to rural communities across the country to bridge the gaping power gaps.With a population estimated to be more than 200 million, Nigeria has not been able to exceed 5000 Megawatts at any period in the past 10 years despite assurances by successive administrations.More disturbing to Nigerians is the astronomical increase in electricity tariffs across the board, peaking above 400 percent with the last hike that was affected earlier in the year.
By David Torough, Abuja
The Presidency has sought to allay concerns regarding the safety of Compressed Natural Gas-powered vehicles, recently introduced in Nigeria as an alternative to petrol-powered cars.The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed these fears in a post on X on Thursday while responding to reports on Malaysia’s plan to phase out CNG-powered vehicles by 2025.
The Malaysian government announced plans to phase out CNG vehicles and end the sale of natural gas vehicles by July 2025. According to local media sources, Malaysia’s Minister of Transport, Anthony Loke, made this announcement at a press conference on Monday.He explained that the decision was intended to protect road users and the public from the potential hazards posed by ageing CNG tanks.Loke was quoted as saying, “These NGV tanks have a safe usage lifespan of approximately 15 years, and if they are not replaced, they become unsafe to use and may fail at any time.” From July 1, 2025, CNG-powered vehicles will no longer be registered or allowed to operate in Malaysia.However, Onanuga clarified that Malaysia’s policy was focused on the safety of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), not CNG.He added that Nigeria chose CNG specifically for its safety and cost-effectiveness, with plans underway to develop domestic tank manufacturing capacity.Onanuga wrote, “Some clarification on Malaysia’s plan to phase out CNG-powered vehicles:“The Malaysian issue relates to the safety of LPG, not CNG. In the original report, Transport Minister Anthony Loke stated, ‘There are also some car owners who have modified their vehicles using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, which are very dangerous.’“NGV covers both CNG and LPG. Nigeria, in its transition, has adopted CNG only, not both, due to valid safety and cost concerns regarding LPG.”Onanuga further noted, “Malaysia’s programme for CNG-powered vehicles struggled, achieving only a 0.2% conversion rate over 15 years. By contrast, nations like India, China, Iran, and Egypt have seen considerable success.”He added that Malaysia faced difficulties in replacing 15-year-old tanks due to limited manufacturing capacity, while Nigeria, in its first year of adopting CNG, is already addressing this.Malaysia introduced CNG for taxis and airport limousines in the late 1990s, while Nigeria began its own CNG initiative in 2024 as an alternative transportation fuel.
By David Torough, Abuja
Zenith Bank Plc has assured its teeming customers of exceptional service delivery and improved customer experience following the successful completion of its Information Technology Infrastructure Upgrade.
The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of the bank, Dr.
Adaora Umeoji in a statement expressed her immense gratitude to all customers of the bank for their patience and support during its recent IT infrastructure migration to a new and more robust operating system.Umeoji emphasized that the bank was committed to delivering unparalleled service experience, saying “We undertook such an extensive endeavor in other to better position Zenith Bank Plc for improved service delivery to all our valued customers and provide memorable banking experiences at all our touchpoints,” adding that the bank now has one of the best technology infrastructure in the Nigerian banking industry, and is well positioned to ensure customers experience exceptional service delivery going forward.
Zenith Bank has continued to distinguish itself in the Nigerian financial services industry through superior service offering, unique customer experience and sound financial indices.
The bank has remained a clear leader in the digital space with several firsts in the deployment of innovative products, solutions and an assortment of alternative channels that ensure convenience, speed and safety of transactions.
The bank’s track record of excellent performance has continued to earn the brand numerous awards including being recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital for the 15th consecutive year in the 2024 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking, published by The Banker Magazine. The Bank was also awarded the Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards for 2020 and 2022; and Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria 2023 and 2024 in the International Banker Banking Awards.
Further recognitions include being recognised as Best Bank in Nigeria for the fourth time in five years, from 2020 to 2022 and in 2024, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria for four consecutive years from 2021 to 2024 in the World Finance Banking Awards. Additionally, Zenith Bank has been acknowledged as the Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria, in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards for three consecutive years, from 2022 to 2024, ‘Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa for four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023 by the Ethical Boardroom.
The Bank’s commitment to excellence saw it being named the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria in the Banker Magazine Top 500 Banking Brands for 2020 and 2021; Bank of the Year for 2023 and 2024, and Retail Bank of the Year for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022 and in 2024 at the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards. The Bank also received the accolades of Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best
Innovation in Retail Banking, Nigeria, in the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards, Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) at the ThisDay Awards 2020, Bank of the Year 2021 by Champion Newspaper, Bank of the Year 2022 by New Telegraph Newspaper, and Most Responsible Organisation in Africa 2021 by SERAS Awards.
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