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Foremost engineering construction company, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, has assured the Federal Government over the quality of work to be done on the Phase 1 section of the Federal Secretariat, Abuja.

Managing Director of the company, Engr. Dr. Lars Richter who was represented at the flag-off of rehabilitation works on the first Phase of the secretariat by Regional Manager for Abuja Operations, Engr. Oliver Berger in a short speech said the Federal Secretariat was first built by Julius Berger decades ago and has stood the test of time. “It might interest you to know that this building, the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase 1, for which we have been awarded a contract to rehabilitate, is one of our company’s proud legacies”, he said, adding that, “our company’s relationship with the Federal Secretariat Complex dates back over three decades. Oliver Berger recalled that “On January 22, 1990, Julius Berger was given the contract to build the Federal Secretariat, and we are proud to say that the building’s structure is still strong to this day, making it a point of reference for quality construction.”

He further said the rehabilitation work will bring the building back to its former glory “and infuse it with an impressive touch of modernity”. The main work, he continued, “is fixing up the wet areas, which include tearing down and replacing all the plumbing components, tiles, partitioning walls, ceilings and all the pipes and cables for the mechanical and electrical systems”. Other aspects of the rehabilitation works to be effected by Julius Berger include repairing the roof by replacing the old felting that has reached the end of its life span; installing a new booster station with pumps to serve the entire building, rehabilitation works on the lighting, aluminium vents, natural stone flooring, glass panels and painting. “The building’s two lifts will be replaced with new ones, while the emergency stair cases will be upgraded for easier and safer exit. The 10th and 11th floors which were damaged by fire a while ago will now undergo renovations”, Oliver Berger said.

On fears of disruptions to the daily work of Government in the Federal Secretariat, he said, “…as it is our usual tradition at Julius Berger, working seamlessly on an operating site, we have come up with a plan to fix up this building without getting in the way of the officials who work there. Along with doing our work in phases and weekends, one notable intervention is giving the client portable toilets to use while the wet areas are being fixed”. He assured that the company will in conjunction with the users of the building ensure that all works are carried out successfully, while still providing comfort to the civil servants at work.

The Minister of the FCT, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, who flagged off the rehabilitation on Tuesday at the complex, described the exercise as a milestone in the efforts of the FCTA to rehabilitate public buildings and infrastructure in the Nation’s capital. He said that the secretariat complex, like many other public buildings in the FCT, was constructed 30 years ago and hence require rehabilitation adding that the exercise came as a result of several discussions with the Head of the Civil Service, Dr. Mrs. Folashade Esan, who was passionate about providing a conducive working environment for civil servants.

Speaking on funding, the Honourable Minister said the budgetary provisions were a constraint and called for serious efforts to ensure adequate funding. He also frowned at the level of abuse on public buildings in the FCT and called for reforms in the existing procurement system for the maintenance of public facilities.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Yemi Folashade Esan, commended the FCTA for working to ensure that the environment where civil servants spend most of their time was conducive, noting that the rehabilitation would come with increased productivity. She added, “I am glad that the FCT with the FCDA, alongside Julius Berger is working to make sure that the environment is very conducive for civil servants. I am also looking forward to the end of this rehabilitation”.

Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Engr. Shehu Hadi Ahmad explained that the Federal Executive Council, after due process, graciously approved the award of the Phase 1 of the contract to Messrs. Julius Berger Nigeria Plc with completion period of 24 months. He added that the rehabilitation work would be carried out in phases to ensure that government activities are not paralyzed as the works are being executed.

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PRESS RELEASE

LAGOS RECORDS LOWEST ROBBERY INCIDENTS IN DECADES

…Sanwo-Olu: ‘LSSTF model largely successful, its triumphs justify donors’ confidence’

…149 robberies foiled by police, cache of arms recovered

For the third consecutive year, Lagos State has recorded no single case of armed robbery attacks on banks and other financial institutions operating within its boundary. The development hinted a significant improvement in security surveillance and the sustainability of measures adopted in checking organised crimes.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Thursday, shared the progress with stakeholders in the security circle and private sector donors at the 16th Town Hall Meeting on security organised by the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) at Civic Centre in Victoria Island.

Sanwo-Olu said his administration adopted a technology-driven strategy that enabled the security agencies respond proactively ahead of potential breaches at vulnerable spots, including a web of undercover operations to frustrate armed attacks on possible targets. This, he said, has bolstered the confidence of the financial institutions to freely move their cash around the State with limited risks.

The Governor said the collaborative security approach had yielded significant results in crime fighting, leading to a sharp reduction in rate of criminality across Lagos.

In the last 12 months, the State recorded only 21 incidents of armed robbery – the lowest rate in the last decades. From last year November till date, the police and combined team of security agencies have foiled 149 armed robbery attempts across communities.

Sanwo-Olu said the State had not only boosted the morale of the security personnel with constant training and provision of equipment, but had also raised its capacity to contain emerging threats.

He said: “As a Government, our approach to security is holistic and collaborative. Our security policy is driven by the need to engender a wholly secure environment that enables the wellbeing, prosperity and fulfilment of all the residents. We consider no amount of investment too big to be put forward in ensuring the progress we have achieved since inception is sustained. In the last three and a half years, we have continued to maintain the record of zero incident of robbery attack on banks or any other financial institution operating in our State.

“LSSTF has been at the forefront of these security efforts. Through the agency, we have continued to provide interventions to the police and other security agencies operating in Lagos in the areas that include operational capacity, training and logistics. Our efforts have yielded encouraging results in crime fighting, as Lagos remains largely safe for business and living. This relative peace and safety that we have been experiencing in this massive mega city will not be compromised. We will continue to strengthen the security operation to ensure the progress recorded is not reversed.”

Next week, the Governor said Divisional Police formations will get 25 new pick-up trucks to assist in quick response to security threats in their areas of operation.

Sanwo-Olu said the State Government’s intention to employ digital surveillance in combating emerging crimes had started to take shape, given the phased rollout of technology tools, including high-definition cameras to monitor strategic locations across the State.

The Governor sent a loud warning to criminals still operating in Lagos to vacate the State before the law caught up with them. He pledged not to spare any effort in making the State unsafe and inhabitable for criminals.

Provision of security, Sanwo-Olu said, should not be seen as a one-way process, urging residents to collaborate and provide information to security agencies whenever they notice suspicious activities within their communities.

He said: “I am sending a strong and loud message to all purveyors of crime and criminality in Lagos. We will stay ahead of your intentions and actions, and we will fight you with everything we have. There will be no room for actions that undermine our well-being and our capacity to achieve our dreams and aspirations.”

The Governor said the LSSTF model adopted by the State in raising security standards had been effective, urging private sector donors to contribute their quota for the sustainability of the Fund.

LSSTF Executive Secretary, Dr. Abdur -Razaq Balogun, noted that the constraints necessitating the establishment of the Fund were far from being fully addressed, but said there was no alternative to the resource model in scaling up security response.

Since 2019, Balogun said LSSTF had provided 240 units of fully equipped operational vehicles to all security agencies in Lagos, in addition to provision of 230 units of motorbikes and security accessories, including 100 digital walkie-talkie, 167 cellular communication gadgets, 2,000 units of Level 4 bulletproof vests and ballistic helmets, among others.

Despite the successes achieved in the year, the LSSTF boss said the Fund had received the lowest public donation to the tune of N153 million, representing 6.3 per cent of public donations received in 2021.

Appealing for more funding from the private sector, Balogun said: “The necessity for crime-fighting agencies is continuous, as we must accept that crimes are still with us. As this is an election period, political violence is another clear danger we are facing. There is need to raise the capabilities of our security agencies to contain these threats as we approach general elections.”

Reviewing of crime report between November 2021 till date, Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, said Lagos Police Command arrested 146 armed robbers in 149 foiled attempts. In the same year, Lagos recorded 52 cases of cultism-related attack, with 240 suspected cultists arrested and charged.

The police chief disclosed that 89 high-grade arms and 376 assorted ammunitions were recovered, while 280 dangerous weapons, including cudgels, were seized from criminals.

Alabi said: “In the period under review, Lagos Police Command recorded a remarkable feat in crime fighting when we began checkmating the activities of commercial motorcycle riders, following Mr. Governor’s proscription of Okada in the State. Crimes being committed using motorcycles have reduced. Out of 8,105 Okadas we impounded from last year, 4,815 were seized between June and September 2022.”

The Commissioner appreciated the Governor for material and logistic support rendered to the State Police Command, assuring that his men would not rest on their oars towards ensuring peace and safety in Lagos.

SIGNED
GBOYEGA AKOSILE
CHIEF PRESS SECRETARY
24 NOVEMBER 2022
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Election Converging Complexities In Water Terrain, Jimoh Ibrahim Commends INEC For Job Well Done

Billionaire business mogul and candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) for Ondo South in the 2023 general elections, Dr. Jimoh Ibrahim has commended Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) for conducting elections in the riverine communities in Ondo State despite the terrain.

He gave the commendation on Thursday while on familiarization tour of ward to ward at Igbobini, Apoi in Ese-Odo Local Government Area of the state.

Ibrahim noted that considering the terrain of the riverine communities in Ondo South senatorial district, the INEC officials who travel on the sea to perform their duties in the communities were really patriotic.

He noted that INEC could have raised different excuses to avoid going to most of the island communities in the district during election period.

According to him, “Today, I must commend INEC officials for coming to the communities in Ese-Odo Local Government to conduct electoral exercise.

” It’s not easy to travel on water for two hours in the name of performing official duties as electoral officers during the election period.

“I marvelled at the rate of waves and the way speed boats manoeuvre on the sea while sailing and the level at which the are prone to common mishap in the terrain.

“It is worthy of commendation and definitely all officers sent to our riverine communities by INEC are truly patriotic.

” We must all join hands to support INEC before, during and after the election to make the exercise worthwhile.”

Okowa urges youths to leverage on govt training programmes to unlock potentials

Delta Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, on Thursday, charged youths in the state to leverage on the opportunities provided by the state government to acquire vocational skills that would unlock their potentials in life.

Okowa who is the Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), gave the charge while flagging off the third cycle of the Rural Youth Skills Acquisition (RYSA) programme at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) permanent orientation camp at Issele-Uku in Aniocha North Local Government Area of the state.

Represented by the Secretary to the State Government ( SSG), Chief Patrick Ukah, the governor disclosed that, RYSA like other state government’s empowerment programmes, had been strategically designed to tackle the problem of youth unemployment in rural communities with a view to checkmating rural-urban drift.

He said the inauguration of RYSA was a testament of his administration’s quest to continue to provide opportunities for youths in the state to explore their potentials so as to enable them become self employed and wealth creators in a globally competitive business environment.

According to him, RYSA comprises of two components which he listed to include the hands-on skills training aimed at upscaling the vocational skill of participants and the community business school which focuses on life skills, mindset change, leadership and business management skills development necessary for participants to become successful enterprenuers.

While saying that three participants from each of the 270 electoral wards in the state were drawn into the third cycle of RYSA making it a total of 810 participants, Governor Okowa encouraged the participants to emulate their predecessors by taking the training with utmost sense of seriousness and responsibilitiy.

“Today’s event is a testament of our administration’s quest to continually provide opportunities for youths in the state to be self employed and wealth creators.

“Like all our empowerment programmes such as Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP); Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme (YAGEP); Women Empowerment and Skills Acquisition Programme (WESAP) and the Girls Entrepreneurship and Skills Training (GEST) Programme, the Rural Youth Skills Acquisition Programme have been strategically planned and designed to tackle the problem of youth unemployment in our rural communities to curb rural-urban drift.

“The focus of RYSA is to concentrate efforts at developing youth entrepreneurs in rural communities who will stimulate the growth and development of businesses in their immediate communities,” the governor said.

He, therefore, commended the management and staff of Ministry of Youth Development for ensuring that each of the cycles of the RYSA programme was successful.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Commissioner for Youth Development, Comrade Ifeanyi Egwunyenga urged the trainees to be good ambassadors of the training programme by making a difference in words and action to enable them actualize their dreams.

Comrade Egwunyenga said the training would expose the participants to a lot of new ideas that would enable them to contribute their quota to the local economy and the stronger Delta agenda.

“I wish to reiterate the State Government’s willingness to ensure that you get the best from this training Programme and we believe in your potentials and trust that, as participants in the programme, your skills will be sharpened and your knowledge of business management greatly improved.

“However, you must also keep to your own end of the bargain by being disciplined throughout the training duration and pay attention to details, that is the only way you can get the best of the training programme.

“It is crucial to emphasize that by studying properly and working hard, you set a good example for other youngsters who might eventually apply for the programme.

“You must, therefore, be determined to be good ambassadors of the programme and truly make a difference in words and action,” Egwuyenga stated.

Okowa mourns Delta-born gospel singer, Sammie Okposo

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta and Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has commiserated with the Okposo family and people of Isoko in the state over the passing of renowned gospel singer, Sammie Okposo.

The late Okposo hailed from Ivori-Irri, Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta. He reportedly passed on in the morning of Nov. 25, in Lagos. He was 51.

Okowa, in the condolence message by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, in Asaba, expressed sadness over the passing of the “Wellu Wellu” crooner, saying that it was a big loss to the deceased’s family, Deltans and lovers of gospel music across the world.

According to him, the passing of the popular gospel artiste is a big blow to music lovers, his family, Ivori-Irri community and Isoko nation, considering his immense talent and outstanding contributions to the growth of gospel music locally and globally.

The governor described the late Okposo as a “gentleman gospel artiste”, who contributed to the growth and development of modern entertainment industry in Nigeria.

He said that as one of the scions of the gospel genre of the music industry, Okposo would be greatly missed by his colleagues and fans.

“On behalf of the government and people of Delta, I mourn the passing of an illustrious son of our state and a great minister in gospel music.

“The news of his death was shocking and it is indeed, a great loss because he was a valued asset to Deltans and Nigerians, especially as his songs continue to inspire many to worship God,” he said.

Okowa prayed to God to accept the deceased’s soul and grant fortitude to the family and friends to bear his exit.