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Wike Is Right On Abuja Master Plan, Says UK-Based Architect
A Nigerian-born Architect based in the United Kingdom and former university don, Arc. Sam Orlu-Akwu, has applauded the Minister of Federal Capital Territory(FCT), Barr. Nyesom Wike, for the steps he has taken to actualise the Abuja Master Plan.
Speaking to newsmen yesterday, at the Port Harcourt International Airport, on his arrival to Nigeria, for the upcoming conference on ‘The Built Environment’ (The City As A Socio-Economic Ecosystem), he said he was happy that the Minister had commenced the process of cleaning the rot that had engulfed the city over the years.
He urged the Minister to take further step by reviewing the Master Plan in line with the international best practices.
“To address the myriad of growing urban challenges, Abuja requires an efficient, credible and equitable system of urban governance. l therefore call for a review of the Abuja Master plan.
“Going by professional standard, all Master Plans are subject to review every 25 years. Abuja is nearly 50 years now. Thus, the defence of the Abuja Master Plan among others, must also include the periodic reviews, and their formalisation as new rules to govern the implementation.
“The optimum population projection of 3.1 million targeted by the Abuja Master Plan has already been exceeded and is still soaring, thereby overstretching the infrastructure and services.
According to him, in the original concept, the city was to be developed in four phases, but due to the skyrocketing demand for land by developers, specifically residential, a fifth phase was introduced.
“Also, in the Master Plan, the outermost limits of the city were the Outer Northern Expressway (ONEX) and Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX) on the north and south of the city respectively. But many big districts have already been developed outside these limits.
“The areas that were originally considered as regions have been integrated into the City. There is every need to respond to the rapid growth of the city”.
Orlu-Akwu called on the federal government through the FCT Minister to set up a Technical Committee for the review of Abuja Master Plan.
He said there was no need for the unnecessary bickerings concerning what the Minister was doing to reconstruct and beautify the city that would become the pride of all Nigerians.
According to him, the inability to accept changes of the status quo has been the cog in the wheel of our national development.
“There is no gainsaying that the Federal Capital Territory is drifting gradually to becoming an urban slum. The city has been abused, bastardized and mismanaged over the years and if care is not taken it will begin to decay.
“It is in urgent need of surgery to regain its original concept. This will definitely require a decisive, firm, dispassionate and unbiased action. There is no doubt that the former governor of Rivers State is equal to the task. This is not the time to talk about religion and ethnicity. Abuja is a melting point of all Nigerians”, he said.
He explained that apart from structural recovery, the city would need to move from mere diplomatic and commission collecting centre to a socio-economic-cum-self-sufficient hub and a true symbol of national unity.
Orlu-Akwu also advised that the Abuja city-gate ground should be redesigned to become a money-making national tourist centre with artefacts and exhibitions depicting Nigeria’s cultural variety.
“It should be a place of culture and history, like Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The Eagle Square doesn’t by any means measure with world class Squares, like Plaza Mayor in Madrid; Zocalo in Mexico City; Grand Place in Brussels; Tiananmen Square in Beijing; Saint Peters Square in Rome, etc.
“These are national monuments and edifices. And for a modern city like ours, what we have as a square is a big shame”, he said
The Uk-based architect called for concerted effort and ideas to help those in power to succeed in their assignments instead of fighting them.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.