Marginalised: Flame Initiative, RCCG empowers widows in FCT - ITREALMS

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To foster empowerment in marginalised communities, Flame Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organisation under the CINTA Widows Empowerment Programme, have donated food items, funds, and other materials to widows in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The outreach carried out in Abuja, was in collaboration with the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), The Lord's Place, Abuja.

NITDA, UBEB to foster digital literacy @FCT schools - ITREALMS

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), is set to collaborate with the Federal Capital Territory Universal Basic Educational Board (FCT-UBEB) towards revolutionising the way young Nigerians engage with technology and equipping them with necessary skills to thrive in an increasingly digital world, reports ITREALMS.

The Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa made this known when he hosted a delegation from the Head-to-Head Debate Committee of FCT UBEB led by its Acting Executive Chairman, Dr Alhassan Sule, at the agency’s corporate headquarters in Abuja to discuss possible areas of collaboration.

Centre-LSD develops FCT Area Council’s OGP action plan - ITREALMS

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To onboard Local Government Areas unto the Open Government Partnership (OGP), the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) under its project “Promoting Transparency and Accountability in the governance process through the implementation of Open Government Partnership in Nigeria” on 13th June 2024, commenced a two-day workshop for the development of OGP Local Action Plan for Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT.

The Programme Coordinator of Centre LSD, Mr. Lawal Amodu, in a press statement available to ITREALMS said that the two days event is expected to produce a plan that will guide the Area Council in the implementation of the OGP for the next two years.

Court restrains FCT Minister from ejecting patients at Garki Hospital - ITREALMS

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An Abuja High Court has restrained the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Muhammad Bello and the FCTA Administration from ejecting patients at the Garki Hospital and taking over the facility.

Justice Charles Agbaza who gave the interim order on 30 March, 2022, restrained the defendants from taking custody of Garki Hospital as contained in a letter of termination issued on March 1, 2022, by the Minister to Nisa Premier Hospital, the concessionaire to Garki Hospital, Abuja.

Mobile operators give FG 7-day ultimatum to call Kogi, FCT to order - ITREALMS

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Mobile Network Operators (MNO) under the aegis of the Association of License Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has given the Federal Government (FG) a seven-day ultimatum to call the Kogi State government and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to order or face disruptions capable of affecting service delivery nationwide, reports ITREALMS.

This follows the sealing of some telecom infrastructure and abduction of employees of telecom operating companies, especially in Kogi State.

Telecom blackout looms in Kogi, FCT, 9 other states - ITREALMS

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The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has expressed concern about the shutting down of telecommunications facilities in Kogi State as a result of disputes arising from unusual taxes and levies demanded by the Kogi State Government through Its Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KIRS).

This issue is likely to lead to a total communications blackout in the entire Kogi State, parts of Abuja the Federal Capital Territory and possible impact on service availability in some parts of the following States: Nasarawa, Benue, Enugu, Anambra, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara, Niger States. These are States sharing borders with Kogi State.

INEC: 2,242 field observers for FCT council poll - ITREALMS

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A total of 2,242 field observers would be deployed for this Saturday’s council election at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, reports ITREALMS

Prof. Yakubu, INEC Chairman

This is coming as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reassured on free, fair and credible process.

COVID-19: Nigeria records first death in FCT - ITREALMS

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Information reaching our newsdesk, has it that the former Managing Director (MD) of Pipeline and Product Marketing Company. PPMC, a subsidiary of NNPC, Mr. Suleiman Achimugu has died over night from corona virus, reports ITREALMS.

This is coming as six new confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Nigeria, thus bringing to 36, whereas 33 are active cases, two persons have been charged after thorough examination and monitoring.

Achimugu, ITREALMS gathered is the first casualty in Nigeria on Corona virus and had returned from United Kingdom (UK) two weeks ago on medical treatment.

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) the first #COVID19 death in Nigeria has been recorded.

“The case was a 67 year old male who returned home following medical treatment in UK. He had underlying medical conditions- multiple myeloma & diabetes & was undergoing chemotherapy,” NCDC disclosed via its Twitterhandle @NCDCgov.

Equally, ITREALMS gathered that the victim started exhibiting symptoms on Tuesday and the family reported to the NCDC.

“They came to the house and took his blood specimen. They never got back to the family,” source close to the family said.

Stressing that as of Sunday afternoon, he was coughing profusely, so they called the NCDC to inquire about his results, which turned out positive.

“They picked him up and rushed him to Gwagwalada and he died at 2am this morning.
ITREALMS further gathered that the family of Achimugus are currently under quarantined in their house, while NCDC will handle the burial.

Meanwhile, highlights from NCDC showed that on the 23rd of March 2020, six new confirmed cases of COVID-19 recorded in Nigeria.

“Till date, thirty-six (36) cases have been confirmed, two cases have been discharged and one death from COVID-19 recorded in Nigeria.

“Of the five (5) new cases, one (1) is in Edo State, two (2) are in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and two (3) are in Lagos State.
ITREALMS equally gathered that the case in Edo State is being treated at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital; cases in the FCT are being treated at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Gwagwalada; and the cases in Lagos State are being treated at the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH), Yaba.

Even as all the six (6) new cases have mild to moderate symptoms and are currently receiving treatment.

Chuks Egbune/DoP
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Konga extends pay-on-delivery to FCT - ITREALMS

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Konga, Nigeria’s leading e-commerce giant, has extended its Payment On Delivery (POD) option to its teeming customers in Abuja, the nation’s capital effective Monday, February 4th 2019, reports ITREALMS.

The payment service, which was relaunched on August 1st, 2018 started with customers in Lagos, with plans to extend same service to other states and locations nationwide. This development will come as thrilling news for millions of Nigerians, especially after Konga effectively achieved same day delivery of over 99 per cent of product orders in major cities in the last three months.

Confirming the development, co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Konga Offline, Prince Nnamdi Ekeh, disclosed that the extension of the Payment on Delivery (POD) option to Abuja was a fulfilment of the commitment made to customers, even as he disclosed the determination of the company to cover more states in the country and improve overall customer experience.

“Customers in Abuja and environs can now enjoy the payment on delivery which we have now extended to cover the Federal Capital Territory and beyond. Internally, we have repositioned our delivery infrastructure and significantly improved our technology, staff capacity and processes to meet and exceed the expectations of our teeming customers. This has resulted in growing levels of satisfaction and positive feedback received from our customers, an overwhelming majority of whom now enjoy same day delivery irrespective of their locations nationwide.

“Through Kxpress, our logistics arm in which we have invested substantially with the acquisition of new line-haul trucks, delivery vans and motor bikes, Konga possesses the capacity to not only meet the commitments of POD in Lagos and Abuja, but also achieve the extension of the service to other states across the country. We also have a target to ensure the achievement of 100 per cent same day delivery of major product categories/orders across the country before the end of 2019,” he disclosed.

“This ambition is already taking shape with the acquisition and set-up of mega warehousing facilities with cutting-edge technologies across major parts of the country.

“In addition to pre-payment and payment on delivery, you have the additional option of ordering online to pay and collect from the nearest Konga retail store. Our customers can also walk into any of our stores nationwide and with the help of our staff, order products we do not have in store, then pay and collect when it is delivered at the store or we deliver it at their door-steps. At Konga, our motivation revolves around simplifying the challenges of the peculiar Nigerian market and offering our customers multiple platforms,” he affirmed. 

Under its new management, Konga has set about improving standards and renewing customer and investor confidence in the Nigerian e-commerce landscape with a series of strategic initiatives that have seen the business grow its offline presence to reach more Nigerians, while simplifying the thorny issues of logistics, delayed delivery, payment and warehousing challenges that have encumbered other players in the sector.

According to Prince Ekeh, Konga’s omni-channel strategy which is quite difficult to replicate has seen the company expand its retail network nationwide with the rollout of new stores nationwide to reach the under-served and capture more Nigerians in the e-commerce net. 

“The long-term vision of the management of the new Konga is to establish at least a Konga retail store or presence in each of the 774 local government areas in the country. We are focused on that mandate and will continue to work hard behind the scenes to make it a reality,” he concluded.

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36 States, FCT get refund from FG on Paris Club loan

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The Federal Government (FG) has released a State-by-State breakdown of the first tranche of Paris Club refunds paid to date, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, reports ITRealms.

The refunds, gathered were over-deductions on Paris Club Loans by States in Nigeria between 1995 and 2002.

These payments totaling N516.38bn were made to the 36 States plus FCT upon the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari on November 21^st 2016 in partial settlement of long standing claims by State Governments relating to over-deductions from their Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocation for external debt service arising for the period under review.

Director, Information at the Federal Ministry of Finance, Salisu Na’Inna Dambatta, told ITRealms that these debt service deductions are in respect of the Paris Club, London Club and Multilateral debts of the FG and States. 

“While Nigeria reached a final agreement for debt relief with the Paris Club in October 2005, some States had already been overcharged,” he said.

He also noted that the funds were released to State Governments as part of the wider efforts to stimulate the economy and were specifically designed to support states in meeting salary and other obligations, thereby alleviating the challenges faced by workers. 

The releases, ITRealms gathered were conditional upon a minimum of 50 per cent being applied to the payment of workers salaries and pensions. 

According to him, the Federal Ministry of Finance is reviewing the impact of these releases on the level of arrears owed by State Governments. 

REFUND OF OVER-DEDUCTIONS ON PARIS CLUB LOANS ON THE ACCOUNTS OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS (1995-2002)
S/N	STATE	TOTAL AMOUNT PAID IN NGN
1	ABIA	11,431,531,742.97
2	ADAMAWA	10,257,434,321.63
3	AKWA IBOM	25,981,255,165.12
4	ANAMBRA	12,243,313,404.68
5	BAUCHI	13,755,553,122.51
6	BAYELSA	24,895,696,347.55
7	BENUE	13,709,343,498.51
8	BORNO	14,681,869,730.63
9	CROSS RIVER	12,150,687,893.85
10	DELTA	27,606,963,362.46
11	EBONYI	9,016,166,759.96
12	EDO	12,182,253,184.99
13	EKITI	9,545,673,294.17
14	ENUGU	10,723,578,819.32
15	GOMBE	8,945,755,396.38
16	IMO	14,001,610,365.94
17	JIGAWA	14,215,333,413.52
18	KADUNA	15,443,458,455.10
19	KANO	21,740,390,362.48
20	KATSINA	16,404,261,819.71
21	KEBBI	11,954,998,982.90
22	KOGI	12,055,455,191.60
23	KWARA	10,241,288,653.14
24	LAGOS	16,743,876,266.21
25	NASARAWA	9,102,098,342.24
26	NIGER	14,421,586,309.89
27	OGUN	11,478,749,388.92
28	ONDO	14,007,296,628.57
29	OSUN	12,628,212,681.25
30	OYO	13,315,423,054.25
31	PLATEAU	11,288,158,110.82
32	RIVERS	34,925,785,322.06
33	SOKOTO	12,882,257,093.52
34	TARABA	9,326,607,975.00
35	YOBE	10,826,206,233.18
36	ZAMFARA	10,884,771,188.99
37	FCT	1,369,735,000.09
	TOTAL	516,384,636,883.81

Nonye Dom/GEE

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