20032019 -Petition: My case against Buhari, by Atiku

10 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2019
No plan to sell Lagos Trade
Fair Complex — BPE
By Emma Ujah,
Abuja Bureau Chief
A Bureau BUJA—THE
of Public
Enterprises, BPE, has said
that there was no plan to
sell the Lagos International
Trade Fair complex to any
individual or corporate
organization.
Reacting to Monday’s
protests by traders at the
complex, the Head, Public
Communications, of the
bureau, Amina Othman,
said, in Abuja, yesterday,
that the federal government
would only concession the
complex to a new operator,
as the old concession
arrangement had been
terminated since AUGUST
2017.
She said: “For the
avoidance of doubt, the
Bureau states that the
Federal Government of
Nigeria through the
Bureau of Public
Enterprises (BPE), does not
intend to sell the Complex
rather the facility would be
concessioned through a
competitive transaction
process.
“It is for this reason that
the Government has
procured the Services of
Messrs Feedback
Infrastructure Services to
advise on the way forward
for the proposed
concession. It is apt to
inform the public that the
Bureau on March 1, 2019,
met with the entire Traders’
Associations to explain the
essence of the planned
Concession.
“It would be recalled that
the Bureau had on August
23, 2017, placed a Caveat
Emptor in some national
newspapers in the country
wherein, it stated that the
lease agreement that was
hitherto executed by the
FGN in favour of Aulic
Nigeria Limited had
been validly terminated
and possession reverted
to the FGN with effect
from 23rd day of August
2017.”
Othman said that
members of the public had
earlier been warned
against buying or taking
up any part of the complex
on lease, after the
termination of the lease
agreement with Aulic
Nigeria Limited.
“Members of the public
were therefore, warned that
any purported allotment,
buying, selling, letting,
leasing, charging, and
subdivision, construction
upon or dealings in
connection with the said
property and parcels of land
in any other manner
howsoever without the
written permission of the
FGN represented by the
BPE is unlawful, illegal,
fraudulent and amounts to
trespass,” she said.
MultiChoice Talent Factory
networking portal launched in Lagos
A
digital hub
conceived as the
premier destination for
connecting Africa’s creative
industries, MultiChoice
Talent Factory, MTF, Portal,
has been launched in Lagos
The MTF Portal,
www.multichoicetalentfactory.com,
is the third touchpoint of the
MultiChoice Talent Factory,
the company’s shared-value
initiative.
In a statement by MTF
Academy West Africa
Director, Femi Odugbemi,
the launch followed that of
the MTF Academy, a 12-
month film training
programme, last October,
which aimed at up-skilling
the next generation of
young film creative, and the
MTF Masterclasses, also
launched in January, to upskill
industry professionals.
According to Odugbemi,:
“The interactive online
portal aimed at profiling and
connecting Africa’s creatives
as well as bringing pan-
African talents and
opportunities together in
one place.
“The digital portal will
allow filmmakers across the
continent to network, find
talent and showcase their
work. Access to the portal is
through registration on
www.multichoicetalentfactory.com,
which will serve as an
authoritative source of
industry news, supported by
MultiChoice’s position as
Africa’s leading storyteller.
“Users of the portal-up,
up and coming creative
talents, can also connect
and collaborate. The MTF
Portal will also provide
information on the MTF
Academies
Masterclasses.''
and
LAGOS COUNTRY CLUB: From left: Chief Olayinka Ogunmekan, past president; Chief Olumuyiwa
Williams, Trustees; Chief Tajudeen Akande, President; Chief Oliver Ogbonna, former Vice president
and Chief Babatunde Okunuga, Director general, all of Lagos Country Club during the press conference
on the 70th anniversary of the club and unveiling of the anniversary logo in Lagos.
Lagos building collapse: Ambode set up
five-man c’ttee to probe Ita-Faaji tragedy
•Summons officials over incident of injured persons at demolition site
•LASG directs owner, developer of ill-fated property to appear or face sanction
•Demolishes 2 more buildings; Group wants affected pupils admitted in public schools
By Olasunkanmi
Akoni & Monsuru
Olowoopejo
L
A G O S —
DETERMINED to
stem cases of building
collapse in Lagos, the State
Governor, Akinwunmi
Ambode, yesterday,
inaugurated a five-man
committee to conduct a
thorough investigation into
the immediate and remote
cause(s) of the last
Wednesday collapsed threestorey
building on 63
Massey Street, Ita-Faaji area
of Lagos Island, which
claimed 20 lives, including
children.
However, following
reported case of four persons
who got injured during a
demolition exercise at
Egerton Street, Monday,
Vanguard learned that
Governor Ambode
summarily summoned some
of government officials and
aides over the development
and expressed his
displeasure over the
avoidable incident.
The governor, it was
gathered, later instructed his
aides of the need to intensify
demolition and monitoring
exercises across the state
without causing any form of
Appoint party’s national secretary now, APC
leaders told
A
member
of All
Progressives
Congress, APC, Election
Monitoring and Planning,
Contact and Mobilization
of the Presidential
Campaign Council,
Comrade Paul Oyiborume
has called on the party’s
leadership to, without
further delay, appoint a
national secretary of the
party.
Oyiborume stressed that
since the emergence of the
National Secretary, Mai
Mala Buni as the governorelect
of Yobe State, there is
an urgent need to replace
him by appointing another
person for the post.
Oyiborume, who is also a
member of the party’s
Directorate of Youth,
Women and Youth
Presidential Campaign
team said: ‘’I am calling on
President Muhammadu
Buhari, National
Chairman, Comrade
Adams Oshiomhole, the
National Leader, Asiwaju
Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
members of APC National
Working Committee, NWC
and other relevant
authorities to see to the immediate
appointment of
a new National Secretary
for our party.
‘’This is necessary to fill
the void left by the departure
of the secretary, Mai Mala
Buni, who has been elected
the governor of Yobe State.
‘’It’s improper for a ruling
party like ours not to have
a functional secretariat and
National Secretary. The fact
that the deputy National
Secretary is also a deputy
governorship candidate of
River State has left the
secretariat non-functional
and inactive.''
damage.
Addressing journalists in
Ikeja on the inaugurated
committee, Commissioner
for Physical Planning and
Urban Development, Rotimi
Ogunleye, urged residents
to assist the government by
exposing any building with
sign of distress across the
state.
Ogunleye also directed
the owner and developer of
the collapsed building to
appear at the ministry for
discussion in its quest for
further fact-finding of the
incident.
He said: “The developer
and the owner must come
forward and present their
case before us. It is an
invitation for them. If they
keep away, it suggests that
they have something to
hide. You all know the step
we took on Lekki Gardens
when it collapsed.”
Ogunleye, explained that
the committee, chaired by
Engr. Wasiu Olokunola,
was expected to proffer
remedial measures to stem
future building collapse and
determine level of
negligence on the part of
the developer or owner and
the role of the government.
He stated that the choice
of members of the panel was
based on professionalism in
their respective fields,
saying, they will
investigate the causes of the
collapse and submit
a p p r o p r i a t e
recommendations to the
government.
Ogunleye assured that the
recommendation of the
panel would be speedily
implemented as
government was
determined to stem the tide
of collapsed building in the
state.
He said the panel had two
weeks to submit its report to
the government for prompt
action.
On activities embarked
upon to prevent the ill fated
building from collapsing,
Ogunleye, said efforts were
geared towards
demolishing the structure
before it caved in.
According to him: “Prior to
last Wednesday collapsed
building, we have captured
149 buildings which were
marked for demolition across
the state. In the first phase
last year, we removed 40
structures across the state.
“We were about embarking
on the second phase in
which we have itemized 30
structures to be removed
before the building on
Massey Street collapsed.
Now we have scaled up the
structures to 51. The number
is not restricted to the Lagos
Island alone.
“Of the 51 buildings, no
fewer than 48 were on Lagos
Island alone. So, the
issue of monitoring within
the axis and other parts will
be stepped up to ensure that
the government rid the state
of distressed buildings.
Group wants affected
pupils in public schools
Meanwhile, Civil Society
Action Coalition on
Education For All,
CSACEFA, Lagos State, has
urged the state government
to provide admission for all
willing affected pupils into
public schools within the
axis.
In a statement made
available to Vanguard, by
Acting Lagos Coordinator,
CSACEFA, Mrs. Aderonke
Kimemenihia-Eseka, said
that prompt intervention by
the government would
afford the affected pupils not
to miss their present
academic school term.
They also urged
government to set up more
public primary schools to
cater for educational needs
of children in communities
where private schools
“appeared to be thriving
due to distance of public
schools to family homes.”
The group also donated
some items to the victims of
the collapsed building, to
cushion the effect of the
disaster.
Buhari, APC warned against interference in
rerun gov polls
L AGOS—LAGOS
Central senatorial
candidate of Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP,
Adesunbo Onitiri has
cautioned President
Muhammadu Buhari and
the All Progressives
Congress, APC, of the need
not to meddle with the last
Saturday’s governorship
supplementary elections in
six states in the interest of
Nigeria.
The states are Bauchi,
Adamawa, Kano, Plateau,
Benue and Rivers.
Onitiri, in a statement,
yesterday, said the ruling
party should not use the
Osun template to rig
elections in those states as it
might cause violence.
“I wish to implore all
patriotic Nigerians and
lovers of democracy,
including the international
community to prevail on
Buhari to let the votes of the
people count for once. We
cannot afford another civil
war in this country.
According to Onitiri,
Nigeria is presently sitting
on a time bomb. Any
attempt to further rig the
elections May set the
country on wild fire that
may consume all of us.
“Nigeria is greater than
any individual or office
holder. We must always
bear this in mind. INEC
should maintain neutrality
in this election and keep
the little credibility that
remains,'' he said.