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Buhari Honours Civil Servant for Saving Nigeria N90bn on Ajaokuta Deal

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President Muhammadu Buhari has conferred the Presidential Merit Award on a civil servant, Umar Adamu Tsoho, whose refusal to cooperate with some contractors in suppressing vital information with promises of huge gratification saved the country the loss of N90 billion on the Ajaokuta steel project.

Umar was one of the 10 officers who received the Presidential Public Service Merit Award yesterday, at the 2022 Civil Service Day Commemoration held at Abuja, for demonstrating high level of commitment and dedication to duty.

The steel officer, who was on the sub-committee on Ajaokuta Project Presidential Implementation Committee, which dealt with the liabilities of the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited was honoured for considering the interest of the Ministry of Mines and the ethics of service by presenting DMO Bond Settlement Letters to the Sub-Committee which saved the country the huge loss. The federal government said his action supported the anti-corruption crusade of the president.

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Another awardee, Mrs. Cordelia Otuya, who is the Chief Legal Officer, Ministry of Education, was said to have successfully obtained over 50 court judgments in favour of the ministry with two of such judgements saving the ministry the payment of judgement debts amounting to N1.5 billion respectively.

The president also said his administration was working towards improving the value proposition of the civil service by setting up the Presidential Committee on salaries to harmonise salaries service-wide.

The president, who was represented by the FCT Minister, Mohammed Musa Bello, expressed hope that the outcome of the committee’s work would provide the impetus for an upward review of the salaries of deserving civil servants, with the recent increase of the duty tour allowance of all civil servants as a starting point.
He also launched the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021-2025 that was approved by the Federal Executive Council in December, 2021 and a Culture Change Video.

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He said the Plan was in response to his directive to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to institutionalise performance management in the service, adding the federal government would spare no effort aimed at improving the competencies of officers in the civil service through training and re-training of staff.

The president said joining to celebrate the Year 2022 Civil Service Day was to demonstrate his association with the on-going efforts to return the Nigerian civil service to its pride of place in delivering efficient and effective services to the Nigerian citizenry.

He, however, lamented the civil service which was once strong and formidable had begun to lose its relevance in the country.

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Noble Ladies Champion Women’s Financial Independence at Grand Inauguration in Abuja

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Women from diverse backgrounds across Nigeria and beyond gathered at the Art and Culture Auditorium, Abuja, for the inauguration and convention of the Noble Ladies Association. The event, led by the association’s Founder and “visionary and polished Queen Mother,” Mrs. Margaret Chigozie Mkpuma, was a colourful display of feminine elegance, empowerment, and ambition.

The highly anticipated gathering, attended by over 700 members and counting, reflected the association’s mission to help women realise their potential while shifting mindsets away from dependency and over-glamorization of the ‘white collar job.’ According to the group, progress can be better achieved through innovation and creativity. “When a woman is able to earn and blossom on her own she has no reason to look at herself as a second fiddle,” the association stated.

One of the association’s standout initiatives is its women-only investment platform, which currently offers a minimum entry of ₦100,000 with a return of ₦130,000 over 30 days—an interest rate of 30 percent. Some members invest as much as ₦1 million, enjoying the same return rate. Mrs. Mkpuma explained that the scheme focuses on women because “women bear the greater brunt of poverty” and the platform seeks “to offer equity in the absence of economic equality.”

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Education is also central to the Noble Ladies’ mission, regardless of age. Their mantra, “start again from where you stopped,” encourages women to return to school or upgrade their skills at any stage in life. The association believes that financial stability is vital in protecting women from cultural practices that dispossess widows of their late husbands’ assets, while also enabling them to raise morally and socially grounded families.

Founded on the vision of enhancing women’s skills and achieving financial stability, the association rests on a value system that discourages pity and promotes purpose. “You have a purpose and you build on that purpose to achieve great potentials and emancipation,” Mrs. Mkpuma said.

A criminologist by training and entrepreneur by practice, she cautions against idleness while waiting for formal employment. “There are billions in the informal and non-formal sectors waiting to be made,” she said, rejecting the “new normal of begging” and urging people to “be more introspective to find their purpose in life and hold on to it.”

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Mrs. Mkpuma’s management style keeps members actively engaged, focusing on vocational skills and training to prepare them for competitive markets. She is exploring “innovative integration of uncommon technologies” and is already in talks with international franchises to invest in Nigeria, with Noble Ladies as first beneficiaries.

The association’s core values include mutual respect, innovation, forward-thinking, equal opportunity, and financial emancipation. With plans underway to establish a secretariat in the heart of Abuja, the group aims to expand its impact.

The event drew high-profile guests, including former Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, and a host of VIPs, marking a significant milestone in the association’s drive for women’s empowerment.

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NEPZA, FCT agree to create world-class FTZ environment

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NEPZA, FCT agree to create world-class FTZ environment

The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has stepped in to resolve the dispute between the Federal Capital Territory Administration and the Abuja Technology Village (ATV), a licensed Free Trade Zone, over the potential revocation of the zone’s land title.
Dr. Olufemi Ogunyemi, the Managing Director of NEPZA, urged ATV operators and investors to withdraw the lawsuit filed against the FCT administration immediately to facilitate a roundtable negotiation.
Dr. Ogunyemi delivered the charge during a courtesy visit to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike, on Thursday in Abuja.
You will recall that the ATV operators responded to the revocation notice issued by the FCT administration with a lawsuit.
Dr. Ogunyemi stated that the continued support for the growth of the Free Trade Zones Scheme would benefit the nation’s economy and the FCT’s development, emphasizing that the FCT administration recognized the scheme’s potential to accelerate industrialisation.
Dr. Ogunyemi, also the Chief Executive Officer of NEPZA, expressed his delight at the steps taken by the FCT minister to expand the economic frontier of the FCT through the proposed Abuja City Walk (ACW) project.
Dr. Ogunyemi further explained that the Authority was preparing to assess all the 63 licensed Free Trade Zones across the country with the view to vetting their functionality and contributions to the nation’s Foreign Direct Investment and export drives.
“I have come to discuss with His Excellency, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory on the importance of supporting the ATV to succeed while also promoting the development of the Abuja City Walk project. We must work together to achieve this for the good of our nation,” he said.
On his part, the FCT Minister reiterated his unflinching determination to work towards President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda by bringing FDI to the FCT.
“We must fulfil Mr. President’s promises regarding industrialization, trade, and investment. In this context, the FCT will collaborate with NEPZA to review the future of ATV, a zone that was sponsored and supported by the FCT administration,” Wike said.
Barrister Wike also said that efforts were underway to fast-track the industrialisation process of the territory with the construction of the Abuja City Walk.
The minister further said the Abuja City Walk project was planned to cover over 200 hectares in the Abuja Technology Village corridor along Airport Road.
According to him, the business ecosystem aimed to create a lively, mixed-use urban center with residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, medical, and institutional facilities.
He added that the ACW would turn out to be a high-definition and world-class project that would give this administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda true meaning in the North-Central Region of the country.
Barrister Wike also indicated his continued pursuit of land and property owners who failed to fulfil their obligations to the FCT in his determination to develop the territory.

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Benue IDPs block highway, demand return to ancestral homes

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Vehicular movement along the Yelwata axis of the Benue–Nasarawa highway was brought to a standstill on Wednesday as Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, staged a protest, demanding immediate return to their ancestral homes.

The protesters, believed to be victims of persistent attacks by suspected herdsmen, blocked both lanes of the busy highway for several hours, chanting “We want to go back home”.

The protest caused disruption, leaving hundreds of motorists and passengers stranded.

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Eyewitnesses said the displaced persons, many of whom have spent years in overcrowded IDP camps, are expressing deep frustration over the government’s delay in restoring security to their communities.

“We have suffered enough. We want to return to our homes and farms,” one of the protesters told reporters at the scene.

Security personnel were reportedly deployed to monitor the situation and prevent any escalation, though tensions remained high as of press time.

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Efforts to reach the Benue State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, and other relevant authorities for comment were unsuccessful.

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