Subscribers to the NLC/TUC Good Homes scheme have appealed to authorities concerned to allocate land for them to address their housing challenges.
They made the appeal when they took peaceful protests to the minister of the FCT, Mallam Mohammed Bello and the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC headquarters in Abuja.
This follows other protests by the group, staged at the FCDA secretariat which did not receive attention.
This time, the aggrieved subscribers took their protest to the residence of the minister of the FCT in an attempt to get his attention by all means.
According to the Chairman of the Housing Scheme Subscribers Association, Chief Emeka Ananu, who led the chanting members, after about ten years of committing resources to the housing project, neither houses nor lands have been allocated to them.
Chief Ananu claimed that over one billion naira had been committed to the housing scheme by some civil servants without them getting houses or lands as expected.
The scheme was inaugurated in 2014 with the aim of making civil servants own their houses in Lafiya, Apo area of the FCT.
The subscribers displayed placards bearing various inscriptions during the protest, demanding justice.
Some of them claimed they have been servicing the loans they obtained to key onto the housing scheme without any respite, a situation they decried was affecting their economic, healthy and social well-being.
They said some of their members have died during the struggle while others have retired after attaining sixty years or 35 years in service without houses of their own.
No one came to address the protesters at both place of protest.
At the minister’s residence, they were confronted by some security personnel attached to the minister.
At the Labour House, the protesters sang solidarity songs, displayed their placards, and called on the NLC leadership to come and address them but to no avail.
They left both places with a promise to return at a later date until their demand for getting their houses or lands is met.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has reported that a joint operation involving Nigerian military troops and Department of State Services (DSS) operatives resulted in the elimination of 52 terrorists and the apprehension of a leader of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Bauchi State.
The ISWAP leader was captured in a sting operation at Tarum, a village outside Bauchi Metropolis, as disclosed by Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Operations, in a statement on Friday.
While the DHQ did not disclose the name of the arrested ISWAP leader, it revealed that the individual held a significant role in the North Central and North West zones.
The military high command emphasized that targeting terrorist leadership is crucial in ensuring the safety and security of citizens, with ongoing operations consistently diminishing the fighting force and capacity of these groups.
Maj.-Gen. Buba noted that Nigerian Air Force airstrikes played a key role in destroying terrorist leaders’ enclaves in the North West and North Central zones in the past week.
The week’s operations resulted in the neutralization of 52 terrorists, the arrest of 204 individuals associated with terrorism, and the rescue of 234 kidnapped hostages. Additionally, in the South-South zone, troops recovered stolen crude oil and illegal refined products, destroyed various equipment and sites used for illegal activities, and seized a substantial amount of weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and other items associated with criminal operations.
Solomon Arase, the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, has expressed distress regarding the escalating violence against security personnel, particularly police officers, in the South East region.
The former Inspector General of Police highlighted the growing number of police officers’ wives becoming widows due to attacks by gunmen in the area. In a statement by Ikechukwu Ani, Head of Press and Public Relations, Arase conveyed his apprehension during a courtesy visit by leaders of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter, in Abuja.
Arase emphasized that it’s essential to communicate to the assailants that the police are not their adversaries and have committed no wrongdoing. He lamented the loss of numerous serving officers in the South East, urging the perpetrators to recognize the police as friends and cease making widows out of officers’ wives, who are essentially their sisters.
Furthermore, Arase assured that the Commission has addressed the perceived marginalization of the South East in police representation nationwide.
Elder Onwu Arua, the leader of the Ohanaeze delegation, expressed concern about the lack of interest among people in the South East regarding the ongoing police recruitment exercise. He urged the Police Service Commission to devise strategies to address this issue.
On Friday, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) alleged that Governor Peter Mba was facing pressure from “Aso Rock” to discredit the Supreme Court ahead of the judgment on its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, scheduled for December 15. IPOB based this claim on Mba’s characterization of the group as a proscribed organization, a statement he made after visiting President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
IPOB cautioned the governor against making a “costly mistake” by using the group’s name to gain favor from Tinubu’s administration. In a statement by Powerful, a spokesperson for IPOB, it was emphasized that Mba’s comments were deemed reckless and unguarded. The statement alleged that Mba, under pressure from the federal government, accused IPOB of being responsible for the sit-at-home protest and insecurity in the Southeast.
The statement pointed out that Mba had previously condemned Simon Ekpa, who was associated with the enforcement of the Monday sit-at-home. IPOB expressed skepticism about the governor’s motives and suggested that his statements were influenced by the Tinubu administration.
IPOB urged the public to dismiss the governor’s remarks, describing him as a “cowardly governor” making unfounded accusations. The statement reminded Mba that IPOB is not easily intimidated and warned against attempting to use the group’s name for political advantage.
The statement concluded by calling on the Nigerian Supreme Court Justices not to succumb to blackmail, urging the release of Nnamdi Kanu, who was acquitted by the Court of Appeal. IPOB reiterated its commitment to the cause of self-determination and emphasized that the movement would not yield to blackmail or pressure.
