FG, CRCC Sign $3.9bn Agreement On Abuja-Itakpe Railway - Exclusive Photos

The federal government has signed a 3.9 billion dollar agreement with the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) for the construction of the Abuja-Itakpe railway.

Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, announced this in Abuja on Thursday.

The minister expressed hope that the project would be speedily completed.

“The signing ceremony that we have today is the first PPP railway agreement for Abuja-Baru-Itakpe and Lokoja and it is between Nigeria and CRCC,” he said.

“The agreement is supposed to be 15 per cent Nigeria equity and 10 per cent CRCC equity and then we borrow 75 per cent as SPV from the Chinese bank.

“Part of the agreement is that CRCCI will provide us with a performance bond from their bank before we give a sovereign guarantee for them to be able to borrow the 75 percent.

“There is a concession agreement that CRCCI will manage both the railway and the seaport and recover the 75 per cent and pay the money.

“So, the entire railway for now in Nigeria is constructed by CRCC. I think that the good working relationship we have had with CRCC is the reason we have not been able to engage other companies.”

On the Ibadan dry port, the minister expressed displeasure that work had not been completed and called for the completion of the project.

He also urged the CRCC to ensure it commenced work on the Abuja to Itakpe and Warri seaport rail line.

“You were pushing us to approve and now we have but you are not on-site; there is a need for CRCCI to the go-to site,” he said.

On funding for the project, Amaechi said the majority of the funds would come from the Chinese government.

The minister urged more collaboration with the Chinese, especially CRCC and CCECC to improve the capability of Nigerians in the sector.

“There is a need to instruct both CCECC and CRCCL to realise that we need to localise the technology and we need local participation of both Nigerian engineers and contractors,” he said.

“That’s why we emphasise on the universities we are asking you to build; we are expecting that not only will you build you will provide us with lecturers until we can train our own lecturers.

“Just like we are holding CCECC on the issue of manufacturing at Kajola, for which we have awarded them the contract of about 500 million dollars to build for us rolling stock for Lagos-Ibadan.

“We will also resume conversation with CRCC on the issue of manufacturing railway components in Nigeria.”

See photos of the on-going construction of the Warri Itakpe rail line below...

FRSC Begins Test Transmission Of Its Radio Station, Unveils FRSC National Radio

Just as Lagos that has Africa's first traffic radio, the federal road safety commission seem to be toiling this line too. We can report that all is now set for the official test transmitting of the FRSC Radio.

The Zonal Commanding Officers the Federal Road Safety were taken around the facilities of the station in Abuja recently where they inspected the state of the art equipment being donated to them.

The FRSC Radio is the brainchild of the current Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, the transmitting equipment for the radio was provided by one of Nigeria's Banks as part of its support for the efforts of the lead agency to curb accidents on Nigerian roads.

No date has been fixed yet for the commissioning although the test transmitting will begin any moment from now.

It will be recalled that the NBC recently granted the FRSC the license for the station which will help in giving information, tips and traffic update to motorists in the city of Abuja.

Here are pictures from the inspection as obtained by AutoReportNG

See What Lightening Did To Someone's Car In Abuja This Morning

In Nigeria, we play with thunder and lighting a lot without knowing that they are powerful and seem to be more dangerous than we normally thought. A lady has taken to Twitter to thank God for the life of her sister, according to her, Lightening struck my aunt’s car this morning in Abuja. God save us.

Imagine if her sister was in the car or someone close by... According to the images sent to us, the car was razed to the ground and nothing was spare, totally destroyed. So, when next you want to abuse someone of thunder and lightning, please, think twice again.

See more images of this car below...

Filling Stations Now Run On Solar Panels - Ex-Minister Laments Poor Electricity In Abuja (Photos)

Nigeria's former of aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka was in Abuja recently and he was amazed to see a filling station being powered with Solar, this he said that if a petrol station is forced to go solar then we need to have a sober reflection on electricity in Nigeria. According to him, I stopped to buy fuel at Oando station at Jabi, Abuja and noticed solar panels on the roof. The Attendant in response to my inquiry said they are off grid and no generator, everything in the station is powered by solar! ‬‪Fuel seller on solar. Is Nigeria ready for post-oil world?‬

These are images posted from the gas station.

Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika Commissioned Aviation Projects In Abuja, Kano, And Katsina

The Minister of State for Aviation Hadi Sirika commissioned a few aviation projects in Abuja, Kano and Katsina states.

In Abuja, the Minister commissioned the 10 Megawatts (MW) Independent Power Plant (IPP) to complement power for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The new Accident Rescue and Resuscitation Centre, the remodeled Terminal D of the domestic wing of Abuja airport as well as the fire watch tower for the Airport, were also commissioned.

In Abuja
He Commissioned the 10 Megawatts (MW) Independent Power Plant (IPP) to complement power for the Abuja Airport, The New Accident Rescue and Resuscitation Centre, the remodeled Terminal D of the domestic wing of Abuja airport as well as the fire watch tower for the Airport.

Kano
In kano the Hon. Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika Commissioned the General Aviation Terminal at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport and some other projects.

Katsina
In Katsina, he Commissioned the Terminal building of Umaru Musa Yaradua, International Airport, Katsina. As part of his ongoing tour of Aviation projects in the country.

An Abuja Based Lady Narrates A Bitter Experience With VIO Officials In Abuja

Despite the message and orientation by the federal government that change begins with us, it seems all those are formalities and not applicable to civil servants especially those who are at the helms of affair in the nation.

A woman named Affi Bassey has taken to her page to explain her ordeal in the hands of the VIO officials in Abuja. According to her, her driver's license expired May 17th and normally under the FRSC law, you have a grace period of 7 days (a week) to renew the documents but it seems these VIO officials have another agenda, not only did they arrest her, they deflate her tyres and made her pay a whopping 15000 naira instead of the normal 10.500 which is the official price and guess what? No receipts.

Read her order below...

It happened to me!

You know that state of being where you get bullied and harassed and you are helpless to do anything, simply because the person is 'in power' at that moment? That's the state I was earlier today.

VIO stopped me around 9am today to check my papers.
So my vehicle papers expired May 17th, precisely 4 days ago.

VIO: Madam you have to renew your papers o.

Me: Yes I know, I will do it end of the month when I get salary. I have a grace period abi?

VIO: Madam the grace period is 7 days before the expiry date
You have to do your vehicle papers...

(and then pauses)...

Me: 😷

VIO: You have to go to our office

Me: Okay sir

And he enters the car after so much drama and fuss of not sitting in front since the person seated there did not get down for him. They took me into their VIO garage.

All these were after collecting my 5years drivers license and pocketing it. I asked for it and they said they'll give me once we get to their office. (They lied)

They booked me, and the madam in charge of that unit in Katampe, Abuja said I have to renew my vehicle papers for 12,000 (official price is 10,500) and instead of a penalty fee of 9000, I should pay 3000.
(Thought she was trying to help, turned out I was wrong. She dey form tough nut to crack, dey show power)

Finally got the money and asked them to show me the office to pay to. For where? They refused o. They insisted I must give the 15000 to the officer who arrested me. And when I refused and went looking for the right place to pay, they deflated my front Tyre.

Their excuse was I refused to give them my car key.

Meanwhile, they had my driver's license with them, I was packed inside their compound which has a gate, so of course, I couldn't run out even if I wanted to. And they equally saw the frantic effort I made to get the papers done in their office.

*sigh*
Lalas, I paid the 15000 naira to them, paid 500 to get a 'vulcanizer' to fix my tyre, and was told to come back tomorrow to get my drivers license and my vehicle papers.
No receipt.

Today is one of the very few times I have felt like leaving this country for good... It left me feeling like I got harassed for wanting to do the right thing.

British Airways Moves Into The New Abuja International Terminal - Photos

In line with its drive to provide premium services to its passengers, British Airways has announced the relocation of its terminal to the new Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The change took effect on 30th April 2019.

The move comes after the opening of the new Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, a result of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria’s (FAAN) goal to create an ultra-modern facility which would ensure efficient processing of passengers and improve the experience for travellers flying through Abuja. Both airlines and passengers will experience a vast difference in both space and processing technology for passengers. British Airways new terminal relocation is in line with global efforts to ensure seamless, safe, and convenient travel for passengers.

Speaking on the move, British Airways Regional Commercial Manager for West Africa, Mr Kola Olayinka said, “British Airways is pleased about the new Abuja International Terminal, we embrace any opportunity to improve our services to passengers. Our newly upgraded lounge and the terminal will ensure a seamless travel experience for our passengers. We’re excited to share these new developments with our Abuja passengers.”

Buttressing these sentiments, the Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Saleh Dunoma, says the newly inaugurated international terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, was designed to give maximum comfort to air travellers.

 

#TrashChallenge: More Youths, States Joining The Challenge - See The Lists

For the very first time in the history of Nigeria, if that word is correct, our youths seem to be coming together to form a formidable force and work together as a team. This is a signal that we are beginning to have youths who will take the future of Nigeria to the next level.

It's not every time we report negative stories about the youths, there are still some that are blazing the trail and keeping the game up!

The #TrashChallenge which started as a global challenge seems to put Nigerian Youths at the edge as they suddenly seem to be coming together! Lagos started the fire then Ibadan picked it up and then we have a small group of people in Abuja and then we have a two-man MolPol in Akwa, Anambra State, Kano State, and Kwara State. All these challenges have one thing in common, keeping the environment clean.

It is no news that Nigerians care less about their environment, irrespective of tribes and our locality, we all are guilty of this in one way or the other. It's only in Nigeria that you dispose of your items on the walkway despite seeing the trash bin very close to you. Our mentality to cleanliness as a nation is fast deteriorating and that's why this challenge seems to be a walk-up call to every.

The Ibadan people are fired up to do something new, this is despite some group of people who have done their cleaning at Agodi Gate in Ibadan last week, a group of people with some influencers alongside with The Beat FM and Naija FM Ibadan teamed up and they went to clean up Iwo Road, Ibadan. For those who know Iwo Road very well, its a place where anything goes, they are dirty and careless about their environment. These youths do not mind the dirtiness and they decided to clean up the surrounding, some even came from their office, some came during break period to be part of this challenge.

Anambra State

Kano State

Ibadan, Iwo Road

Ilorin, Kwara State