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Wike Orders Arrest of Owner of Abuja Collapsed Building

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The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has ordered the immediate identification and arrest of the owner of a two-storey building which collapsed in Abuja on Wednesday night.

The building had at least 39 residents, with two certified dead, and 37 rescued and taken to various hospitals.

The building, located at Lagos Crescent, Garki Village in the Garki District of the nation’s capital, was one of the first storey buildings in the area.

While it caved it caved in around 11pm on Wednesday amid heavy downpour, rescue operations were initially very slow over the night as there was no immediate access to an excavator and rescue efforts were purely manual.

Speaking at the scene of the incident, Wike who noted that original residents of the area were designated for resettlement, however wondered why foe years, the FCT Administration could not carry out such resettlement.

While he applauded the rescue efforts, Wike said; “It is unfortunate that we woke this morning to the very disturbing news of this building collapse. It is not what we contemplated. Let me thank the agencies particularly NEMA and FEMA that have supported us to rescue not less than 37 lives. It is unfortunate that we lost two lives. I will appeal to the Permanent Secretary to make sure that funds are raised to pay the hospital bills of those who were rescued so that we do not lose any more person, and this should be done immediately.

“Secondly, these are the things we have been saying, nobody knows whose turn it will be, therefore when government says it will take actions in areas we believe there are illegal developments or buildings that do not comply with the standard codes, it is not as if anybody has any personal vendetta but for me it is for us to do the right thing.

“I don’t know why it has taken long that the FCTA has not resettled them and so we will take immediate action to see that the indigenes of these place are resettled and then government has to plan out this place.

“When government says take building plan, it is not to suffer anybody but to make sure that everyone is protected. Cities are planned to forestall this kind of occurrences. Imagine buildings without approval. I will ask that we must identify and arrest the owner of this property. It is very important.

“Government will, of course, take over this area and make sure no further development is carried out here. I want all the stakeholders here to please work with government in the interest of everybody. No one has come here to say I like A, I don’t like B. I know sometimes government’s decisions may not be too comfortable with the people, but in the long run, it is in the interest of the people. Now we are all gathered here and none of us is happy we are here. These are the things we are trying to forestall. Again I sympathize with those who lost dear lives, while government will pick up the bills of all those in the hospital. We will also support the rescue efforts and ensure that they get to the last level and rescue everyone still trapped in the rubble”.

On his part, Director General of FCT Emergency Management Agency FEMA, Dr Abbas Idriss said 37 persons were rescued at the scene of the collapsed structure.

He said the victims were evacuated to various medical facilities in Abuja.

“Thirty Seven persons have so far been rescued and evacuated to hospital, others reportedly still trapped. Rescue team and others are on ground. Rescue operations on but slowly due to ongoing rain”. They are making frantic efforts at getting an excavator to remove people from the rubble”, he added.

The DG commended the efforts of all stakeholders working hard manually to rescue trapped persons, including members of the community.

It was gathered that the victims were taken to various hospitals including the National Hospital, Asokoro, Nyanya, and Garki District Hospitals, Alliance hospital and Zenith hospital.

Also speaking, Director, Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, explained that the building had no planning approval because the area is meant for resettlement.

“The building is located within the Garki indigenous settlement. The building had two suspended floors, one used for commercial activities while the other floors were used as residential accommodation. The building caved in yesterday (Wednesday) and 37 persons were rescued

“The status of the place is that it is not a planned area so the development had no planning approval. In fact, the area is meant for resettlement from here to Apo resettlement town.”

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Osun Guber Election: I’ll Call Trump If Anything Goes Wrong, Davido Warns

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Afrobeats music singer, David Adeleke aka Davido, has said he will seek the intervention of United States President, Donald Trump, if anything goes wrong during the forthcoming Osun State governorship election.

The singer made the statement during a livestream hosted by content creator Carter Efe, where he discussed his interest in politics and his concerns about the conduct of elections in Nigeria.

Davido said he would consider joining politics when he is convinced that the country’s electoral system is transparent and allows voters to freely choose their leaders.

According to him, he is confident of emerging victorious in an election that is conducted fairly.

He said the lack of transparency remains one of the reasons he has not ventured into politics despite his interest.

“Until there’s transparency, then I can go ahead with politics because nobody can beat me in any election,” he said.

Davido added that he would be confident of winning if Nigerians were allowed to vote freely and have their votes properly counted.

He also expressed concern about the upcoming Osun governorship election, saying he was waiting to see how the exercise would be conducted.

“I want to see what they are going to do in Osun. We are waiting,” he said.

The singer then disclosed that he would reach out to Trump if he became dissatisfied with the electoral process in Osun.

Davido said he would tag and call the US president and, if necessary, take his concerns to the White House.

“I’ll tag Trump, I’ll call Trump, everybody. If they still don’t see anything, I’ll go in front of the White House and say, ‘Help us,’”

“Trump will just say, ‘I think there’s a Nigerian artiste sending me a message. Don’t worry, my message will be delivered.’he said.

He stressed that his threat should not be dismissed as a joke, adding that he expected his concerns to reach the US president.

Davido concluded by calling on those involved in the electoral process to allow the people of Osun State to freely determine their next governor.

“Leave Osun alone oo, leave it,” he said.

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Food for Living: Love What You Do (Pt. 1)

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By Henry Ukazu

Destiny Friends,

The word ‘love’ is very significant. This is because of its descriptive power towDearards an action or feeling directed at someone or something. However, love means many things to many people, depending on one’s side of the divide.

Love is a beautiful thing. It is a beautiful experience and feeling when one gets it right. It breaks the heart when one loves someone and he/she is not loved back. Trust me, it really hits differently when one is loved in the manner they wished to be loved.

Love cuts all barriers of life, whether we are talking about purpose, health, academic, spirituality, finance, relationships, family, and career/vocation.

Let’s take a minute to dwell on the concepts of love as it relates to loving what one does.

Purpose:

Our purpose in life is much more important than our career. It’s instructive to note your profession is what you are trained to do as an attorney, doctor, engineer, accountant; your vocation is what one is paid to do as 9-5 work or skill work; but your ministry is your calling, that’s where you find your passion, your gift/talent. Our focus in life is to align our vocation, profession and ministry together.

Health:

If we love ourselves, we’ll pay attention to our health and that entails what we eat, how we exercise, and how we pay attention to our body. When we love our health, we’ll pay attention to what we do because our health will ultimately affect all we do.

Academic:

Loving what we do also affects our academics. It’s sad to see students who read majors they have no interest in just because of the job market. If one studies a major they don’t like, it will have an impact in their personal and professional lives. Imagine reading law when one’s interest is in accountancy, engineering or even Mass communication. The level of impact and fulfilment one gets studying a major they like is different from the impact they will deliver if they one don’t like the major. So, it’s advisable for one to study a major they have a strong interest in.

Spirituality:

Our spirituality plays an important role in what we do. We can’t succeed in life without the support of God. According to Evangelist Ebuka Obi, behind every successful man, there’s a spirit working for him. I totally agree with this saying because when you love what you do, the universe has a way of coming close and conspiring to make you succeed because it’s in alignment with God’s master plan and purpose for your life.

Finance

When we love what we do, it will have an influence on our finances especially when we are good at what we do. Everyone likes the best person who can do a job and that even entails paying for a premium service. One of the reasons why most people are poor is simply because they are not solving problems, even though they are solving problems, they are not solving the right problem, or they are not solving the right problem for the right people at the right places and time.

Relationships

To succeed in life, we must pay attention to our relationships because our relationships determine our network which ultimately determines our net worth. Loving what one does also entails being intentional in the people they let into their lives.

Family,

Family is the highest influence in a child’s life. When there is love in the family, the child will learn to love other people when they go outside. According to Mr. Okechukwu Ukazu, you can choose your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, and best friend, but you can’t choose your family. We don’t have control over who becomes our family either as parents or siblings because that’s how God designed it. Do you see why family is everything?

Career/vocation

Succeeding in life entails working in a profession or vocation we like. When we like what we are doing, and what we are doing like us, we shall be successful. It’s sad to see people working in jobs they don’t like just to pay the bills. It’s instructive to note that at creation God grants us talents and gifts to succeed in life, but because of the challenges of life, some of us now settle for something else. This is why some people are victims of defective success because as they climb the corporate ladder, one day, they will realize that they have gotten to the top only to realize they were climbing the wrong ladder of success.

Have you ever wondered why some people feel frustrated and depressed in life despite having resources at their disposal? It’s simply because they don’t like what they are doing. Loving what you do has a strong correlation to one’s physical and psychological and mental success in life.

In conclusion, to succeed, endeavor to love what you do.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design, Unleash Your Destiny and The Six Pillars of Succes . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com

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Glo Records Largest Internet Subscriber Growth in Nigeria in May 

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Digital solution provider, Globacom, recorded the highest Internet subscriber growth among Nigeria’s major telecom companies for the month of May.

Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Nigeria’s total Internet users increased to 157 million in May, up from 154.3 million in April. That is a growth of 2.67 million users in one month.

Globacom led the market by adding about 1.2 million new Internet subscribers. This means Glo was responsible for almost half of all new Internet users in May.

The company’s subscriber base grew from 15.5 million in April to 16.8 million in May. Airtel came second with 1.07 million new users, moving from 54.8 million to 55.8 million. MTN added 382,894 users to reach 83.5 million.

T2 Mobile, formerly 9mobile, recorded no growth for the second month in a row. Its subscriber base remained at 802,534. This is despite its roaming agreement with MTN, which was approved almost a year ago to help T2 customers use MTN’s network in areas with poor coverage.

Industry experts say Glo’s strong growth is due to its ongoing network upgrade. Since last year, the company has been building new base stations, expanding its fibre network, and adding thousands of new 4G sites across cities and rural areas.

The upgrades have improved voice and data quality for customers, while Globacom remain committed to providing better network experience and affordable Internet services to more Nigerians.

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