NEWS
UPDATED: Four rescued alive, One dead, others trapped in Abuja mall collapse
By Funmilayo Olusanya
Out of the five people who were rescued from a two-story building that fell in Kubwa Satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, one has been confirmed dead.
Biztellers had earlier reported that many were trapped and five were rescued after the collapse.
At the intersection of Gado Nasco Road and Hamza Abdullahi Street, the building that was under construction fell. Witnesses claim that the event took place on Thursday night about 11:30.
Five of the victims were rescued by a joint task force of operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Nigeria Police Force, and some residents.
Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency are also at the location of the incident.
Shuaibu Abdullahi, the son of the victim who perished in the wreckage, was one of the casualties who had previously been rescued from the burning structure and treated at a general hospital.
Before his father’s body was discovered, Abdullahi told our journalist that his father was one of the two other people trapped in the structure.
He said, “I was rescued with the other four persons, but my dad who is a security man is still in the collapsed building and I sustained injuries.”
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Shuaibu said, “Two among the rescued are out of the hospital while three victims are still in the hospital. But we are suspecting that two people are trapped because it is development ongoing. So usually in a construction site like this, we cannot determine who and who are inside. As you can see here, we are making sure that all hands are on deck to rescue the trapped victims.
“Right now, our attention is securing lives. Whoever is responsible, we will know later. Usually, the developers on sites cut corners. At times, they do not do proper mixing. They sometimes use substandard materials.”
Also, the spokesperson to the FCT Minister, Mr Attah Ikharo, who spoke to our correspondent, noted that the FCT Administration has made efforts to rescue victims, especially the deceased, and the last person reportedly trapped in the building.
He said, “Work has been ongoing in an advanced state. I have been going around the issue of the collapsed building, and five persons have been rescued so far, and another male have been pulled out of the rubble but he seems to have been confirmed dead and have been taken to the morgue at the Kubwa general hospital.
“A search is still ongoing for the last male that some of the people claimed came into the place last night.”
One of the survivors, Hafeez Olayinka, told journalists that the building had fallen on Thursday night at around 11:30 p.m., but the survivors weren’t found until early today (Friday) and were then rushed to the hospital.
“At about 11:30 pm on Thursday, we noticed that the building was collapsing, and we tried to escape. But five of us were rescued this morning, and they took us to the hospital.”
NEWS
Adeleke Approves Adeyemi’s Appointment As Chairman, Governing Council, Osun State College of Education
Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has approved the appointment of Akinyele Sarafa Adeyemi, as the new Chairman of the Governing Council of the Osun State College of Education, Ila Orangun.
This was detailed in a statement in Osogbo on Friday by Spokesperson to Governor Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed.
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According to Rasheed, Adeyemi replaces Dr Peter Babalola who resigned his appointment after a controversial tenure at the College of Education.
He stated that “Adeyemi who holds a first and Masters degrees in Education from the University of Ibadan is a retired principal of the Federal Girls College, Ipetumodu.”
It was gathered that the swearing in ceremony for the new Council Chairman holds by 10am on Monday at the EXCO lounge.
The Committee on Consequential Adjustments in Salaries for Civil Servants has confirmed that the newly approved minimum wage will be implemented starting July 29, 2024.
This was disclosed in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) issued at the conclusion of the committee’s meeting in Abuja on Friday.
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The MoU reads, “The National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSIWC) will prepare and release the necessary salary templates for other consolidated salary structures. The implementation date for the new wage will take effect from July 29, 2024.”
The committee, comprising 16 members, was set up to oversee the execution of the National Minimum Wage Act of 2024. This legislation raised the country’s minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000.
Among its key responsibilities, the committee is tasked with negotiating salary adjustments across various sectors and developing a template for implementing the newly approved wage structure.
With the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popular in the streets as petrol, hovering around approximately N1000-N1300 per litre, concerns are mounting about the viability of fuel subsidies in Nigeria.
Energy policy analyst, Adeyemi Adeoye, has underscored the critical role of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) in this issue, shedding light on who bears the subsidy costs.
He shared his views on TVC News on Friday.
Biztellers reports that the pump price of petrol has risen from below N200/litre at at May 29, 2023 to around N1300/litre as at September 20, 2024, with little variations depending the part of Nigeria, consumers are buying from.
Read More: Fuel Pricing Should Serve Public Interest, Not Profit — Yemi Adeoye
He stated, “Only the NNPC can engage in negotiations of this nature. Their partnership with the Dangote Refinery gives them leverage to negotiate from a position of strength.”
Adeoye highlighted that while the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and other marketers lack significant influence over prices, the Dangote Refinery prioritizes profitability.
According to him, this makes the NNPC’s negotiations vital, as they are legally required by the Petroleum Industry Act to ensure fuel availability across the country and prevent long queues at gas stations.
Adeoye said, “It is only NNPC that could have gone into that type of negotiation because NNPC is coming to the table from a position of strength because they have a partnership with the Dangote Refinery, and they have other businesses they are supplying crude to, so they can come and say, ‘Look, this has to be this way.’
“The IPMAN and the other marketers cannot do that because Dangote is a profit-making organization; it is not a charity organization. So, the only thing that is important to the Dangote Refinery is to make a profit, which is the same thing that is important to any business.
“So, the NNPC went into these negotiations because it also understands that it is the last resort. In terms of fuel distribution in the country, NNPC is mandated by the Petroleum Industry Act to make sure that there are no queues in the country. So, even if they don’t want to do it, the law mandates NNPC as the supplier, the last resort, to make sure that there is petroleum product across Nigeria.
“That negotiation is such that NNPC took all the calculations in and said, ‘This is a fair pricing that we know we can withstand.’
“Because what NNPC was paying out, which you might call a subsidy or under-recovery, NNPC was paying the difference on behalf of the government, which is under the directive of the president, who has also said he wants to see this situation totally resolved.
“That was why he directed the NNPC to make sure that crude oil to the Dangote Refinery is sold in Naira, because NNPC produces the crude in dollars, and it has to be sold to the Dangote Refinery in Naira, which is good faith.” he added
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