By David Owei, Bayelsa

Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has described as shocking the sudden demise of one of his predecessors, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd).

Olubolade, who was military administrator of the state from June 27, 1997 to July 9, 1998, died on Sunday, May 11, 2025.

Governor Diri, who spoke during 163rd state executive council session in Government House, Yenagoa, said the news of his death was received with profound sadness by the government and the people considering Olubolade’s indelible contributions to the development of Bayelsa during the state’s formative years.

A minute silence was observed by the state cabinet in honour of the late former administrator.

The Bayelsa governor described Olubolade as selfless, an astute administrator and a man of exceptional humility.

He particularly expressed sadness that late last year, the state celebrated Olubolade’s 70th birthday in Yenagoa and that he was full of life at the event.

Diri said out of office, the former military administrator identified with the state through the years and was one of the key supporters of his administration.

He extended the condolences of the government and people of the state to the Olubolade family and prayed God to grant them and his loved ones the fortitude to bear the loss.

By Our Reporter

To rid Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of activities of criminal elements,FCT Minister Barr. Nyesom Wike, has addressed concerns about indiscriminate pick-up and drop-off points in the city, saying that the new bus terminals will help curb the issue by providing designated areas for buses to operate.

Fielding questions from journalists at the end of his inspection of several projects in Abuja, including the road leading to the Court of Appeal at Daki-Biyu and the Mabushi and Kugbo Bus Terminals, the minister expressed satisfaction with the progress of the projects, commending the contractors for a job well done.

When asked about the finishing of the Mabushi Bus Terminal, Wike noted that there has been significant improvement since his last visit. He commended the contractor for taking feedback seriously and making necessary adjustments.

“Very much. That’s why I said I commend the contractor. When we went there last time, you saw that I shouted at them that I was not happy with the finishing. But from what I’ve seen now, there has been a lot of improvement.

You see the contractor has said they’ve not done the final painting, all they wanted was for me to come and look at it, and have my own view. So at the end of the day, they will now put it into consideration for finishing. But I think generally we are happy with what we have seen”.

Wike stated that the projects are part of the efforts to provide first-class infrastructure for the residents of Abuja, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He noted that the bus terminals are a crucial part of changing the transport system in the city and praised the contractors for their work.

“What it means is that you don’t need to stay the road, you have to go to the bus terminal and there, we know drivers, we know the vehicles you have boarded. That, of course, will limit this one chance. So that’s the sense of building these terminals, and also to clean up the city so you don’t have buses all over the road becoming motorparks. That’s what we’re doing”.

Regarding the Daki-Biyu road, Wike said that it is expected to be completed in time for the president’s second-year anniversary celebration.

He clarified that the commissioning of the project may not necessarily be on May 29, but rather on a date to be determined by the president.

“I have said the commissioning is not the end of May. Commissioning is to celebrate the anniversary of Mr. President. So it’s not that it must be May 29, the President can give us that from June, but it’s his anniversary. So it does not mean that everything must be done on May 29. No, not at all”.

“We don’t know the date that we’ll be given for Daki biyu road. We don’t know the date that we’ll be given for the bus terminals. Everything will not be done on May 29. We have specific dates pending the approval and confidence of Mr. President. We can’t commission the whole projects on May 29. We have to take a date out. It will take us two weeks of commissioning. So that’s what I have said”.

On funding, Wike explained that the FCT administration has been managing resources prudently, prioritizing spending, and awarding contracts based on available resources. He expressed confidence that the projects will be completed within the agreed timeframe.

“Well, it’s a matter of prudent spending and then trying to prioritize what we intend to do. That’s why we’ve always said that just don’t go and award contract for the sake of awarding contracts”.

“We award contracts based on the resources we have, with the little taxes we are collecting, and the support Mr. President has given, we’re able to prioritize our spending”.

The minister’s inspection tour demonstrates the FCT administration’s commitment to delivering quality infrastructure to the residents of Abuja.

By Our Reporter

Senate on Tuesday urged the federal government to ensure that one representative of local government per state and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Area Councils are included to represent their interest in the Federation Account Allocations Committee, FAAC.

The Red Chamber, which also resolved to communicate the resolution to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy as the chairman of FAAC for his urgent information and necessary action, sought the concurrence of the House of Representatives.

These followed a motion on the “Urgent need to alter the composition of Federation Account Allocations Committee, FAAC by including representatives of local governments and Area Councils”, sponsored by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau (APC Kano North) during plenary.

Presenting the motion, Senator Barau said that the representatives of the states had always represented local government councils at the FAAC, but declared that in light of the current position of the constitution, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, it has become imperative that representatives of local government councils per state and Area Councils be nominated to represent their interest in FAAC.

The Deputy Senate President, who spoke through Senator Jibrin Isah (APC Kogi East), noted that the local government councils, established by Section 7(1) of the 1999 constitution, as a third tier of the Federation, are entitled as such and by Section 162(3), to share directly in the Federation Account Allocations as benefitting entities.

He added that “the Supreme Court has further recognized that the approach of a direct payment to the local government councils will achieve the intention and purpose of the constitution and accord with the smooth running of the system of paying the local government councils their allocations from the Federation Account.”

“The Supreme Court has also pronounced to the effect that paying the local government councils through the states of the Federation has not worked, therefore, justice demands that local government councils allocations from the Federation Account should henceforth be paid directly to the local government councils,” he informed.

Senator Barau went further that “Section 5 of the Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account, etc) Act 1981 prescribes the membership of the Federation Account Allocations Committee, FAAC to be only representatives of the federal government and state governments to the exclusion of the third tier of government, i.e local government councils”, adding that”this provision of the Act is no longer consistent with the current interpretation of Sections 162(5) and (6) CFRN 1999 as recently determined by the Supreme Court in its judgment of July 2024.”

He, therefore, said it has become imperative to urgently harmonize the provisions of Section 5 of the Act with the Constitution and its current interpretation by the Supreme Court.

All the senators who who contributed to the motion commended its sponsor and advised that it should be brought as a bill so that it could be processed and passed into law.