News
Wike Offers 5,000 Households Free Cooking Gas Cylinder, Six Months Refill
As the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, commences full implementation of its Breathe Clean Air Initiative, more than 5,000 households are set to benefit, receiving free gas cylinders along with free refills of cooking gas for six months.
This was disclosed on Saturday at the official launch of the Safe Environment Renewable Project – Breathe Clean Air Abuja.
The Mandate Secretary, FCTA Health and Environment Secretariat, FCT-HES, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, said the focus of the program goes beyond distributing palliatives. She explained that it aims to tackle environmental ignorance and help women better manage household health.
She noted that President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda has touched every aspect of human life, with a clear intention to improve living standards across all social classes.
Fasawe stated that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has fully aligned himself with the President’s vision and has shown firm commitment to making the FCT a better place for all.
She said, “The truth is, health is wealth. Health and environment are equal. So, the focus of this program is not only to give out palliatives, as we’ve done in the past.
“The focus of this program is to address the Renewed Hope Agenda Initiatives. It’s to tell Nigerians that if only we can put our hands together, and not wait for governments alone, we can have a happy, peaceful, and prosperous Nigeria. Because truly, with peace and prosperity Nigeria will be great again.”
Also speaking, Babagena Adams, Permanent Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat, FCTA, said the initiative is vital as it will reduce the stress pregnant women endure.
He said, “We’re also saving the pregnant women, along with the family. So, if they live healthy, they’ll be more productive, and the GDP of FCT will increase. A healthy community is a wealthy community, that’s the benefit.”
Earlier, a partner of the initiative and Chief Executive Officer of IHS Nigeria Limited, Mohammed Darwish, said the initiative is designed to protect mothers and children from inhaling toxic gases that endanger their health.
He explained that prolonged use of firewood and charcoal exposes families to hazards such as lung cancer and other respiratory diseases.
According to him, “the six-month voucher distributed in addition to the cylinder would encourage the beneficiaries to sustain the usage of the gas cylinders.
“This programme, in a nutshell and simple English, is about helping 5,000 mothers, sisters, and daughters by not inhaling toxic gases anymore, and by really making sure that their health is better by breathing fresh air. That’s in a nutshell,” he said.
The Executive Vice President of IHS, Ayotade Oyinlola, added that the distribution will significantly reduce the proportion of family income spent on medical bills.
A Consultant Radiation and Clinical Oncologist at the National Hospital Abuja and Secretary of the Nigerian Cancer Society, FCT Chapter, Dr Ayuba Hannatu Usman, said the initiative is centered on health prevention through lifestyle improvement.
Adding her voice, Daniela Omotola, one of those spearheading the campaign through Rotaract Clubs in Abuja, hailed the project as a timely, life-changing intervention that will reduce pollution-related illnesses and support a healthier FCT.
Stakeholders at the launch noted that as more households transition to cooking gas, pressure on surrounding ecosystems — including tree loss, soil degradation, and rising temperatures — is expected to reduce over time.
According to the FCTA, the project forms part of its broader strategy to promote environmental health, reduce pollution, and create safer living conditions for residents of the Federal Capital Territory in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
An Islamic human rights group has given Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, retired General Christopher Gwabin Musa, a fortnight to demonstrate a clear improvement in security across Sokoto state or step down from office.
As reported by Leadership, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) issued the ultimatum in a press statement on Saturday, August 22, 2026, signed by its executive director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola.
The group said the minister had failed to honour a pledge he made when he assumed office to end killings across the country. PM News also noted MURIC’s calls.
MURIC said at least 43 people and an Imam were killed in Sokoto state within the past three weeks, while 19 others were kidnapped in the same period.
The group described the victims as all being Muslims and framed the attacks as an assault on the symbolic heart of Islam in Nigeria.
“If Abuja is Nigeria’s political capital, if Lagos is the country’s economic hub, then Sokoto is the heart of Islamdom in Nigeria,” Akintola wrote in the statement.
“Any attack on Sokoto is deemed by Nigerian Muslims as an attack on Muslims in general.”
The group held the Nigerian Army directly responsible for the security failures in and around the state, and demanded what it called an “iron-clad defence mechanism” in the area.
MURIC also pointed to a recent warning from the Department of State Services (DSS) that terrorists were planning to attack tertiary institutions in Sokoto state, describing it as the moment that pushed the group to act.
“The Defence Minister has reneged on his pledge to stop killings. He has failed the people of Sokoto. He has failed Nigerians,” the statement read.
The group recalled Musa’s own words on assuming office: “I knew that I could not afford to fail myself, fail my nation, fail my family,” and said his conduct in office had contradicted that commitment.
MURIC gave the minister until Monday, August 24, 2026, as the start date of the 14-day countdown, demanding visible and verifiable changes to the security apparatus in and around Sokoto within that window.
The group was explicit that the city must be made, in its words, “impregnable and unassailable,” adding that “no single ant must climb on the Sultan’s skin.”
“The alternative is for the minister to submit his letter of resignation on or before the ultimatum. There is no other option on the table,” the statement concluded.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, Oyewole Mayowa Solomon, has reportedly died.
It was gathered that the APC Chairman died after slumping during a party reconciliation meeting in Iyara, the council headquarters.
According to TVC, Solomon collapsed on Friday while participating in a meeting convened by Funsho Olumoko, a former Chairman of the Ijumu Local Government Area.
The meeting was held to strengthen unity among APC stakeholders in the area ahead of the 2027 general election. Sources said Solomon suddenly collapsed while proceedings were ongoing, causing confusion among participants.
Efforts were reportedly made to revive him before he was rushed to a hospital in Kabba for medical attention. However, he was said to have died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
The reconciliation meeting came amid ongoing efforts by APC stakeholders in Ijumu to resolve internal disagreements and promote greater unity ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Earlier in August, APC stakeholders in the local government gathered in Iyara, where they endorsed President Bola Tinubu and Governor Usman Ododo for re-election.
The stakeholders also called for unity among party members. However, the earlier gathering was reportedly characterised by disagreements over the leadership of the local government, with Solomon and some other officials said to have walked out of the meeting.
Tension and grief have gripped the political community in Enugu State following the reported death of Chisimdiri Ngwu, chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Udenu Local Government Area.
Ngwu, described as one of the longest-serving members of the ADC in the state, was reportedly found dead in the early hours of Wednesday, August 19, 2026, in circumstances believed to be suspicious.
The deceased, who hailed from Orba in Udenu Local Government Area, was reportedly strangulated, according to information gathered by The Trumpet.
A family source, who spoke, said Ngwu left his home shortly after waking up on Wednesday morning, but never returned alive.
“He woke up early in the morning on Wednesday and walked out and that was the last we heard of him,” the source said.
The source said family members became alarmed after discovering that Ngwu was missing, only to later find his lifeless body outside the compound.
“When we woke up, we didn’t see him only to discover his lifeless body in front of our compound. We saw scratches on his neck which was twisted backwards,” the source added.
The circumstances surrounding the politician’s death have heightened concerns among members of the ADC and residents of the community, with calls for a thorough investigation to unravel what led to his death.
Reports indicate that two persons have been arrested in connection with the incident, although details of their identities and the circumstances of their arrest were not immediately available.
The development has cast a pall over the ADC in Enugu State, coming at a politically sensitive period ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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