The Federal Government has unveiled plans to implement a cashless tolling system on the Abuja-Keffi Expressway and the dualized Keffi-Akwanga-Makurdi road.

This initiative, under the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI), aims to foster sustainable infrastructure development, attract private sector investment, and enhance the nation’s transportation network.

The announcement was made during the inauguration of an implementation committee by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja on October 17, 2024, as contained in a statement on the official website of the ministry.

“As part of measures of the Renewed Hope administration to revolutionize road infrastructure development and stimulate economic growth, the Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi CON has inaugurated a committee on the implementation of Cashless Tolling System for Abuja-Keffi Expressway and Dualization of Keffi-Akwanga-Markurdi road,” the statement read in part.

The Minister of Works explained that the initiative will utilize toll revenues to repay the loans secured for the project, which was executed under an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Financing (EPC+F) arrangement.

China Harbour Ltd handled the construction, with 85% of the funding provided by China Exim Bank and the Federal Government contributing 15% as counterpart funding.

The statement further emphasized that the initiative will ensure a seamless tolling process by tasking the committee with developing a comprehensive implementation framework.

In addition to toll operations, the project will establish relief stations strategically located along the route, each equipped with essential services such as clinics, supermarkets, security posts, and parking facilities. These stations aim to enhance the travel experience while ensuring the safety and comfort of road users.

The committee, comprising representatives from the Ministries of Works, Finance, Budget and National Planning, and Justice, as well as officials from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), has been given two weeks to submit its report.

The goal is to ensure that the framework aligns with global best practices and promotes sustainable road management.

The statement further noted that Umahi stressed the importance of swift security responses along the highways. To achieve this, the government plans to install CCTV cameras and solar-powered lighting throughout the routes.

These measures are designed to facilitate round-the-clock surveillance and ensure rapid intervention by security personnel, targeting a 10-minute response time for emergencies.

These features aim to enhance safety, improve traffic flow, and reduce the likelihood of incidents, further supporting the economic and social objectives of the project.

Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, says it has deleted another 1,600 groups linked to ‘Yahoo Boys’ from its platform.

The development comes three months after the company removed 63,000 accounts in Nigeria linked to sextortion scams.

In a statement on Thursday, Meta also announced that Instagram is taking measures to further protect people from sextortion.

“We removed around 1,600 Facebook Groups and accounts that were affiliated with Yahoo Boys, and were attempting to organize, recruit and train new scammers,” Meta said.

“This comes after we announced in July that we’d removed around 7,200 Facebook assets that were engaging in similar behaviour.

“Yahoo Boys are banned under Meta’s Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy — one of our strictest policies — which means we remove Yahoo Boys’ accounts engaged in this criminal activity whenever we become aware of them.

“While we’ve been removing violating Yahoo Boys accounts for years, we’re putting new processes in place which will allow us to identify and remove these accounts more quickly.”

MEASURES TO PREVENT SCAMS

Meta said it has put measures to prevent the activities of scammers.

This, the firm said, includes hiding follower and following lists from potential sextortion scammers, preventing screenshots of certain images in direct messages (DMs), and rolling out our nudity protection feature globally.

“These updates, which are part of a campaign informed by NCMEC, Thorn & Childnet, also aim to help parents feel more equipped to support their teens in avoiding these scams,” Meta said.

“Sextortion is a horrific crime, where financially-driven scammers target young adults and teens around the world, threatening to expose their intimate imagery if they don’t get what they want.

“Today, we’re announcing new measures in our fight against these criminals – including new safety features to further help prevent sextortion on our apps, building on protections already in place.”

To further protect people from sextortion and make it difficult for criminals to succeed, the Meta said, “we’re making it harder for accounts showing signals of potentially scammy behavior to request to follow teens”.

“Depending on the strength of these signals – which include how new an account is – we’ll either block the follow request completely, or send it to a teen’s spam folder,” the company added.

Meta also said sextortion scammers often use the following and follower lists of their targets to try and blackmail them.

The company said potential scammers would be unable to see people’s follower or following lists, accounts that have liked someone’s posts, or other accounts that have been tagged in their photos.

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria has threatened to withdraw its services from the ports and jetties if the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding fails to pay its members under their employment their nine-month salary areas.

The union also warned of an impending industrial crisis in the maritime sector if the issue is not resolved as soon as possible.

MWUN disclosed this in a statement on Thursday by its Deputy Secretary-General, Oniha Erazua.

Erazua said the union has made several efforts to resolve the matter amicably through various ultimatums and mediatory meetings, including the latest one held in Abuja on September 18, 2024.

He alleged that the management of CRFFN, led by its acting Registrar, has repeatedly ignored these attempts and failed to uphold resolutions that prioritize staff welfare.

One of these resolutions, according to him, stipulated that available funds should first be allocated to staff salaries before other expenses are considered.

The union’s scribe expressed dismay at the continued disregard for this agreement, accusing the CRFFN management of organizing a selective training program while ignoring the backlog of unpaid salaries.

He further accused CRFFN of a nonchalant attitude towards the welfare of its employees.

“If the management of CRFFN does not immediately settle the outstanding salary arrears, the union would be forced to withdraw the services of its members,” Erezua warned.

According to him, the action would affect operations at the Nigerian Ports Authority, dock labor, “shipping and freight forwarding agencies, and seamen across all ports, jetties, terminals, and oil and gas platforms nationwide”.

He called on relevant authorities to take note of the situation, emphasizing that it can no longer tolerate what it considers impunity by the CRFFN.

A source close to CRFFN confirmed what the union said.

“What the union said is true, you know the government removed CRFFN from the budget in January, and the council has been struggling since then. Imagine what it means for someone to be working since January and have no salary.

“They managed to pay January’s salary around May and since then, they have not paid anything. Even the January salary didn’t round, some people were paid while others are yet to collect. The staff members have been quite understanding; other staff members from other agencies won’t take what CRFFN is taking. They will promise you that they will pay today, and they won’t pay again,” the source who spoke in confidence due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.