Monday, 17 September 2012

Tight security at national awards’ Abuja venue.



 Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr 
Culled from The Nation.
Award Drama.

Security was tight in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), yesterday, ahead of the conferment of national honours on 149 eminent Nigerians.
President Goodluck Jonathan will preside at the ceremony slated for the International Conference Centre (ICC), which was put under watertight security last night.
Globacom Chairman Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr. will get the second highest national award  - the Grand Commander of the Order of the Nigeria (GCON).
There are 148 others on the awards list, including top government functionaries, businessmen, politicians, public servants and others. 
Major hotels in Abuja were fully booked yesterday, as some of the awardees arrived in the capital city.
For better security management, each of the awardees has been restricted to two guests.
The venue and its environs were combed yesterday. Vehicles were barred from the complex.
As part of the security arrangement, accreditation of the awardees was done at the Agura Hotel, about one kilometre from the Conference Centre.
Besides the deployment of policemen and gadgets at the centre, a 24-hour security surveillance was mounted last night with multi-purpose security vehicles.
A security source said: “We have decided to strengthen security heavily within and around the ICC because of recent challenges facing the nation. We do not want the event hijacked in any manner.
“We have also restricted all the awardees to two guests as part of crowd management. If you are not connected with the event, we won’t allow you into the centre.”
Some of the awardees were complaining last night that accommodation had not been provided for them.
One of the awardees said: “I have not got accommodation. Some of the officials said the government was trying to cut cost.
“They have forgotten that some of us got these awards on merit. We are not moneybags who could afford the high cost of accommodation in Abuja.

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