The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has said that traders at the Apo Mechanic Village will have no choice but to relocate for the interests of the public.

Wike made the declaration during the inspection of the ongoing construction of the left-hand service carriageway of the OSEX from Ring Road 1 (Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway) to Wasa Junction on Tuesday.

The Apo Mechanic Village is located along the road corridor of the OSEX.

The minister assured that the committee on the relocation of the traders was doing its job to relocate them to a permanent site in Wasa in the overriding interest of the public.

He said the traders were already aware that the road project will pass through the area, adding that the FCTA was not envisaging any problem on the issue of relocating the traders.

“The committee is doing their work. You know that the road is going to pass through that area. So, that is not going to be a problem.

“We have told them that when we get to that point, they have no choice but to leave for the interest of everybody. It’s not for anybody’s particular interest. It’s for the public.

“It is the directive of Mr. President to see that all areas, not only the city but also in the satellite towns are all opened up with road infrastructure.

“You will not believe it now that all the roads we are doing in the satellite towns are going to be provided with solar street lights, which has never happened.

“So, it is wonderful, we are happy with what we are seeing and we are happy with what the contractors are doing. Indeed, the Renewed Hope Agenda is working, it’s a reality. People can see with their eyes. It’s not that you are told.”

• US vice president Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump are poised to learn their fates in the presidential race as the elections begin
• Harris’s victory or her ability to succeed Joe Biden as president of the United States could have an impact on Kenya and Africa
• In an exclusive interview with TUKO.co.ke, lawyer and political analyst Philip Mwangale discussed what Harris’s victory would mean for Kenya

Faith Chandianya, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and Current Affairs in Kenya

US vice president Kamala Harris is competing against former president Donald Trump in the race for the presidency.

This comes as the 2024 US presidential election is shaping up to be one of the most competitive, with the strongest candidates leading the race.

However, this article will focus on the implications of Harris winning the election and how her victory could impact Kenya as a nation.

Belarus’ election commission on Monday allowed only seven politicians loyal to leader Alexander Lukashenko to start collecting signatures to oppose him in upcoming presidential elections.

Lukashenko, who has led the country for over 30 years, is set to seek a seventh term in January.

The authoritarian ruler faced criticism after he was elected in 2020 in a vote that was rejected by the country’s opposition and the West as rigged with fraud.

The election results triggered nationwide protests and resulted in the arrest of around 65,000 people — many of them opposition figures.

Human rights groups say Belarus holds around 1,300 political prisoners who are denied adequate healthcare and are often forbidden from contacting their families while in prison.

Last week, the country’s election commission registered an initiative group for Lukashenko to prepare for the upcoming election.

Sergei Syrankov of the Communist Party, Oleg Gaidukevich, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, and former Interior Ministry spokeswoman Olga Chеmоdanova are three of the seven candidates chosen to start collecting signatures.

The candidates are each required to collect at least 100,000 signatures by 6 December in order to qualify to run in the race.

“Those are alternative candidates, and I believe they just want to safeguard the incumbent,” Lukashenko said of his challengers.

The commission rejected two opposition politicians who requested to register initiative groups.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a key figure of the Belarusian opposition who is currently living in exile, has denounced the upcoming elections as a farce.

“This is not an election but an imitation of an electoral process held amid terror when alternative candidates and observers aren’t allowed,” Tsikhanouskaya said.

In February, when the country held parliamentary and local elections, independent Western observers were not invited to monitor the vote for the first time since the country’s independence in 1991.