President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of eight Mandate Secretaries for the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA). The Secretaries are equivalent of commissioners in the 36 States, and are assist the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Wike, run Abuja.
According to a statement by the Director of Press in the Minister’s office, Mr. Anthony Ogunleye, they are
Bitrus L. Garki, Secretary, Area Council Services Secretariat; Lawan Kolo Geidam, Secretary, Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat; and Danlami Ihayyo appointed Secretary, Education Secretariat.
Dr. Adedolapo A. Fasawe, is Secretary, Health and Human Services Secretariat; Barrister Salman Dako, Secretary, Legal Services Secretariat; Barrister Chinedum Elechi, Secretary, Economic Planning, Revenue Generation and PPP.
Also appointed are Arch. Uboku Tom Nyah, Secretary, Transportation Secretariat; and Alhaji Muntari Abdulkadir, Secretary, Social Development Secretariat.
The swearing-in of the newly appointed Secretaries will take place next week.
Meanwhile, the Minister, Nyesom Wike, has vowed to collect over N34 billion owed the FCT Administration.
The Minister spoke at a meeting in his office with members of the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee to Investigate Failure of Mass Transportation in Nigeria.
The Minister warned allottees owing the Administration for ground rents to either pay or have their property revoked and reallocated to those who could pay.
His words: “I have calculated the debt of non-payment of ground rent, which is about N34 billion and I am going to collect all of those back. I don’t care all I want is for the rent to be paid.
“We will be publishing on Thursday for all those, who are meant to pay their ground rent. They will be given the grace of two weeks to pay.
“Whoever doesn’t pay, I’ll revoke it and give it to whoever will pay so that the necessary services will be rendered. People want to live in a beautiful city but don’t want to pay their dues which is impossible.”
According to him, “I will tie projects to this IGR so that contractors would be paid yearly and projects would no more be abandoned.”
Reacting to why Lagos was succeeding in public transportation but Abuja was not, Wike explained that Lagos was a state while the “FCT is like a State”; stressing that budgetary provision for the FCT was poor.
“Our budgeting system is too poor…so how will it work? We’ll require your help too. Thank God I am the one to supervise this year’s budget. We will come to you, please don’t pursue us”, he appealed.
On the Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company (AUMTCO), he said: “The truth of the matter is that, am gonna overhaul the entire system.”
He disclosed that N2 billion was approved for palliatives by President Bola Tinubu for FCT in the Federal Government’s subsidy programme and his “concern was transportation, but I need to know where are we”.
The Minister lamented that AUMTCO buses were been loaned out for other uses without maintenance because “People think that government business is not their business, but where you work should be your concern”.
On the proliferation of abandoned projects in FCT, Wike revealed that the FCT was owing contractors about N1 trillion for the projects, stating that he would not initiate new ones.
“You must do what you can at a time, and leave those you cannot for other governments….Everyone is a problem. We do our own, you do your own, and everyone does his own.”
Commenting on the “poorly negotiated” Wasa affordable housing contract, the Minister wondered why over N1 billion would be spent by government to provide infrastructure for investors to build and make billions while government gets nothing,
“All those things, am gonna cancel them”, he said.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee, Afam Victor Ogene, stated that his committee visited the Minister to find solutions to epileptic mass transportation in the country and FCT after over N16 billion had been put into it during Sure-P.
He disclosed that they discovered Abuja Light Rail was “a mirage of itself” during their visit to the site, and found out that Abuja, which used to be dark at night, suddenly is not as they could see fictional streetlight.
“Many people are saying Wike is this, Wike is that, but we need more of Wike”, he stated.
“Abuja is fine but it doesn’t have organized systems and some people are not willing to come Abuja and we are missing revenue.
“We are here to encourage you to also look into transportation to organize it. We will support you to do it and it will also solve problems of ‘one chance’ in the city”, he pledged.
▪︎ Additional report by Abuja Digest.
