•Failed infrastructure in satellite towns, collapsing public healthcare, imbalance in appointments, top list of challenges
By Fred Itua, Abuja
More than two months after assuming office as the 18th Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has hit the ground running. The once-docile FCT has roared back to life, with contractors harassing every failed portion of roads in the Federal Capital City.
Wike as FCT Minister is expected to confront a myriad of challenges, largely owing to the ineptitude of the immediate-past Minister of the Territory, Muhammad Bello.
For eight years when Bello held sway, FCT faced many daunting challenges that were never confronted. The infrastructure was overstretched. Sadly, Bello didn’t improve on what he inherited from Bala Abdulkadir Muhammed.
Over 80 percent of the projects he claimed to have started were not completed in eight years before he bowed out. His abandoned projects still dot every nook and cranny of the Territory.
Insecurity reached a new height during the eight years reign of Bello. Kidnappers had a free for all operation, with no serious resistance from the FCT Administration, led by Bello. Residents were abducted from their homes with reckless abandon and huge ransoms paid before they were released.
Satellite towns were completely abandoned by the previous FCT Administration. In Kubwa, Lugbe, Karu and in other satellite towns, roads infrastructure completly collapsed and Area Council chairmen didn’t help the situation.
During Bello’s Administration, commercial Okada riders took over every part of the Territory, including Asokoro. In satellite towns, Okada riders still ply their businesses with recklessness and frequently attack residents with dangerous weapons. Despite series of public outcries calling for their ban, Bello refused to lift a finger.
Beyond the aforementioned, the unending face off between original indigenes and the FCT Administration was left unresolved by the Bello-led Administration. Resettlement, compensation and other sundry issues were left pending.
However, since Wike’s appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, pundits believe that he has displayed uncommon courage in confronting the immediate challenges facing the Territory.
For instance, FCT, despite being regarded as a state, hurriedly joined the controversial Treasure Single Account (TSA) imposed on Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Within two months of his appointment, Wike pushed for a reversal. President Tinubu approved the removal of the FCT from the TSA regime, a move expected to allow the FCT to facilitate its development with the use of its internally generated revenue, under the leadership of Wike.
Addressing newsmen, Wike disclosed that the President had approved the creation of the FCT Civil Service Commission to allow the career progression of staff, as well as the establishment of a Women Affairs Secretariat.
While acknowledging the use of the TSA in unifying government accounts, Wike argued that the inclusion of the FCT was unnecessary, as it was not a revenue-collecting agency for the Federal Government.
He had argued: “Take for example, so many projects were awarded in 2002, 2007 and 2010, and up till now, they have not been completed. You can imagine a project that was awarded in 2010, this is 13 yeas. Imagine what they will cost now. So, I went to Tinubu and said, ‘Mr President, if you want FCT to carry out development projects and infrastructure among others, then they must come out from TSA’.
“What is the essence of TSA; blocking of leakages and the rest; the FCTA is not a revenue collection agency for the Federal Government. So, what are you blocking? If I need money for projects, I cannot go to the CBN and say, ‘give us money’. The CBN will not give us money. I can go to a commercial bank, but how do we pay? I say the best bet is that we must pull out.”
Wike said with the exit of the FCT from the TSA, the Administration would be able to approach commercial banks to facilitate infrastructural developments.
He said: “Assuming I want to collect N400 billion from the bank, I can say our IGR is about N20bn a month, can you take N10bn every month and in a year, we have paid N120bn. That is the only way we can survive it and Mr. President graciously agreed with us and approved that we should pull out from the treasury single account.”
Within the same period, Wike secured the nod of President Tinubu to establish Women Affairs Secretariat to address women issues in the FCT Administration. Wike said the move was part of Tinubu’s commitment to inclusive governance that carried everyone along.
He said that currently, the FCT Administration had secretariats addressing most development issues but has no specific secretariat that addresses women issues.
According to him, women are critical to the development process of the country, stressing the need for a conscious step towards addressing their issues.
Wike said: “In the world that we are in today, how can you talk about good governance and development without including women? I say look, you must create a secretariat that would take care of women like what we have in other states as commissioner of women affairs.
“So, there must be that in FCT to give them that inclusivity. As I am talking to you, my President has approved that we have a Mandate Secretary for women.”
The Minister, despite his modest efforts so far according to observers, some elements have been calling for his head over some misrepresentations in the media.
Yunusa Yusuf, spokesperson for the Coalition of FCT Indigenous Groups, an association of the nine tribes, told Daily Sun that the indigenes will lead a protest against Northern elements opposed to Wike as FCT Minister.
He said since the Territory is for every Nigerian, non-Muslims and Southern Christians can also be appointed to head the FCT Administration.
Since 1999, no Southerner or a Christian has been appointed as FCT minister. Only North West and North East have produced the six ministers so far appointed since 1999.
While the North West produced three, the North East also produced the same number of ministers. Jeremiah Useni from Plateau State was the last Christian who served as minister in the last 25 years.
Yusuf said: “We’re waiting for any Hausa man or a Muslim who will come out and protest. Was Abuja made for only Hausa and Muslims? Are Southern Christians not Nigerians? What about the indigenes? Have we ever been appointed ministers before?
“The indigenes should be the ones to protest and not any other tribe or religion. If we’re not doing that, any other person lacks the right to do so.”
Amidst the encomiums, healthcare and road infrastructure in the satellite towns are collapsing. Residents who spoke to Daily Sun begged the Minister to extend immediate road palliatives to the satellite towns which were abandoned for over eight years.
The FCT Administration is a creation of the law. Expectedly, every component unit of Nigeria is expected to be well represented. However, that has been a far cry from the reality. Though previous FCT Ministers from the North promoted their region and Islam above others, the last Administration headed by Bello elevated it.
Out of the seven Mandate Secretaries Bello appointed as Minister, six were Muslims from the North. Only one Christian from the South West was given an irrelevant portfolio. Despite the public outcry, Bello looked the other way.
In Abuja public schools, Northern Muslims make up over 80 percent of the principals and other heads. Within the FCT Administration, Northern Muslims predominantly occupy key positions and head agencies. Whenever the issues are raised, the FCT Administration maintains a loud silence and the new Minister, Wike is expected to confront and address the imbalance.
One of the reasons advanced by the Military Government for establishing a new FCT in Abuja, was as a result of the overburdened infrastructure in Lagos State. Sadly, the FCT is tilting towards the same direction. The infrastructure in the FCT is under pressure. However, there are no new ones to support the system.
Unlike other Federal Capital Cities in the world, Abuja has no functional transport system.
The Abuja Light Rail was crippled by Bello-led Administration. Similarly, the buses purchased by previous administrations are out of use. The last Administration didn’t revive the scheme.
Along major road corridors in the FCT, there are no parks for commercial taxis and vehicles to pick and drop off passengers. They often block major highways and cause traffic gridlock during rush hours.
With more funds expected to be generated by the Wike-led Administration, residents may sigh a breath of relief in the coming months or years.
