The
FCT Administration has ordered the immediate closure of the Social
Development Secretariat Cinema Hall over perceived poor accountability
by the management of the complex.
The
FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye, gave the order for the
closure, when he paid an unscheduled visit to the complex on Monday.
Dr.
Ajakaiye vowed at an emergency meeting with the management team of the
FCT Social Development Secretariat at Area 10, Garki I District, Abuja,
that the Administration would audit the revenue accruable from the
cinema and all the shops administered by the Secretariat in the last two
years.
He
said that the Administration would also look into the lease agreements
for all the shops with a view to ascertaining that all monies collected
were duly paid into government coffers.
His
words: ”We cannot account for the revenue coming from this complex. The
cinema hall that is said to have been leased-out is now closed down
with immediate effect. We are going to check the agreement that was
signed very thoroughly.”
“As
for the shops, we are not going to close them down, but we want to see
the agreements of those that are renting the shops and we are going to
audit what has been paid and who has been collecting the money,” Dr.
Ajakaiye added.
According
to him, “the Administration decided to beam its search light on the
Social Development Secretariat because of its poor revenue profile”.
The
Permanent Secretary reiterated the commitment of the FCT Administration
under the leadership of the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, to
block all financial leakages in the system in tandem with the change
mantra of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Dr.
Ajakaiye explained that due to the dwindling revenue occasioned by the
plummeting oil price globally, “prudent management of scarce resources
by the present leadership is what has kept the system afloat”.
He
noted that while the monthly allocation from the federation account had
reduced to N1.8 billion, “the staff wage bill still remains at N4.1
billion”.
Dr.
Ajakaiye, therefore, charged the staff to take their work more
seriously to continue to add value to the system in line with the change
mantra of the Federal Government.
The
Permanent Secretary noted that the Administration had recorded giant
feats in its effort to get rid of hawkers and beggars in the Territory,
adding that the new strategies adopted had paid off.
In
another development, the FCT Task Team on Environmental Sanitation has
swung into full action to rid the Federal Capital City of all
environmental nuisances as shanties were today, massively collated and
burnt down in Utako, Jabi and Area 2 Neighborhood Centre, Garki
districts as well as Galadimawa Roundabout.
The
Chairman of the Task Team, Squadron Leader Abdullahi Adamu Monjel
seized the opportunity to further warn street hawkers and beggars to
immediately move out of Abuja because “there will be no hiding place for
them”.
Muhammad Hazat Sule, FCAI
Deputy Director / Chief Press Secretary,
Monday, June 27, 2016.
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