PRESS RELEASE:GREAT JOB BUT NOT YET UHURU, SAYS FCT MINISTER, AS TASKFORCE SUBMITS REPORTS

The Special Ministerial Taskforce set up by the FCT Minister to address the perennial traffic gridlock and other environmental challenges along the Abuja-Nyanya- Karu-Jikwoyi-Karshi road, on Monday January 29, 2018, submitted its report with commendation by the FCT Minister, for a great job. The Minister however expressed concern that if the great job done by the committee is not sustained, the area would return to its days of decay.  

The Committee, which began its work in April last year, at the occasion also made a call for more security presence along that axis. The Chairman of the Committee, Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Nienge (rtd), made this call against the backdrop of efforts by government to root out criminalities on the Bwari/Kaduna route into the city.  According to the Committee Chairman, the route now being patrolled by the military, is likely to leave Nynaya/Jikwoyi-Karshi axis vulnerable to the criminals being chased out that axis.

The Committee Chairman said, “We pray that constant security presence is maintained in that area which is strategically important to the FCT, considering its position as the gateway to the city that has a very large population. The road from Bwari to Kaduna, the military are patrolling there more. So, there is tendency that most of these criminals will now divert their attention to this other side. I think we should take that route more seriously.”

The Committee also called for synergy among the various governments institutions under the FCTA that are working towards the same goal, including the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), the Abuja Satellite Town Development Department (STDD) and the Transport Secretariat, saying it is the only way that government could surmount the environmental and traffic challenges that have bedeviled the city.  

Nienge commended the FCT Minister for insisting that the committee project a human face in the execution of its mandate which resulted in proper education and enlightenment before major government actions are embarked upon, adding that their assignment succeeded to large extent due to this approach.

 

The Chairman while thanking the FCT Minister for the opportunity to serve in that capacity, said the task team, in the course of its assignment, learnt a lot about the politics of traffic management, how government policies actually impacts the ordinary resident of the FCT and the best ways of winning their hearts and minds.

He however called on the FCTA to have a closer look at the activities of the various transport unions and organizations in the territory to ensure that they do not arrogate unto themselves powers that they do not possess under the law.  

The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, while receiving the report, commended the team for a job well done, saying there have been appreciable improvement on that axis. He assured that the Administration will look very closely at the report to find a way forward.

Malam Bello lamented that the problems bedevilling governments over the years have been those of institutional failure, stressing that if these institutions had done their jobs well, there would not have been need for taskforces in the first instance.

He charged the various heads of the agencies and parastatals under the FCTA to be alive and more proactive to their duties and not always wait for directive from the Minister before they act.

According to the Minister, “It’s very important for us to ensure that the relevant departments saddled with the responsibilities whether they are at the level of the Ministry of FCT proper, Secretariats and agencies or Area Council, sit together, look at their mandates and work.

 “These communities are your citizens, they are in your  localities. Your main duty is to provide a good environment for the people to be healthy and for an environment that all of us should be proud of,” he stated.  

 

Cosmas Uzodinma

Chief Press Secretary 

to FCT Minister