The House of Representatives, on Tuesday, resolved to summon the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello, over the growing insecurity and infrastructural decay in the nation’s capital.
Mohammed is also to explain his sole administration of the FCT by failing to appoint mandate secretaries, equivalents of commissioners at the state level and ministers at the federal level.
At the plenary on Tuesday, the House had unanimously adopted a motion moved by the Deputy Minority Leader, Toby Okechukwu, which was titled, ‘Urgent Need to Arrest the Fast Deterioration of the Federal Capital Territory.’
Moving the motion, Okechukwu noted “with grave concern” that Abuja has “never been as unsafe as it is today” due to the influx of bandits and other criminals, lack of modern security infrastructure in the city centre and the satellite towns as well as the non-maintenance of available ones, including CCTV installations, and “as little as streetlights.”
The lawmaker said, “The House notes with concern the poor city management bedevilling the FCT resulting in obvious disorderliness and widespread deterioration.
“The House equally notes with serious concern, the indiscriminate allocation of lands without a matching infrastructural development.
“The House is concerned about the acute lack of infrastructure in the satellite towns and the resort by tax-paying citizens to self-help in Territory that should ordinarily model rural development in Nigeria.
“The House is concerned about the allocation of lands in Green Areas in clear breach of the FCT Master Plan.
“The House is also concerned about the worsening poor waste management practice in the FCT, including dearth and poor maintenance of waste treatment plants, despite Minister of State FCT’s claim of N8bn annual expenditure on waste management in the FCT.”
Okechukwu also expressed worry about the status of the Gurara Water Transfer Project and the “far-reaching consequences of absence of a full complement of the FCTA’s administrative structures for about two years since the appointment of the FCT Minister, including the non-appointment of mandate secretaries, equivalents of commissioners at state level, to form the FCT Executive Council.”
The lawmaker cited Section 299 (a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) as giving the National Assembly the powers to legislate for the FCT and oversight the FCT Administration.
Adopting the motion, the House resolved to “summon the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory to appear before the Committee of the Whole House to brief the House on the above-outlined issues.”
