By: Wisdom Acka
In a short time, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has spearheaded the transformation of Abuja, completing numerous strategic road and infrastructure projects with remarkable speed and efficiency.
Speaker, House of Representatives, Dr. Abbas Tajudeen, stated this while flagging off the construction of Mabushi Bus Terminal in Abuja, Monday.
According to him, Wike’s dedication and commitment have made Abuja a more modern and dynamic city, often leaving even long-term residents pleasantly surprised by the rapid developments.
The Speaker said that he was particularly impressed by the Minister’s holistic approach to development, which extends beyond the nucleus of the city to encompass the Area Councils.
Tajudeen stated that his inclusive governance was promoting balanced growth and development, as well as ensuring infrastructural and economic advancement for enhanced quality of life of the residents.
He, however, urged the Minister to consider integration of advanced technology into urban planning and management of Abuja through smart city initiatives for enhanced efficiency of services and improvement of the quality of life for residents.
The Speaker tasked the Minister to also focus attention in evolving the involvement of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) to further attract investment and expertise.
Earlier, FCT Minister, lamented that while Abuja was supposed to be one of the first class cities in the World, it has not attained that status because the right infrastructures was unavailable.
His words: “A city like Abuja does not have bus and taxi terminal. You will see taxis all over the place and that of course, is part of our insecurity problems. So many people talk about one-chance , why won’t there be one-chance, when you don’t even know the man whose bus or taxi you are entering?”
“So, under the Renewed Hope Agenda and in other to reduce the level of insecurity, we made a proposal and we said part of the problems we are having is because we don’t know who are these people who are plying these buses and taxis, and where they load from. And so we decided we must start with three bus terminals. One each in the Central Business District, Mabushi District, and Kugbo. But unfortunately, we had a problem in the Central Business District location because there was distortion of Abuja Master Plan. The land which was earmarked for the bus terminal and where the trains would pass through, had been allocated out and C of O had been given out,” he added.
Wike continued: “So when we went there to start this flag off which was last week Tuesday after the Executive Council meeting, I had a text that I had taken somebody’s land and I was surprised. So when I enquired, we found out that the location’s C of O had been signed, even consent judgement between FCT and people.”
“The point I’m trying to make is that leadership is all about taking decisions and in taking decisions everybody will not be happy but what is important is that the decision has been taken,” Wike reiterated.
The Minister stressed that President Bola Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ was not just about human capital development, but also about empowerment of the people,regaining the hope they once lost.
Also speaking at the occasion, the FCT Minister of State, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, thanked the President and all otherstakeholders for their support; stating that the project marked “a significant step towards enhancing transportation infrastructure within our city.”
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