The Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has promised continuous interactions with the six Area Councils to ensure the security and development of the FCT.
The Minister disclosed this during the last visit of the security town hall meeting series in Kuje Area Council, where he interacted with residents of the Area Council to proffer solutions to the security challenges in the nation’s capital.
Director of Press (Office of the Honourable Minister), Anthony Ogunleye, in a statement, said the Minister noted that his visits to the Councils have increased his knowledge of issues that are of great importance to the people, and expressed gratitude to the Council Chairmen for making the visits possible.
He said the FCT is not limited to Abuja city centre, but also includes the Area Councils and assured that the dialogue would continue to foster the development of the FCT.
According to the Minister, “Apart from the fact that we are faced with security challenges now, we have decided that FCT is not just Abuja and therefore we have to be interacting with other areas that make up the FCT.
“If you don’t interact with them, you won’t know their peculiar problems. We can’t be sitting in the city without coming to you, finding out what your problems are, your immediate problems so that we will be able to tackle them”.
Reiterating that security is one of the key priorities of the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Minister stressed that the FCT Administration has made the necessary procurements to ensure that the security agencies get the needed logistics over the next few weeks to secure the territory.
“We have purchased vehicles, motorbikes, communication gadgets, name them. So, it will no longer be logistics problems, we are ready for it”, the Minister assured.
The Minister who expressed shock that the Kuje Area Council with its proximity to the city centre, did not have good motorable roads, despite its very massive land mass, revealed that he has signed the contract for the construction of the road from Rubochi to Kuje.
Also reacting to the complaint by the Kuje Council Chairman that bad roads in the Council were contributing to insecurity, the Minister said he was surprised that the contract for the roads leading to the resettlement areas in Kuje Area Councils were abandoned. He said the FCT Administration will take over the construction of the roads and complete them to improve the security of the area.
“Today, let me tell you, I will go back and take those projects and complete them for you…It’s not that we are doing you any good. You are entitled to it. It is our responsibility to provide the infrastructure to make life easy for you. So, we are not doing anything extraordinary. It’s our job and under this administration, and promises made by Mr. President and me as your Minister, by the grace of God, you will see changes in this FCT”
The Minister however called for the support of the people and the traditional institutions, urging them to provide useful information to the security agencies to enable them to address the security challenges.
The Minister also reiterated his earlier warnings to the criminals and their collaborators in the FCT that their time was up, urging them to either repent or be made to face the full wrath of the law.
He also called on the Council Chairman to work with the security agencies to ensure that the local vigilantes are profiled and empowered, in addition to also holding regular security meetings in the Council, at least once a month.
The Minister equally urged the Council Chairmen to stay in their domain and do what they have been elected to do, rather than going to stay in the city centre.
“You can’t run away from your responsibility. Make sure you stay here and know the problems of your people and you will be able to relate it to us, then we will be able to know how we can support you”.
Earlier in his remark, the Kuje Council Chairman, Abdullahi Suleiman Sabo said the Council was still experiencing kidnapping incidents but added that the security agencies were responding to the situation, despite the difficulties.
Hon. Sabo who noted that the Minister’s visit has boosted the morale of the people, including the community leaders and the security agencies, also commended the Minister’s intervention in road construction across the six Area Councils.
He however pleaded with the FCT Minister to intervene in the construction and dualization of critical road projects in Kuje Area Council, which he said were making life difficult for motorists and other road users as well as contributing to insecurity.
The Chairman further noted that mining activities in the council were also connected to the security challenges and called for proper regulation of the activities of miners.
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