Federal Capital Territory minister, Nyesom Wike has decried the high cost of accommodation in the territory, lamenting that some business men who got free acres of land in the past to embark on mass housing projects, instead turned around to partition the plots and sell to Nigerians at exorbitant prices. Accordingly, he said the FCT Administration would in its next budget begin the process of building 10, 000 houses for the masses. The minister disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at the ongoing Ministerial Sectoral Update to mark the first anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration. “In our next budget, we want to build a Renewed Hope City. This is for affordable houses, not for the big men. We are going to provide infrastructure, build and allocate the houses to the poor. We have in our mind to build 10,000 houses for the poor”, he stated.
The minister also said his administration would go tough on illegal developers and all those distorting the city’s master plan. He cited some illegal developments in Gwarinpa, urging those who have violated the master plan fo revert to the original land use or have their property demolished. The minister also announced free train rides for residents for the next two-months after the presidential commissioning of the Abuja Metroline by May 27. Wike urged the National Assembly to review the law against vandalism in the FCT, saying the meagre fines provided in the extant laws cannot deter criminals from continuing with their nefarious activities. “Take for example, the issue of streetlights on Abuja streets. Today you put streetlights, tomorrow night, they are no longer there. What happened? They have vandalised them. They cut off the cables. You arrest them for prosecution, and what does the law say on conviction? N10,000. So, they continue with the act. We have told the National Assembly that they must come to our aide by amending and reviewing the law to make it very tough so as to discourage vandals from vandalising our infrastructures”, he stated. On the issue of multiple taxation in the territory, the minister advised the Abuja Municipal Area Council AMAC to allow the FCT Administration to collect the revenue in the city, so as to avoid double taxation and harassment by touts.
“On harassment by touts because of revenue collection and others, we have called and sat down with the Abuja Municipal Area Council AMAC and told them that the only way to allow decency in the collection of revenue, is that we have to sit with them, form a committee and have an account where the revenue comes to the FCTA, and they collect their own share. By doing so, you will reduce touting, harassment, and double taxation. And they have agreed. After all, the law allows them to take 10 percent of our IGR”, he stated.
