Contrary to a media report quoting the FCT Minister, Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, as saying that State Governors are overcrowding the nation’s capital, the FCT Administration wishes to refute that there is no iota of truth to that report.
Mohammed while answering question during the budget defence on Thursday at the National Assembly Complex on what is always making Abuja metropolis overcrowded said, “The influx of people including high profile political office holders are contributing to the overcrowding and overstretching of infrastructure and social services in the Federal Capital Territory”.
He said that funding required for the provision of infrastructure and services in the Federal Capital Territory is enormous; revealing that about 100,000 destitute and beggars were repatriated to their various states of origin but returned to Abuja as soon as they were dropped.
Thus, there is no way the Minister would contemplate saying that the Governors are overcrowding the city as they are usually in Abuja for one official engagement or the other.
In order to put the record straight, at the occasion, Senator Mohammed revealed that the FCT Administration requires a total sum of N470,348,913,896.95 to pay and complete 17 key national projects in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
He therefore, called on the National Assembly to assist in the quick passage of the FCT Property Tax bill where about N500 billion is expected to be generated annually to the coffers of the FCT Administration.
Mohammed as the session last, also called on the National Assembly to pass the Bill for the establishment of the FCT Board of Internal Revenue to enable the Administration block all revenue leakages and pay development partners for services rendered.
While emphasizing that the sum of N30.410 billion has been earmarked in the 2014 National Budget which may not allow the FCT to operate optimally, the Minister assured that the FCT Administration would strive to facilitate and attain its goals of creating a city that would compare favourably with the best in the World.
