The minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyeson Wike has complained that he inherited a lot of abandoned projects, most of which have hardly reached 20 percent completion.
“Contracts in the FCT are something else. As I speak to you, you don’t even have up to 20 percent completion. “Every contract (has been) abandoned because of no money.”
The minister, who took a tour of some abandoned projects today, September 4, said that a situation where contracts are awarded and later abandoned, due to the lack of funds, will no longer be encouraged.
“We are not going to encourage that (abandoning projects).
“We are not going to be awarding contracts for awarding sake. We are going to award contracts that we will finish and then embark on new contracts.
“We will continue to do this. Areas that we are not sure of, we will go and visit and see it for ourselves before we make any commitment to the contractors.”
The minister, who stopped over at the ongoing project for the provision of engineering infrastructure to Wasa affordable housing project in Wasa District which was awarded in 2014 at the cost of N28 billion and later reviewed upward to N85 billion, expressed dissatisfaction with the agreement.
He frowned at the terms of agreement between the FCT Administration and the private developers involved in the construction of the houses, saying that it will be reviewed.
“We are not impressed with the arrangement made by the FCT. Government will not just cough out N85 billion and the land, and we are providing all the infrastructure, then you want to give out to private developers who will now build and sell. “We think that government must also participate, having provided the land and having provided the infrastructure.
“So, this kind of arrangement is not commendable at all. If we are partnering with private individuals or developers, the common sense is that you provide the land and also provide infrastructure and then they come and develop and make profit. “Government can say okay we will take 10 percent, then they take 30 percent, depending. “And it is in that case that government will even be involved in determining the prices that the houses would be sold. But when you don’t have that kind of arrangement, then the private developers can put the cost at any rate, which is not also affordable.”
The minister assured that the access road would be constructed to the Institution and Research District, because notable institutions including the EFCC Corporate Headquarters, the Body of Benchers Building, Baze University, Federal Medical Centre, Institute of Human Virology amongst others are located there.
“We have been able to invite the contractor to see us tomorrow so that we will be able to complete that road, which is very, very important; important in the sense that headquarters of the EFCC is there, the Body of Benchers building is also there.”
The FCT Minister who also visited the Kabusa Junction along the Apo Mechanic village where some shanties were recently cleared by the Development Control Department, commended the department for removing the shanties.
He said that perimeter fencing would be introduced in the area to prevent miscreants from returning to the cleared portion.
The FCT Minister, stressed that he would not allow shanties to take over the city, adding: “Development Control has done well by making sure that those shanties are destroyed. Having been destroyed, we are going to put fence in the place so that all these miscreants will not go back there to mess up all what we have done.”
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