Prince Chyke
Days and probably weeks before Wednesday 15th of October 2014, there were rumors and counter rumors from various quarters about some political office holders who would probably vacate their seats from the Presidential Cabinet. This was as a result of the announcement made by the Federal Executive Council that political office holders and appointees who had intentions of running for various political aspirations especially the gubernatorial seats in their respective states should tender their resignation in order to pave way for their ambitions.
Those who were being fingered in the ensuing resignation melee were Minister for FCT, Sen. Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Minister for Information Labaran Maku (Nassarawa), Minister of State for Education, Barr. Nyesom Wike (Rivers) Health Minister, Onyebuchi Chukwu (Ebonyi), Minister of State For Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos).
Others are Minister of State for Niger Delta, Darius Ishaku (Taraba), Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Samuel Ortom (Benue), Labour Minister Emeka Wogu (Abia).
There was a lot of tension hitting the polity within the FCT as it was uncertain whether the Minister would make his intention to run for the Bauchi State Gubernatorial seat or not. It was rumoured that the Sen. Bala Mohammed had in the past made his gubernatorial intention known while according to some others, it was believed in some quarters that the minister was being persuaded by some individuals to run for the gubernatorial position because of their (not the Minister’s) personal gains.
But as fate would have it, the FCT Minister at the dying minute (whether the rumors are true or not) decided to shelve his intention to run for the number one seat of Bauchi State so as to continue with the ongoing transformation of the FCT. This decision is a welcome one because there are countless instances of past administrations which abandoned meaningful projects which the immediate past predecessors initiated during their time. Being said, one cannot out-rule the possibility that the next appointed minister (if Sen.Bala had exited) may not be as proactive as Sen. Bala Mohammed himself in shouldering the huge responsibility thrust upon him to rapidly transform the FCT.
The Minister’s decision to remain in the helm of affairs and render unparalleled services to the FCT is as a result of his determination to transform the FCT to a world-class city. One of the notable ways he is set to achieve this is the Land Swap Scheme which over the years has received a major boost with no fewer than 13 foreign and indigenous investors making financial commitments worth N300 billion for the provision of critical infrastructure. The investors are in the process of making provision of infrastructure including housing, roads , water and electricity in 10 new allotted districts. In fact, the Land Swap program has so far stabilized the Abuja property market due to the seriousness with which its investors had zealously pursued the venture.
Secondly, it can be recalled that a consortium of reputable players in the private sector of the nation’s economy led by the likes of Dangote Group, Africa’s largest conglomerate, the Innoson Motor Manufacturing Company of Nnewi which is Nigeria’s leading indigenous automobile manufacturing company and the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) among others are supporting the FCT Administration in providing the requisite funds for the hosting of an epoch-making first Transportation Investment Summit in Africa’s fastest growing city.
The Sen. Bala led administration under the FCTA also signed an additional contract worth $500m with China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) to complete sections 1A and 3 of the Abuja Light Rail Project.
The project which kicked up around 2012 were carried out in different phases and is expected to be finished probably by 2015. Upon completion of the track works, the trains and coaches are scheduled to be deployed at the project before May 2015. So far, the FCTA and the federal government had spent about NGN22bn ($139m) completing 20% of the project.
Sen. Bala Mohammed has also been able to bring the FCT Administration to partner with the Chicason Group pooling resources from the United Kingdom, China, South Africa and United Arab Emirate to embark on the Abuja City Centre development, popularly known as the Abuja Down Town Development with Direct Foreign Investment (DFI) of 2.7 billion US Dollars.
In summary, the development driven projects which the Bala led-administration has ear-marked for the FCT and their cost implications are as follows: World Trade Center: $1.2b, The Abuja Boulevard: $2.7b, Land Swap: $4.7b, Aerotropolis City: $2.5b to mention but a few. Only a leader with balls of steel can be said to shoulder such a huge responsibility.
If all these projects are completed, Abuja will become one of the 10 best cities in the world and would favorably compete with mega cites such as Dubai, New York, Abu Dhabi etc. In order to ensure that they are completed, the Sen. Bala Mohammed who has been tirelessly steering the ship of the FCT and who solely initiated these projects took it upon himself to remain for a space of more time in order to ensure that the good work he laid a solid foundation for is perfected from start to finish.
Even though it might be right to say that the people of Bauchi yearn to have a taste of his midas touch which the residents of the FCT have been enjoying for the period of close to 5 years, Sen. Bala who has enjoyed a lot of accolades from various individuals and corporate bodies both in Nigeria and Diaspora with his vision and drive to transform the Federal Capital should not be seen to have rejected the call of his people to serve them indigenously but rather, he should be seen as a man who decided to ensure that the vision of the current Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Administration in terms of turning Abuja into not just a world-class city but one of the foremost notable Capital Cities in the World.
Prince Chike writes from Lokogoma, Abuja
