By Abdullahi Muhammad
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has disclosed that the Administration has paid a bill to the tune of N9 million as payment for electricity charges as part of its efforts to sustain and illuminate major streets of the nation’s capital.
The Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Shuaibu Umar, disclosed this recently while briefing journalists on the Council’s activities for 2017.
He explained that the Council had engaged Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) to jointly make a road map towards resolving the issues of incessant power shortage in the Federal Capital City and to partner with AEDC to provide effective service to the capital city.
Umar gave the assurance that the administration “will continue to provide infrastructure and facilities to districts as soon as new ones are open before handling over the outfits to supervisors to manage accordingly.”
He said: “This is in line with the administration mandate to provide the management of a first class and inclusive city comparable to any other city in the world.
“Based on our mandate and mission, the Council remains focused and committed to providing efficient and sustainable services to the residents of the FCT. Available records have shown sanity and improvements in the provisions of services to the city. Illegal development has reduced, traffic congestion has eased, street lightning at night has improved and, in particular, crime rate has remained subdued within the city.”
The coordinator also said in its resolve to sanitise the city, the Administration, through the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), had “engaged the services of 27 cleaning contractors to take care of 27 districts within the FCC to rid the city of all solid waste and for sweeping the streets, expressways, and the inner roads and also the enforcement are taking charge of all and sundry human nuisances.”
Continuing, he said: “In some cases, when evacuating the refuse especially along the Airport road and other strategic parts of the city, refuse splash around the streets as a result the waste is not properly disposed.”
According to him, there are situations where containers are provided within residential areas of FCC, and people still dump refuse on the ground instead of the containers, and this is a major challenge.
Speaking earlier, the Director, Development Control, Mr. Muktar Galadima, explained that notice had been served to developers in line with the laid down rules and regulations, adding that the Department “will carry out the demolition of such structures when the date expires.”
He, however, revealed that “so far no fewer than 750 illegal structures were built directly under the high tension in Tudun Wada Peace Village, Lugbe, adding that “such structures under electricity facility will be removed, including those that breach the legally permitted 30 metres proximity to High Tension.”
He added that “similarly, the Lugbe FHA from market and other structures are to be removed to pave way for Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to start work on a Transmission Station.”
