Mohammed Bello’s infrastructure drive in FCT

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was created on December 12, 1991 and the core mandate of the administration is to build a first class capital. Since its relocation from Lagos to Abuja, successive administrations had started many projects and abandoned them along the line mainly due to paucity of funds. But Mallam Mohammed Bello who assumed duty as FCT Minister on November 11, 2015, the narrative has change as they have adopted the policy of ensuring the completion of abandoned projects, mostly roads without jeopardising new ones. This policy, no doubt, bodes well for the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari in bequeathing a functional capital city to Nigerians. It must also be restated that the traffi c gridlocks in the city can also be attributed to the inability of previous administrations to complete the road projects already started. The effect is that road users and visitors to the FCT usually end in blind alleys while driving in the city. The consolation is that the Mohammed Bello administration is committed to bringing respite to the residents of the city especially the inhabitants of Nyanya, a suburb of the FCT. The completion of the Gbagalape road project is a testament to this fact. Today, FCT is a beehive of activities and what many residents describe as a huge construction site based on the numerous road construction ongoing simultaneously. Minister Bello’s purposeful leadership and visionary drive is refocusing the priorities of the FCT as an institution that will cater for the interest of the generality of Nigerians and foreigners residing in the FCT. Perhaps this is the reason Abuja under him can be described as very developmental, accommodating and conducive for business. It is to his credit that government’s institutions are working seamlessly and residents of the city have a reason to feel secure and enjoy the services being provided. The administration is delivering commendable services to the residents based on the commitment of the minister towards actualising the vision of the Buhari administration to make the FCT a home for all Nigerians. Most times people attribute the performances or achievements of a leader to the number of projects he started without taking into account the ultimate completion of such projects. Now the experience in Nigeria is that most projects are usually abandoned along the line without anyone asking questions. Today, across the country, there are several abandoned projects and this has become the bane for accelerated development. Therefore, it is a thing of joy that Bello is leading the way in redefi ning performance by pursuing the completion of several abandoned projects in the FCT. This policy will bring a new lease of life for residents and serve as an example for state governments to emulate. This administration in fulfillment of its commitment to the people in giving them a new lease of life has paid its counterpart fund to the Chinese Consortium to complete the Abuja rail projects whose impact is unquantifi able in monetary and investment terms to the advancement of the quest by this administration in making the city a first capital of choice in Africa. The completion of the Gbagalape road project lends credence to the fact that the city shall always receive the greatest attention of this administration in its quest to make Abuja socially, developmentally, environmentally and economically the best capital in Africa and indeed the world. The people and residents of Nyanya shall eternally be grateful to this minister for bringing development in its physicality to them. Never in the life of these residents have they witnessed this symbolic expression of project formulation, promises and indeed fulfi lment. The holdup occasioned by vehicular movements’ restrictions which reduce working time productivity has now become a thing of the past. The people have remained unrelenting in their support for this administration because it is a project and project fulfilling one. It is expected that the people remind themselves of citizen responsibility by jealously guiding government’s nod for more development projects to enhance the quality of their life. The people in turn need to support the government in their quest for more development and social projects. The Buhari government is a listening one as it has shown vividly by the completion of the road. Musa Wada, Abuja