The Minister of Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has declared the Park and Pay project in the nation’s capital illegal.
The minister made this declaration on Wednesday during a briefing with journalists in Abuja.
The interactive session was organized to mark his first anniversary in office.
According to him, an appeal by a senior lawyer exposed a scheme that has been siphoning public funds under the guise of a legal operation.
“The scheme, which appears to have been operating under the radar, highlights a critical flaw in the system that allows private consultants to pocket the lion share of revenues meant for the government”, he said.
“These are things we need to fight within the system. Sometimes, if you don’t bring it to our attention, we may not know. We can’t be everywhere.
“The incident unfolded when a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, reached out to me with a troubling report. He said, ‘Sir, some people came to our office and they are trying to seize our cars. They claim to be from the Transport Secretariat’. I asked him to give the person the phone, and I asked the person, ‘Who are you?’ He said, “He is from ‘Park and Pay from the Transport Secretariat.”
Wike said he immediately sought clarification.
“I wasn’t aware of this, so I called the person in charge of it. I asked, ‘Who collects the money?’ Unknown to us, there are agreements between the Secretariat and some people who claim to be consultants. So, the consultant takes 80%, and the FCT Administration takes 20%.”
He declared the project illegal, assuring the public that immediate steps would be taken to dismantle the operation.
The former Rivers State Governor raised the alarm to the end that residents should always endeavour to reach out to the authorities for actions against such illegal projects as other schemes like this could be ongoing in the capital city without his knowledge.
Source: Daily Post
