There is the tendency to think that the incumbent minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Malam Muhammad Musa Bello’s impact on governance is low, given that there has been a scant mention of his achievements in the media, in spite of good efforts from his media handlers.
I met the FCT minister years back, when I was the deputy president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and one Gwari woman was (she still is) refusing to vacate a choice land allocated to the guild, despite the NGE’s complete payment of over N30 million for certificate of occupancy.
At that meeting, Malam Bello came across as a decent but shy person, who, though he received our delegation warmly, did not seem to crave publicity, and I was not sure he was desirous of friendship with the media. Clearly, the minister is a believer in the adage, seeing is better than believing.
But in Nigeria, it hardly works that way. As the late Sardaunan Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, said, people (especially those in power), should learn to blow their own trumpet, because others that should do so for them are busy blowing theirs. That clearly informs why, early September last year, President Muhammadu Buhari charged his appointees to go all out and project achievements of the administration under their respective offices.
If one conducts an opinion poll today, chances are an overwhelming majority of residents of the FCT would rate Malam Bello low. I have heard some people even saying he is among the worst that have ever governed the FCT. But the reality on the ground indicates the helmsman in the FCTA is one of the best that Abuja has been privileged to have as its minister.
While Malam Bello is probably leaving posterity to fairly judge his administration of the FCT, the reality is that posterity itself at times gets teleguided. No less a personality than President Buhari knows this fact when he recently called on historians to be kind to him in assessing his administration after he leaves office.
One only needs to go round Abuja and environs to witness the absolute transformation being carried out by this humble minister, covering all sectors, even when inadequacy of funding has since become a common mantra among top government officials at federal and state levels.
Months back, People’s Trust Africa did a very fair assessment of Malam Bello. For want of space, this column can only publish some snippets of it, as follows:
As the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Bello has proven, beyond doubt, to be a vanguard for President Muhammadu Buhari’s Change agenda. Since inception, he has excelled in his job, which includes but not limited to completion of on-going or abandoned critical infrastructural projects that positively impact on the life and economy of the city, zero tolerance to corruption, security of life and property, respect for extant rules and general improvement in services.
Yes, Abuja was littered with abandoned projects made up of highways, byways and other social amenities as a result of incomplete works or absence of finishing touches. Many connecting arterials were incomplete, including ramps, pedestrian bridges, tangent roads, loops and interchanges. Today, most of these projects have been completed. Having succeeded greatly in this direction within the first two years, Bello shifted focus to the satellite towns and area councils where many rural infrastructural facilities as well as urban renewal projects are aggressively being pursued.
For instance, the Inner Southern Expressway Bridge has been opened for public use, connecting AYA, Apo Roundabout, the Murtala Muhammed Way and Aso Drive. This has made it easy for motorists to access Abuja’s main business district. The contract has been awarded for the Villa Roundabout Bridge project, a major component of the Outer Northern Expressway (ONEX). Also, the B6 and B12 roads, otherwise known as Constitution and Independence avenues, are ongoing. The completed roads, which traverse the World Trade Centre and the Diplomatic Zones, hold the key to the economic and social vibrancy of the FCT and the roads are enabling land owners to develop their plots and bring out the skyline of the city centre.
Motorists coming from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport can now travel in dual mode straight through the Churchgate building without the detour, which used to make driving clumsy. Works on the roads were very skeletal since 2011 because of paltry budgetary provisions. But recently the administration cleared a backlog of payments owed the company handling the project. The 15km Apo Karshi Road awarded by the former administration but abandoned has been revisited to aid commuters from Mararaba, Nyanya and Karu axis.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the sum of N2.6bn for massive construction of road infrastructure within the satellite town of Karu, Phase 2, Abuja, a project expected to open up the area for the development of affordable housing for low-income earners, boost economic activities, create jobs and ensure slum upgrade. The Kuje-Gwagwalada road project, Katampe District, Phase 2 projects are also ongoing.
Documents obtained from the media department of the FCTA showed that transparency followed all the awarded contracts. It showed that the sum of N57.6 billion has been paid to contractors handling various projects in the Federal Capital Territory in the areas of infrastructure, water provision and railway construction, as well as health, education and environmental sanitation services; 627 indigenous contractors owed N100 million and below, with matured bills and for which provisions were made in the statutory budget were paid the sum of N6.9b in the last quarter of 2016. Another N3.3b was paid to 403 other contractors with similar bills in the first quarter of 2017.
The sum of N7.009 billion was released to contractors handling the completed Abuja Light Rail project.
From the last quarter of 2016 to the first quarter of 2017, the number of liabilities came down to less than 50 per cent. Pensioners’ outstanding arrears have been paid up-to-date with the release of N2.3 billion. The sum of N2.4 billion of its obligation to on-going counterpart projects has been offset, while the school feeding programme has been re-invigorated with the sum of N980 million. Funding for these payments was mobilized through transparent, diligent and judicious management of funds without leakages in the system.
It is good news for Abuja residents, the completion of the rail mass transit as they enjoy the completed project by this administration.it is a great relieve for public transportation between Abuja and Kaduna.
Furthermore, there is no gainsaying the fact that street lighting has improved within the city with all the challenges inherited. The FCTA achieved this feat with the procurement of over 25 standby generating sets as backup power source. Additionally, the detailing of security guards to these installations to avert vandalization is a good option.
On land administration, there has been tremendous progress. Over 1000 copies of Certificates of Occupancy (Cs of O) have been cleared. Similarly, the operations of all FCTA departments central to the land administration have been reorganized and harmonized while the FCT Land Use and Allocation Committee has been reconstituted in line with the provision of the Land Use Act. It has streamlined various cases of multiple layouts, revoked titles on wrongfully allocated Green Areas while machinery has been set in motion to calm the anxieties of beneficiaries of approved mass housing projects by giving them bankable personal titles.
In the housing sector, the Bello-led FCTA has commissioned over 300 housing units in Capital Estate in Kaba District along Kubwa Express Road. The project was executed by Abuja Property Development Company Ltd. (APDC). It is for low income earners such that with as low as 6, 12 or 16 Million Naira, young, middle or higher level officers could subscribe to houses that fit their income after an initial modest down-payment. And beyond the commissioning of the already completed houses, the administration has broken new grounds for the second and third phases of this estate development initiative. The APDC has employed over 700 construction professionals and artisans for the projects.
The administration is reviving selected rural settlements. The indigenous settlements include Jikwoyi, Dutse-Alhaji, Gwagwalada and some Kuje communities. It submitted proposals which were acceptable to African Development (ADB) and UN-Habitat. Under the arrangement, FCT is shopping for a $300 million syndicated loan by both institutions at an interest rate of between 1 to 1.5 percent. The facility would be channelled to address the dearth of modern infrastructure to benefit over one million people.
A man with human feelings, Bello came into office when staff of the FCT Area Councils were protesting months of unpaid salaries by the immediate past Area Council administrations. However, though salaries and wages of area councils are not the responsibility of the FCT administration, the minister intervened by releasing the sum of N1.9 billion as bailout to the councils to settle these arrears of salaries. The administration commissioned a fleet of 25 buses for staff transportation with a view to cushioning the effect of recession on its staff. The administration has sustained prompt payment of salaries and allowances as well as stepped up trainings and capacity building with promotion exercise timely conducted.
To ensure adequate water supply for FCT residents, the FCTA look on to the Chinese NEXIM Bank for a $450 million loan for the extension of water supply to areas like Lugbe and neighbouring communities. Contractors handling various projects for FCT Water Board have returned to work following recent payments of outstanding liabilities owed them by the former FCT administrations. The board realized over N1.5 billion in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in 2016 alone. Achievements of the Board include introduction of payment metering system and the completion of 1.2MW solar power project in collaboration with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a project that has reduced the cost of energy needed to power the water treatments plants.
Huge emphasis is being placed on environmental sanitation. The FCT minister launched the FCT Household and Community Sanitation Exercise Scheme in the area councils and satellite towns to effectively mobilize the communities to keep their surroundings clean. The administration also undertook drastic measures to recover huge debt owed Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and to ensure they carried out their statutory duties in a more proactive manner. Out of the nearly N9 billion owed the agency, the administration has been able to recover more than N2 billion from a recovery rate that was less than N100 million before. The result is that refuse contractors are timely paid.
On beautification of Abuja, a boulevard of flowers and ornamental trees describes the future of the Umaru Musa Yar’adua (Airport) Expressway when the plan of the FCTA will come to fruition. The FCT minister ordered the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council to transform the highway into a modern driveway in line with what obtains in other great cities of the world. National monuments were added to the highway which included the newly completed city-gate located a couple of kilometres off the Bill Clinton Bridge.
BRASS Tacks commends Malam Mohammed Musa Bello and tasks him to do more to let the people know about the wonderful work he is doing, which is making life far easier for all FCT residents and indeed all Nigerians visiting Abuja.