— Constitutes 11-man task force for enforcement of bye laws
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory has expressed disgust at the “lies” he has been fed by directors of certain boards and secretariats in the FCT.
He made the statement when presenting 45 operational vehicles worth about N400 million, including communication gadgets, to security agencies and also constitutes task force team to enforce FCT bye laws.
The minister said those directors only pass files “full of lies” to him as the true picture of the FCT when he went on emergency tour of the territory to do an on-site assessment of what he has been fed yesterday after the FCT executive meeting.
He said: “You have seen it yourself and I have shown the directors that all the information that they are giving me in files are lies because they told me that all the city is clean, and we have gone round, it is not true. They told me there are no street traders but there are street traders everywhere. They told me there were no beggers and we saw them everywhere. They told me there were no okada riders; in fact, the okadas are more than the vehicles!
“What they have told us (me and you) is not true, and that is why it is good to go for inspection. Supervision is not just sitting down in the office but making sure that you go on the spot assessment and find out for yourself.
“I am becoming disillusioned and disgruntled, me and my colleague, the minister of state, and the permanent secretary.
“We have read the riot act to the directors. We are sending notice to all those people that are violating our bye laws that enough is enough; nobody will be allowed to operate Keke NAPEP where they are not allowed to, nobody will be allowed to ply okada in our city with impunity any longer because they infringe on the security.
“And of course the street traders, they are under notice to stop because we are going to enforce that stoppage to the letter using the security.”
The minister took the unscheduled tour of the city through Kubwa, up to Airport Road and into the city.
He added: “This has become necessary because we have been talking and talking. We have almost become a talking shop without visible results and I felt highly disgusted at the leaders of this administration”.
Chairman of the task force committee and Commissioner of Police, FCT command, Mr Mbu Joseph Mbu, said the FCT is not for all and all defaulters would be prosecuted.
“This is the administrative capital of Nigeria and it’s supposed to be exemplary, it is supposed to be a place of decorum, highest standard and discipline. These things are non-existent.
“I am using this medium to appeal to all okada and Keke NAPEP riders and to appeal to all indisciplined citizens or inhabitants of the Federal Capital Territory that they should make sure that they obey the laws of this Federal Capital Territory because, in few days’ time, we are going to enforce all these laws. If you are not supposed to hawk within the town please go back to where you are not supposed to hawk, because we are going to arrest you, we are going to seize your goods and we are going to prosecute you.
“There is so much indiscipline, recklessness in driving, even when a traffic warden stops you so that the other lane can move they will still disobey.
“We are going to get to a period where if you just see a finger of a police personnel or its security agency up you will stop, if you don’t stop, no matter who you are if you don’t stop, you will be prosecuted.
“The Federal Capital Territory is not meant for everybody, so we don’t want criminal elements in the Federal Capital Territory. If you have nothing doing in the Federal Capital Territory, leave it, otherwise we are going to arrest you. We will use the relevant section of the law and we will prosecute you.”
