Point to point, on every measure of growth, Abuja is leaping in bounds on the road to being one of the top 20 capital cities of the world by the year 2010. Successive administration in the FCT have prioritized the obligation of nurturing Abuja into a modern, competitive capital city, and to that extend have drawn several initiatives, programmes and projects.
A careful chronicling of the development in the FCT will naturally dedicate volumes to the running strides of Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammad, incumbent Minister of the FCT. Through grit and strength and selfless ambition, Bala Mohammad, like a whirlwind, has moved Abuja ahead on a sustainable course of growth, such as captures GEJ transformation agenda while making consistently measureable progress in meeting the service demands that contribute to the livability of Abuja as Nigeria’s capital city.
Bala’s most striking distinction as the FCT minister is his exemplary character of determination and uncanny ability to locate and focus on the city’s core responsibilities and doing those things well even in the face of unfavourable fiscal realities, brutal cynicism, safety and security threat as never before witnessed in this part of the globe. With a character defined by humility and fairness, the minister has dedicated himself to sustaining and advancing all the successes the city has achieved while striving to meet the expectations of a continually increasing FCT population.
His administration has made progress on transportation while several major improvements are underway for roads and other infrastructure that provide the basic foundation for our capital city. In keeping to his promise of maintaining a healthy and clean environment, the FCT Administration has reduced paper waste, purchased several functional waste dispersal trucks, engaged facilities managers to manage facilities and clean up roads around the city, while a comprehensive effort to expand recycling and overall waste reduction is underway.
Exceptionally focused on pursuing people-oriented programmes, the minister sees communicating with citizens as a priority and has continued to keep the FCT residents well-informed and engaged in city related issues through a responsive FCT call centre managed by Mrs Jumai Ahmadu, an indefatigable public relation veteran.
The minister has emphasized the significance of safety as the cornerstone of a civil society and critical to the health and vitality of the city. The minister has never failed to emphasize the need for the people to feel safe when they are in their homes and when they are out in the community. The current wave of terrorism has greatly stretched this necessity and the minister is working in collaboration with the federal government to beef up security and safety in the FCT through pragmatic measures.
The minister’s attention has not missed the recreational aspect of the city life as he has carefully planned out several recreational options for the people’s comfort. Bala Mohammad’s administration in the FCT has recorded many milestones and of recent, the completion of the lower Usuma Dam treatment plant expansion project stand tall. It underscores the unwavering commitment of the minister towards improving the living standards in the FCT through direct impact projects.
This project is regarded as the largest single water treatment plant in Africa with a total capacity to treat 20 million litres of water per hour and adequately respond to the water demand of the growing population of the FCT, augmenting the existing water infrastructure. It is instructive to point out that this project that the minister has nurtured to fruition today compliant with WHO standard was begun in 2005 yet the minister in his characteristic judiciousness followed it through.
In the days to come, with this development, it is to be expected that the challenges of water supply will be a thing of the past in the FCT as the water distribution networks will cover phases 2 and 3 of the city including areas like Gwarinpa, Kafe, Wuye, etc.
Musa Wada,
Abuja