The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, on Monday said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s milestone achievements in the area of infrastructure development would be more appreciated after he existed office in May 29.
Bello made the statement when he featured the 20th Edition of the President Buhari’s administration Scorecard Series, organised by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, on Monday in Abuja.
The minister said that the event afford him the opportunity to read upon the very wide array of achievements and transformation that Buhari’s administration recorded in the nation’s capital.
” When we came in on board in 2015, my team and I realized that the capital city Abuja, was basically a work in progress with so many projects initiated but no completed and all these projects were critical, particularly taken into account the rate at which the city was growing demographically.
” Because over time it change from being an administrative centre and city to a commercial and economic hug and gradually now it is also transforming itself into a tourism and cultural destination.
” So, we realized that if we do not complete all the ongoing projects we met on ground then at one point the city will just become Lagos because all the reasons why the Federal Government move the Federal Capital City from Lagos to Abuja would have been come to note.
” So, what we have done over the last seven and half years or so is basically to try to develop the territory in all ramifications. In terms of infrastructure and all other services that normally is expected in a state such as education, health, agriculture, social services and security, roads, bridges, rail line, water system, electricity and power generation.”
The minister said that the FCT Administration under his leadership had completed many critical infrastructure projects which by any standard could compare with any kind in the world.
He called on the FCT residents to jealousy guard Abuja, protects it infrastructure, cleanliness, the environment and above all try to make it a truly beautiful green city where everybody would feel happy raise our families and hopefully retired.
Bello added that some of the projects like bridges have linked several districts and ease traffic movement within the city centre, saying that as an administration we need to project what we have.
” All these are parts of the scorecard of President Buhari’s administration which unfortunately sometimes those of us who lives in Abuja do not notice but when people come from West African countries and I see a lots of them especially, visiting Heads of States they whisper to me that Abuja is beautiful and is the Paris of West Africa.
” Part of what we do as an administration in terms of infrastructure is developing road networks as well as public buildings. When we came on board we realized that there was a commitment by the previous government to rebuild the United Nations building in Nigeria which was bombed by the terrorist.
” We met President Buhari and told him that there was a commitment that Nigeria made to the United Nations family to complete the UN building in Nigeria and Buhari provided the needs funds and we work with the contractor, restored the building, completed it to what it is today.
” And I can tell you that the leadership of the United Nations personally told me that out of New York, the UN doesn’t have any other building that can match the one in Abuja. This is something that most people don’t know about President Buhari.
” Once you meet him for a project that is going to benefits people and is going to project Nigeria as a country he will just approve it and if there are no funds he will look at the Minister of Finance in such a way that he does during the Federal Executive Council and say to the minister get the money.”
Bello said that over the past seven and half years the capacity of all the institutions of the FCT Administration have been enhanced greatly in terms of training, empowerment and above all allowing the institutions to operate as they were meant to functions.
” I think more than anything else the government of President Buhari has done excremently well in the area of infrastructure development and his efforts will be more appreciated after he leaves office.”
