Cabul Network, a development group, has urged the National Assembly to grant the Minister of Federal Capital Territory the status of a governor.
Dr John Harry, a former commissioner for the environment in Akwa Ibom and the spokesperson of the network, said this at a news conference in Abuja on Sunday.
It would be recalled that the Minister of the FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on FCT had urged NASS to elevate his office to that of a governor.
Wike, while defending the N1.1 trillion 2024 budget proposal, asked the lawmakers to grant him the power to spend funds under the “security vote” scheme.
“I totally agree with Wike’s request to have the privilege that governors have in their states to spend security votes.
“Let us refer to the last general elections and the submission that came out of the Supreme Court. What we found out was that Abuja has the status of a state.
“So, if he is asking for the privileges that the governors have in the state, it is not misplaced but rather the right path to follow, so we fully support his request to be able to achieve this,” he said.
Harry commended the minister for his sectoral, infrastructure, and developmental reforms in the FCT, adding that the group had been following the minister with keen interest.
“The minister should be commended; for the first time in the administration of the FCT, he has brought back an effective administrative structure for the FCT.
“Now we have Permanent Secretaries who are overseeing the sectors in the FCT, and we also have the Mandate Secretary; and the Head of Service for the FCT”, Harry said.
He said this demonstrated Wike’s desire to effectively run a transparent government.
“We cannot just oppose the government but must also commend it when necessary. There comes a time when we have to synergise as a development group to support the government.
“We have seen significant improvements in the FCT infrastructure, his sectoral reforms, and the improvement in the school infrastructure.
“Wike has been building structures that will endure in the FCT, so when people talk about removing him, I think it is highly political”, he said.
Harry commended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to appoint Wike as the Minister of FCT, adding that Wike had shown leadership because it takes a strong will to deliver on governance.
“What we are seeing today in FCT is overwhelming, and we want to encourage him to keep this path. If we follow this path, I believe victory is for the APC in FCT and Nigeria.
“For us in this group, he has our support; we are seeing development, and I believe that if he continues on this path in the next four years, victory will be overwhelming for the present government”, he said.
