Speaking during the Ministerial Sectoral Update on the performance of the last one year of the President Bola Tinubu’s administration, one major highlight is the announcement that President Tinubu has approved a two-month free ride on the Abuja Rail Mass Transit, popularly known as Metro Line.
This move aims to enhance accessibility and convenience for commuters in the city.
But that’s not all – plans are also underway for the construction of Renewed Hope City housing estate in Abuja. This ambitious will provide 10,000 houses specifically designed for low-income individuals. It is indeed a beacon of hope amidst challenging times.
This came as the Minister said with improved security, residents of the territory “can now sleep with their two eyes closed.”
*Free two months train ride for Abuja residents from May 28
He said the metro line would be inaugurated on 27 May by Tinubu and, after that, opened for public use for free in the first two months.
The Minister explained that although the immediate past administration commissioned the building of the Abuja Rail Mass Transit system, the services were not rendered to the public.
The minister said the current administration had rehabilitated the system and would be inaugurated for commercial operations.
“So many people have said that the government has commissioned it before. We are not talking about the commissioning of buildings; we are commissioning the commercial operations. We have commissioned it before, but was it in use? Why was it not in use? he asked.
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“So, those of you saying it was commissioned, please don’t make a mistake, what was commissioned was the building, and we are not commissioning it. What we want to commission is the commercial operation, and we are going to allow free rides for two months. That is a renewed hope agenda,” he said.
The Minister also said there was no access road to all the train stations, a development he said had impeded the commercial operation of the metro line.
He added that rejuvenating the rail transport system was in line with the directive of President Tinubu, who said he wanted to ride on the metro line.
“To the glory of God, on Monday, May 27, Mr President will ride on that metro line. So, when Mr President rides on Monday, you will take your turn on Tuesday. It is for you and not for Mr President,” he said.
He said all access roads to all the stations had been constructed, including car parks where passengers would comfortably park their cars, travel, come back, and carry their cars home.
Wike added that the Tinubu administration had equally reduced the contract for the training of the manpower for the operation of the train from $128m to $75m. This, he said, had saved the government $53m.
*FCTA to build 10,000 Renewed Hope City houses for the masses
Also speaking during the ministerial sectoral update in Abuja yesterday, Wike disclosed that the Administration was proposing 10,000 houses for the poor under the scheme.
Wike said the project would be captured in the 2024 FCT budget.
“In our next budget, we want to build a Renewed Hope City. This is for affordable houses, not for the big men,” he said.
“We are going to provide infrastructure and build for them and allocate to the poor. We have in our mind to build 10,000 houses for the poor,” he stressed.
Wike, however, complained that mass housing proposals had failed to work out because of estate developers’ tendency to meet the government to demand large expanses of land, only to divide the land and sell to individuals.
“We cannot allow this, it is fraud. You will now ask why the FCT stopped this. You know in Nigeria, two things play out, ethnicity and religion,” he added.
Wike frowned at ethnicising and introducing religion when individuals are apprehended for wrongdoing.
“Once you are doing the right thing, or they don’t use religion, they would use ethnicity. But, we are equal to the task. Just have it in mind that we have the political will to implement and do what is right.”
Meanwhile, the Minister has declared May 27 to June 6 as FCT week to launch projects.
He said the week-long period was to commemorate Mr. President’s one year in office and to commission projects within this period.
Wike took his turn to reel out the achievements of the FCT Administration under his watch.
The Minister also frowned at vandalisation of public property, especially street lighting equipment.
He appealed to the National Assembly to come to their aid by making laws that will prescribe stringent laws that will discourage offenders.
“Take, for example, the issue of streetlights. Today, you put streetlights, tomorrow night, it is no longer there. What happened? They vandalised them. They go and cut off the cables.
“You arrest them and go and prosecute them. What does the law say on conviction, N10,000? So, they continue and we have told the National Assembly that they must come to our aid by amending and reviewing the law to make it very tough to discourage vandals from vandalising our infrastructure,” he said.
*’Residents can now sleep with their two eyes closed’
Meanwhile, the Minister has assured that the Tinubu-led administration had provided security agencies with all the logistics they required to equip them to do their job.
He added that the FCT Administration had equally provided specialised motorcycles to enable security agencies to navigate difficult terrain in rural communities to improve security.
Wike said that it used to take up to two weeks for security agencies to access the funds they needed to carry out security operations.
“But now, it is different. The money they need for their operations is readily made available. We have provided logistics, and vehicles, name them, for the security agencies. We cannot say we have gotten it 100 per cent right, because no society is free of crime.
“But are there differences? Certainly yes, and you can attest to the fact that it is no longer what it used to be. This government is doing everything humanly possible, to see that we reduce the level of insecurity in FCT,” he said.
Wike added that the FCT Administration had equally concluded plans to construct three taxi and bus terminals.
He said that the project, which would be concluded in the next eight months, would reduce kidnapping and the operation of “once chance” syndicates within the city.
“In Abuja, you don’t know which one is a taxi; you don’t know which one is a commercial bus. With the terminals, if you want to board a bus or a taxi, you will know a particular place to go and you will be free from these criminal elements,” he said
Wike stressed that the terminals would reduce incidences of kidnapping and “one chance” in the FCT.
