The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello, has inaugurated 14 Boards of Administration Agencies and Parastatals in Abuja.
He enjoined members of the Boards of the FCTA Agencies to justify their appointments by remaining committed, diligent, and steadfast in the discharge of their responsibilities.
While congratulating the new appointees remarked that the charge has become necessary, because as Board members there is enormous responsibilities ahead of them.
His words: “I, therefore, urge you to justify your appointments by remaining committed, diligent, and steadfast in the discharge of your responsibilities as Board members bearing in mind the enormity of your responsibilities.”
On some of the strives achieved by the present Administration, the Minister said through those years the government has been able to deliver on set targets, which include the completion of a number of ongoing projects like the Abuja light Rail project and a number city and satellite town roads.
According to him, the present Administration met the challenge of power outages from the national grid and have now embraced the option of solar streetlights which have left a number of streets illuminated at night and improving the security outlay of the city.
On the Abuja water supply, Bello stated that work on the Greater Abuja Water supply project is ongoing and is designed to ensure that a greater percentage of residents have access to water.
The Minister said that the FCT Administration has succeeded in putting a stop to incessant flooding in certain parts of the city by correcting the anomalies to the FCT Master Plan, especially by unscrupulous property developers.
“In the same vein, we stepped up our urban renewal efforts by removing illegal settlements and shanties; both for security and aesthetic purposes in accordance with the Abuja Master Plan,” Bello reiterated.
The Minister stressed that the creation of the Economic Planning, Revenue Generation and PPP Secretariat coupled with the reorganization of the FCT IRS has been the IGR of the FCT increase, so much that FCT is now second only to Lagos in internally generated revenue.
Bello emphasized that the Land for Infrastructure Swap Programme for which the Administration has pioneered, is designed to ensure a more productive private sector participation in the development of the FCT and that the provision of District Infrastructure in the Gwagwa District is ongoing through this process and needs to be expanded.
He said that, one of the biggest achievements is instilling in the FCTA workforce a renewed sense of purpose and duty which has so far translated into better service delivery and the Administration has a letter of commendation from SERVICOM to show for it.
The Minister expressed the hope that the Agencies, with careful direction and guidance of the Boards, will continue along this trajectory and therefore called for the full cooperation of all staff of the FCT Administration to ensure that they succeed in meeting the aspiration of the founding fathers.
Speaking earlier, the Permanent Secretary, FCTA, Adesola Olusade, called on the Boards to follow strictly the Public Service Rules (PSR) in all their dealings as such laws are there to guide them to succeed.
According to him, “The PSR at 160201 states clearly that a Board shall not be involved directly in the day-to-day management of a Parastatal”.
He emphasized that the Board of a Parastatal is responsible for setting out the parastatal‘s economic, financial, operational, and administrative programmes and targets in line with the overall objectives of setting it up, and taking due cognizance of the Government‘s policy directives as provided by the Minister.
“The Board also has the responsibility for measuring performance against targets, introducing broad policy measures, containing any adverse deviations, and for supervising management to ensure that the targets are achieved,” he added.
The fourteen Boards inaugurated include; Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Abuja Investment Company Limited (AICL), Abuja Property Development Company (APDC), Abuja Environment Protection Board (AEPB), Abuja Investment and Infrastructure Centre (AIIC), FCT Secondary Education Board (FCT-SEB), FCT Scholarship Board (FCT-SB) and Abuja Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Others are Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company Limited (AUMTCO), FCT Urban Regional Planning (UPR) Tribunal, Abuja Markets Management Limited (AMML), FCT Universal Basic Education Board, FCT Primary HealthCare Board, and FCT Area Councils Service Commission.
PIAK
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