Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has noted that new buses and taxis will soon be rolled out for public transportation in Abuja.
READ ALSO: JUST IN: Fire Guts Singer Small Doctor’s House
The former Rivers State governor who spoke on Tuesday when he met with estate developers in Abuja, said the public transportation scheme will address the incidences of “one chance” operators in the FCT.
“I assure you that once the buses and taxis are on the roads, the problem of one chance will be a thing of the past,” he said.
“However, if you make the mistake of going to enter a taxi and a bus that is not our own, it is your problem.
“The buses and taxis will ply the routes of Maitama, Asokoro and other parts of the city.”
According to the minister, a once buses and taxis are introduced in the FCT, the operations of tricycles, also known as Keke NAPEP, will be prohibited.
He said no action was taken against the operations of tricycles before now because public buses and taxis were not on the roads as alternatives.
READ ALSO: JUST IN: Massive protest rocks Kano over sacking of Abba Yusuf as governor
“I know some of you will say, oh, we are struggling. I know they are struggling to have something. I agree, but our interest is to protect our city,” he said.
“I will not because you are dying of hunger and allow people to die. I owe a duty to protect the people that are doing genuine businesses in our city.
We could not take action without providing an alternative. Now that we have the alternative, we are not afraid to take that action. They should move to the rural areas.”
In another development, Wike said the FCT Administration has pegged the cost of issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy (C- of-O) at N5 million.
Wike who made the pronouncement at a meeting with estate developers in Abuja on Tuesday, said payment could be made within four months of land allocation after which the C-of-O would be handed over to the applicant.
He added that he would seek the approval of President Bola Tinubu to link applicants’ National Identification Number to C-of-Os before issuance.
According to the minister, the era where three or more persons were allocated the same plot of land with fake C-of-O was over.
“Allocation of land to three or more persons will no longer be allowed because the C-of-O enables you to do business,” he said.
“When we make the right decision, some people will be happy, and some will not. The rich will kick against some of our decisions, but anything that will help our people must be done.”
He promised to ensure orderliness and sanity in the land administration system and processes in the FCT.
Wike inaugurated a task force on the issuance of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for housing estates and the recovery of land use contravention fees on Nov. 14.
He explained that the measure was to ensure that each unit in the housing estates had its separate C-of-O.
(C)ControlTV2023.
