Abuja Land Swap Programme Is Transparent-Group
Senator Bala Abdulkadir Muhammed (Former Minister of FCT)[/caption]
A pressure group, Media Advocacy for Anti-Corruption has hailed the land-swap programme initiated by the former Minister of the Federal Capital territory administration, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Muhammed as the solution and model for infrastructural development financing by addressing the inadequacy of funds to tackle the Federal Capital Territory administration’s constraint of paucity of funds.
In a press statement made available to newsmen recently, the national coordinator of the group Mr. James Okoronkwo opined that the immediate past minister of the Federal Capital territory administration’s commitment to the enhancement of the welfare of the people and residents of Abuja necessitated the introduction and implementation of the innovative and laudable scheme which according him have boosted the lean finance of the FCT administration and fast-tracked development of new districts in the Federal Capital territory thereby decongesting the over-populated city centres.
Continuing, he noted that the land swap programme was approved by the critical stakeholders in the FCT:- traditional rulers, civil society groups, youth groups, town unions, the various ethnic groups through massive enlightenment and consultation. Noting that under the land swap programme, land was allotted to competent real estate developers, who in return provided infrastructure like standard roads, portable water, drainage, sewer lines, communication ducts to the residents without any financial cost to the government.
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Furthermore, Okoronkwo stated Abuja Centenary City is a living proof of the beauty of the land swap programme. According to him, Abuja Centenary City has fulfilled all her obligations to the indigenes of the area. Lamenting that some vendetta-seeking politicians were out to malign the immediate-past minister Federal Capital territory administration by writing spurious petition to the House of Representatives committee on FCT, urging the committee to disregard and jettison it as it does not hold water.
Finally, he declared that like every innovative and novel programme, the land swap project was bound to have some teething challenges urging the House of Representatives to take cognizance of these facts.
