Jonathan inherited insecurity problem – FCT minister
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed, has said that the problem of insurgency confronting the country today was not the creation of President Goodluck Jonathan. Rather, the president administration is only trying to manage an inherited menace.
The FCT minister said this on Wednesday in Abuja during a meeting of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders meeting. Many PDP leaders from the six geo-political zones resident in the Federal Capital Territory were in attendance at the meeting.
Sen. Mohammed maintained that President Jonathan, since coming into power, had had to contend with this problem he inherited, while working assiduously to address it.
While reminding the PDP leaders that terrorism was not limited to Nigeria, the minister assured them that the Jonathan administration has the capacity and political will to confront the menace.
The minister, however, called for continued support of the people for the Federal government to achieve this objective.
The FCT minister also said that the Transformation Agenda of President Jonathan has been able to put smiles on the faces of residents of the FCT. He cited the expansion and rehabilitation of the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (Airport Road) as well as the Murtala Muhammad (Kubwa Expressways as pointers to that fact.
Sen. Mohammed also assured that the FCT administration plans to deploy a substantial part of its projected N300 billion to N400billion internally generated revenue (IGR) earnings to fund the rural and neighbourhood infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges in the territory.
Said he, “With the passage of the FCT Board of Internal Revenue Act by the National Assembly, the internally generated revenue profile of the FCT is expected to rise significantly with positive multiplier effects on the residents.”
The Minister emphasised that the FCTA hopes to generate about N300 billion to N400 billion annually; adding that the anticipated revenue would be used to fund infrastructure and accelerate development of the entire 8,000 square kilometers of the territory as well as pay outstanding debts owed contractors.