Power shortage: FCTA Pays AEDC 900m debt

In an attempt to end perrenial power shortage in and around the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, the authority says it’s has settled Abuja Electricity Development Company with the sum of over N900million as payment for electricity bills as part of its efforts to sustain and illuminate major streets of the nation’s capital.
The Cordinator, Abjua Metropolitan Management Council, Mr Shuaibu Umar disclosed this while briefing Journalists on the council’s activities for 2017 in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

The coordinator said that the council has engaged Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, to jointly make a road map towards resolving the issues of incessant power shortage in the Federal Capital City and to partner with AEDC to provide effective service to Abuja.

Umar assured the residents that the administration will continue to provide infrastructure and facilities to Districts as soon as new ones are open before handling over the outfits to supervisors to manage accordingly.

He said this is in line with the administration’s mandate to provide the management of a first class and inclusive city comparable to any other city in the world.

According to him, ” based on our mandate and mission, the Council remain focused and committed to providing efficient and sustainable services to the residents of the FCT.

“Available records has shown sanity and improvements in the provisions of services to the city. Illegal development has reduced, traffic congestion has eased, street lightning at night has improved and, in particular, crime rate has remain subduced within the city”.

The AMMC Cordinator also hinted that as it resolved to sanitize the city, the administration through the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, AEPB, has engaged the service of twenty seven cleaning contractors for taking care of twenty seven districts within the FCC to rid the city of all solid waste and for sweeping the streets, Expressways, and the inner roads and also the enforcement are taking charge of all and sundry human nuisances.

Umar added that the contract will be review and take effect by June 2018 which will cover fourty eight districts within the city and it environs.

While explaining that the AEPB has done well in providing enough dust bins for dumping the refused, he stressed that the mobile trucks saddled with responsibility of evacuating the refuse regularly are not adequate.

“In some cases, when evacuating the refuse especially along the Airport road and other strategic parts of the City, refuse splash around the streets as a result the waste is not properly disposed”, he stated.

He identify the situation where containers are provided within the residential areas of FCC, and people still dump their refuse on the ground instead of the containers in readiness for evacuating to dumpsite as a major challenge.

While commenting on illegal structures and shanties within the city, the Director, Development Control FCT, Mr Muktar Galadima explained that notice had been served to devopers in line with the laid down rules and regulations, adding that the department will carryout the demolution of such structures when the date expired.

Mr Galadima hinted that so far no fewer than seven hundred and fifty illegal structures were built directly under the high tension in Tudun wada peace village, Lugbe Abuja, adding that such structures under electricity facility will be removed including those that breach the legally permitted thirty meters proximity to High Tension.

He further noted that, “similarly, in Lugbe, the FHA from market and other structures are to be removed to pave way for Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, to start work on a Transmission Station”.

Reacting to the former First Lady Dane Patience Jonathan’s structure that was earlier demolished, Galadima clarify that the structure in question was built without approval and notice were serve severally by the department to the developer to stop the work but the developer refused to comply and led to such action

Mr Galadima explained that, “Our officials went there for several occasion to stop contribution on the site but the developer refuse to abide by our rules. There was date a senior staff of this department when there and was tear gas and slapped by the security agents of the developer.
” As it is now, the case is still with police now. Does that mean that laws only work on ordinary city, and if you are influential, does it mean you are above the law? Certainly no, the law must take it course”.