An Abuja based environmentalist and pioneer staff of the FCDA, Dr. Lazarus Bagaya, has described the present FCT Minister, Senator Bala Muhammed as the worst FCT minister ever and a disappointment to the Goodluck administration.
Speaking to our correspondent at the international conference centre, Abuja, the environmentalist opined that past ministers of the federal capital territory performed more creditably well than the present minister who has neither a direction nor the zeal to develop the city to a befitting status and stabilize the Jonathan administration.
According to him, the created green areas that added beauty to the city have systematically dried-up so also all the facilities put-in-place by the past ministers are non-functional due to neglect and inexperience.
“He assumed office with a hidden agenda against the development of the capital city. The man does not have the required experience and courage to transform the city. He is inept of ideas and the intellectual capacity to administer a complex society like the FCT. He only capitalized on the unfortunate situation of that time to bulldoze his way to the position he occupies but not that he is interested to transform Abuja to its right status”, he said
Abuja, according to him was created to serve as the administrative headquarters of the Federal Government of Nigeria as well as the seat of power for easy coordination through proper planning that deserves a beautiful environment and effective security system which are lacking, “Senator Bala has bastardized the master plan of the city and allocated most of the land to his agents, fronts and relatives for selfish advantage. His junior brother of the same blood was alleged to have siphoned over N4billion into his personal account while serving as special assistant (land) to the FCT minister, while another brother of his who works with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is now an estate developer and the other brother, a middle-cadre custom officer is alleged to have amassed so much wealth through patronage from the FCDA within a short period of time. That should serve as food for thought to the Jonathan administration and other Nigerians”, he opined.
Lazarus added that as a minister of the federal republic, Senator Bala is expected to be a detribalized politician but, “He recruited most of his political aides from members of his nuclear family including executive directors of parastatals in the FCDA. Major land dealers and touts in the FCDA are members of his family just as he is perfecting plans to contest the 2015 gubernatorial election in the state. Instead of the minister to appoint credible persons to serve the administration diligently, for sentimental reasons, he appoints pimps and miscreants to occupy sensitive positions in the FCDA administration who can do any dirty job to justify his stay in office including the recruitment of several marabouts. I am not complaining for anything, but past ministers were not like that. We thought Aliyu Modibbo was the worst minister ever but Bala has taken that position as the worst FCT minister for now. In fact, the FCT does not deserve to have such a failure as its minister if the Jonathan administration is sincere in its fight against corruption”.
Commenting on security situation in the city, Lazarus who claimed to have a first degree in criminology from the United Kingdom said, “The security situation is below expectation. The minister is always busy attending to his personal problems on how to amass wealth and contest the gubernatorial seat of his state than addressing the insecurity problem bedeviling the capital city. He claims to have the wife of the President as his god-mother and that is why he is doing what he is doing without any fear of challenge”.
