By Abdulateef Taiwo
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory, Senator Smart Adeyemi, has lamented the activities of vandals, who reportedly removed some of the newly installed solar panels in the FCT.
The senator, who represents the Kogi West Constituency, made the comments while conducting an inspection of some of the ongoing projects within the city, as part of the committee’s oversight function, over the weekend in Abuja.
Other projects inspected include, ongoing rehabilitation works at the National Assembly, operations control centre of the Abuja Mass Rail Transit System, the Gosa dump site and landfill, and the Wupa sewage treatment plant, as well as the facilities and equipment of the Department of Development Control.
Senator Adeyemi, who bemoaned the activities of vandals in the city, added that efforts must be put in place to secure and maintain all facilities, including traffic lights, rail tracks, manholes, and power installations among others.
He urged Nigerians to protect public facilities put in place for their benefits, and the FCTA to include security and maintenance components into budget proposals for proposed projects.
Sen Adeyemi commended the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, for his commitment to the execution of priority projects in the Territory.
Responding to the issue of the security of critical infrastructure, the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority, Shehu Ahmed, said the FCT Security Committee had mandated the FCT Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps to ensure the security of such facilities across the FCT.
Meanwhile, FCTA Director, Department of Facility Maintenance, Omoniyi Olaloye explained that the solar street lighting initiative became imperative due to inadequate power supply from the national grid.
Olaloye revealed that over 4000 units of solar powered street lights had been installed so far across the city, promising that more installations would be made.
Also present during the oversight project tour were some members of the FCT Senate Committee, Chief of Staff to the Minister, Malam Bashir Mai-Bornu; the Secretary for Transportation, Hon Abdullahi Candido; Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council TPL Umar Shuaibu; Director, Department of Development Control TPL Mukhtar Galadima; Director, Abuja Environmental Protection Board, Osilama Braimah; and other senior officials of the FCTA.
