The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, said President Muhammadu Buhari’s milestone achievements in the area of infrastructure development would be more appreciated after he existed office on May 29.
Bello made the statement when he was featured at the 20th Edition of President Buhari’s administration Scorecard Series, organised by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, on Monday in Abuja.
The minister said that the event afforded him the opportunity to reel out the array of achievements and transformations that Buhari’s administration recorded in the nation’s capital.
Bello said: ” When we came on board in 2015, my team and I realised that the capital city Abuja was basically a work in progress with so many projects initiated but not completed.
“All these projects were critical, particularly taking into account the rate at which the city was growing demographically.
” Because over time, it changed from being an administrative centre and city to a commercial, economic hug and gradually now it is also transforming itself into a tourism and cultural destination.
” So, we realised that if we do not complete all the ongoing projects we met on the ground, then at one point, the city will just become Lagos.
“This is s because all the reasons why the Federal Government moved the Federal Capital City from Lagos to Abuja would have been come to not.”
According to him, what was done over the last seven and half years or so was basically to try to develop the territory in all ramifications.
“This is in terms of infrastructure and all other services that normally are expected in a state such as education, health, agriculture, social services and security, roads, bridges, rail line, water system, electricity and power generation,” Bello added.
The minister said that the FCT Administration under his leadership had completed many critical infrastructure projects which by any standard could compare with any kind in the world.
Bello called on the FCT residents to jealousy guard Abuja, protect its infrastructure, clean the environment and try to make it a truly beautiful green city where everybody would feel happy raise our families and hopefully retired.
Bello added that some of the projects like bridges had linked several districts and eased traffic movement within the city centre.
He said: “All these are parts of the scorecard of President Buhari’s administration which unfortunately sometimes those of us who live in Abuja do not notice.
“But, when people come from West African countries and I see a lot of them especially, visiting Heads of States they whisper to me that Abuja is beautiful and it is the Paris of West Africa.
” Part of what we do as an administration in terms of infrastructure is developing road networks as well as public buildings.
“When we came on board we realised that there was a commitment by the previous government to rebuild the United Nations building in Nigeria which was bombed by the terrorist.
” We met President Buhari and told him that there was a commitment that Nigeria made to the United Nations family to complete the UN building in Nigeria.”
Bello said Buhari provided the needs funds and we work with the contractor, restored the building, completed it to what it is today.
He added: ” And I can tell you that the leadership of the United Nations personally told me that out of New York, the UN doesn’t have any other building that can match the one in Abuja.
“This is something that most people don’t know about President Buhari.
” Once you meet him for a project that is going to benefits people and is going to project Nigeria as a country he will just approve it and if there are no funds he will look at the Minister of Finance in such a way that he does during the Federal Executive Council and say to the minister get the money.”
Bello said that over the past seven and half years, the capacity of all the institutions of the FCT Administration had been enhanced greatly in terms of training, empowerment and allowing the institutions to operate as they were meant to functions.
The minister added: ” I think more than anything else the government of President Buhari has done excremently well in the area of infrastructure development and his efforts will be more appreciated after he leaves office.”
