By Hajara Umar Nataala
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has read the riot act against cattle rearing within the FCT area.
It stated that despite several attempts to control the movement of cattle in the city. There have been reports of disturbances and damages tied to nomadism.
Coordinator to the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Umar Shuaibu, at a media briefing, disclosed that more steps are being taken to ensure that such hazardous behavior is put to a stop.
In addition, the Director of the Abuja Environmental Protection Agency, Dr. Hassan Abubakar, added that the decision of the FCTA to ban open grazing comes following the ban by the Northern Governors’ Forum due to the practice being described as outdated.
Five locations recently have been subsequently, created for cattle grazing in the following area councils in FCT; Abaji, Kwali, and Kuje.
Additionally, the FCTA lamented that despite the payment of N12,055,231,626.39 as electricity bills to Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) for 2021, the federal city has suffered poor power supply.
Shuaibu stated that “FCTA is not indebted whatsoever to AEDC,” adding that “it has become worrisome that the services of the AEDC have remained poor in the capital city.”
Shuaibu argued that in the past two years, the FCTA has made concerted efforts to ensure steady and uninterrupted power supply to streetlights through strategic interventions by the administration.
“So far, N2, 055,231,626.39 has been paid to AEDC for the year 2021 alone by the FCT Administration. Presently, the FCTA is not indebted whatsoever to the AEDC.
“It is expected that with the huge investment and cooperation of the FCTA to ensure the smooth running of its services, the AEDC will efficiently provide adequate power to serve the vital infrastructure in the city. Unfortunately, the failure of the AEDC to live up to their responsibilities is unjustifiably mistaken for lack of performance by the FCT Administration,” he stated.
In the meantime, the FCTA’s Department of Outdoor Advertisement and Signage (DOAS) has said it generated N1,175,000 in the last three years.
Source: AZIMAZI MOMOH JIMOH/The Guardian