FCT Demands For Robust Funding To Meet Growing Population Needs

Federal Capital Territory (FCT)  Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has appealed to the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to work out a specific funding mechanism for the FCT.

He said increased funding will  enable the FCT Administration to meet its infrastructural development objective for the growing population.

The Minister made the appeal when members of the Commission’s Indices and Disbursement Committee, led by its Chairman, Dr Chris Akomas, paid a courtesy visit to the FCTA.

Malam Bello explained that Abuja was one of the fastest growing cities in the world with an annual population growth of between 7% and 9%.

He further informed members of the RMAFC that the FCT currently has an approximate population of six million people as against the 2.5 million envisaged by the masterplan at its present stage of development.

“So, everything is grossly overstretched and that’s why the FCT Administration, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, decided that we continue to emphasize on completing ongoing infrastructural projects in the road, rail and water sectors”, he said.

Malam Bello also informed his guests that with the number of infrastructural development projects currently going on in the FCT, funding remains a challenge.

According to the Minister,  “As the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, it is  your national duty to create a special funding mechanism that is not against the constitution that makes sure that these works in progress are  done because as you know, we are considered under section 299 of the Constitution as if we were a state”.

Speaking earlier, Dr Chris Akomas informed the FCT Minister that his team was in the FCTA on an advocacy and sensitization visit to seek the cooperation of the FCT Administration to enable it discharge its duties, one of which is the collation of accurate and reliable data.

Dr Akomas said members of the Commission had visited all the states of the Federation   including the Ministries of Education, and Water Resources as well as the National Boundaries Commission, National Population Commission and other government agencies.

In his words “We are visiting all these places because we are talking of data and we are looking forward to data integrity”.

Also present at the event were the Permanent Secretary FCTA, Mr Olusade Adesola, the Chief of Staff to the FCT Minister, Malam Bashir Mai-Bornu and the Director, Department of Economic Planning Research and Statistics, Alh Mohammed Lawal amongst other senior staff of the FCTA and RMAFC.