The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike has declared the Park and Pay scheme in the nation’s capital as illegal.
Wike disclosed this during a live media chat on Wednesday in Abuja as part of his first anniversary in office.
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The FCT Minister said he was unaware of the activities before a Senior Advocate of Nigeria brought the issue to his notice.
He said, “A call from a senior advocate, brought to light a scheme that has been siphoning government funds under the guise of a legal operation.
The scheme which was first introduced about a decade ago, was suspended following public outcry. It was however reintroduced in August last year, just a few days before Wike assumed office as minister.
Unaware of such operations, Wike immediately sought clarification. “I wasn’t aware of this, so I called the person in charge of it. I asked, ‘Who collects the money?’ Unknown to us, there are agreements between the secretariat and some people who claim to be consultants. So, the consultant takes 80%, and the FCT administration takes 20%,” he explained.
The Minister made it clear that such activities are illegal, and that immediate action would be taken to dismantle the operation.
The minister urged residents to continue to let the government know of happenings in their areas, saying if his attention had not been drawn to the illegal policy, he may not have known of its existence.
