•To approve allocation for Somali Chancery
By Stanley Onyekwere
FCT Minister, Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike has restated the commitment of the FCT Administration to making the Abuja, the nation’s capital city more comfortable for its guests, especially Foreign Missions.
Wike made this assertion yesterday, when he received the Ambassador of Somalia to Nigeria, His Excellency, Jamal Mohammed Barrow who paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
While assuring the support and cooperation of the FCT Administration for Foreign Missions, he equally promised to approve the request for land allocation to enable the construction of the Somali Chancery in Abuja.
“We are here to make things comfortable for our guests. Whatever you think that FCT will do, do not hesitate to let us know. We are always willing to cooperate with our guests, particularly foreign missions”,
“We will immediately call for the file so that you can have your parcel of land to be able to build your own chancery. I can assure you that after this discussion, I will call for the file, so that you can have it approved and start building your Chancery”, he added
Furthermore, while noting that Nigeria and Somalia share a similar history of civil wars, the Minister also pledged the readiness of the FCT Administration to pass on its city development experiences to Somalia as the country seeks to develop its capital city of Mogadishu.
Also, responding to the invitation by the Envoy to visit the city of Mogadishu in order to have a better experience of how it looks, the FCT Minister assured that he will make time to visit the city.
He said, “Mogadishu is a city, the capital of Somalia. We would also love to have the experience of how the city looks like. So, it is our belief that we will work out the arrangement to see how we can share things and pass on experiences in terms of development of cities.”
Earlier in his remarks, Ambassador Mohammed Barrow said his visit to the FCTA was aimed at seeking the support and cooperation of the FCT Administration in developing the city of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
Barrow explained that Somalia, having shifted from the unitary system of government to federalism, following its prolonged periods of conflicts, sees Nigeria as the best role model, with similar experiences.
The Ambassador therefore expressed the desire of Somalia to leverage the experience of the FCT in developing the capital of city Mogadishu and called for the support of the FCT Administration.
Also, the Envoy also commended the FCT Minister for the improved security and good leadership in the FCT and expressed the hope that Abuja would in the future become one of the best capital cities in the world under the leadership of the Minister.
“Our President sends his congratulations to you as the Minister of the FCT and he hopes that you would one day be in Somalia in Mogadishu and he would receive you”, he added.
