Lawmakers tasked on legislations for speedy devt. of FCT Councils

By Stanley Onyekwere

The FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, has called on relevant committees of the National Assembly charged with the responsibilities of carrying out oversight functions on the FCT Administration, to either come up with legislations or push for pending bills that could bring speedy development to the area councils in the Territory.
Aliyu decried that some of the existing laws governing the Territory are obsolete and not in conformity with 21st century developmental goals.
The Minister, who spoke at the House of Representatives Committee on FCT Area Councils and Ancillary Matters, said such moves have become necessary in view of the slow pace of development recorded in the territory for almost four decades.
“Honourable Committee members, it might interest you to note that out of 8,000sq kilometers of the territory, only 250sq kilometers have been fully developed for almost four decades of developing the city. The remaining 7,750sq kilometers are are yet to be developed.
“ This goes to show that we must think out of the box to fast-track development in satellite towns and the area councils. We can no longer rely on budgetary allocations to develop this capital city,” Aliyu noted.
Earlier in his remarks, Chairman House of Representatives Committee on FCT Area Councils and Ancillary Matters, Hon. Ahmed Yusuf Tijjani, assured the minister that the committee would continue to assist the administration in the areas of needs especially on issues that would lead to speedy development of the area councils.