David Mark’s embarrassment by FCDA
By Henry Umoru
FCTA must not continue to be tied to the apron-string of the FG
SENATE President David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark was again on Tuesday at his very best. He was frank and said it the way it should be if Nigeria as a country must get it right. The day was the usual plenary of the Senate, but it was when the Senators began the debate on the general principles of the 2012 Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Appropriation Bill.
SENATE President David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark was again on Tuesday at his very best. He was frank and said it the way it should be if Nigeria as a country must get it right. The day was the usual plenary of the Senate, but it was when the Senators began the debate on the general principles of the 2012 Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Appropriation Bill.
The Senators in their contributions scrutinized the FCT budget estimate of N306.499bn budget for 2012 and of the N306.499bn, N42.296bn is for personnel cost; N44.747bn for overheads, while N209.456bn is set aside for capital expenditure.
When it was time for him to react on the issues raised, Mark told the administrators of the FCTA that it was annoying that they were still tied to the apron-string of the federal government in the area of revenue generation. He told them that if it must carry the status of other 36 states, FCTA must act fast by generating its own revenue like others; in fact, the FCTA must improve on its Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, he made clear.
Senate President, Sen. David Mark.
He said it was not proper for the FCTA and the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, to continue to depend wholly on government subventions to run the city.
The number three citizen was down to earth by telling the Minister of the FCTA, Senator Bala Mohammed, the Executive Secretary of the FCDA, Secretaries of mandate Secretariats and Directors that projects must be funded not from only the federal government’s statutory allocation, but by looking inward. He reminded the FCTA that there are avenues to do that and if well harnessed, the nation’s capital city will be better for it.
According to him, “I have not seen any aggressive revenue profile in this bill at all. They have not shown that they are going to generate enough revenue internally and Abuja is in a position to do that much more than any other city in the country today. I think Abuja is shy at the moment to internally generate revenue.’’
Tax the Big men in Maitama, Garki, Asokoro, Wuse, Utako
Senate President also told the FCTA leadership that it should take advantage of very wealthy and big men who reside in Abuja that must be taxed. They are in Districts like Maitama, Wuse, Garki, Asokoro, Utako as well as other places like Jabi, adding, “they have to embark on serious taxation and because of the calibre of people who move into Abuja, if they carry out enough taxation, they should be able to generate enough revenue. Clearly, the infrastructure is overstretched; they need to do something about it.”
Senate President also told the FCTA leadership that it should take advantage of very wealthy and big men who reside in Abuja that must be taxed. They are in Districts like Maitama, Wuse, Garki, Asokoro, Utako as well as other places like Jabi, adding, “they have to embark on serious taxation and because of the calibre of people who move into Abuja, if they carry out enough taxation, they should be able to generate enough revenue. Clearly, the infrastructure is overstretched; they need to do something about it.”
The FCTA should note that the Senate President’s order is directed at the big men; so the poor should be excused in this new quest to raise revenue because we should not be surprised that with this backing from the Senate, the FCTA will come up with many ways of raising funds and the poor or low income earners may be made to suffer. You know where to go to. The passage of bills to give the FCTA the teeth to act and collect tax must be hastened by the National Assembly.
Delay in payment of compensation, resettling indigenes, embarrassing Senate President also attacked the FCTA over its delay in paying compensation to indigenes of the territory who were displaced to give room for the take over of the territory by the government.
He was not economical with words when he stressed that it was embarrassing that 35 years after, the issue of compensation was still dragging.
Mark who gave the FCTA a matching order that all resettlement of the indigenes of Abuja must be completed by 2013, said, “it is actually an embarrassment that 35 years after the establishment of Abuja we are still talking about compensation and resettlement of those who are indigenes of Abuja.
‘’The FCT must look into it and make sure that by the 2013 budget we are not talking about compensation of the indigenes anymore.’’
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