Abuja Not a Mekunu State says FCT Minister Bala

THE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Bala Mohammed, at the weekend stunned his audience when he disclosed that the Abuja Master Plan was not envisaged to accommodate the needs of the common man.

His words: “With all regrets,  Abuja initially did not capture the needs and aspiration of the common people and the middle level manpower that we have in terms of affordable housing.”

According to the minister, Abuja, the nation’s capital was designed to accommodate only a million people, but   that the territory now has a population of about four to five million people living in the area thereby putting pressure on available infrastructural facilities.

“Abuja has more than four to five million people living in a place where it is supposed to be inhabited with only about a million people at the moment,” he said.

“At the end of the day we are going to reduce the pressure on our corridors by using the mass transit scheme to be provided by the Abuja Rail Project and the employment opportunity it will provide for the population.

“We are going to provide employment opportunities for over one million people. And you can see that when people come to Abuja they try to stay anyhow. I am sorry with all apology and regrets that Abuja initially did not capture the needs and aspiration of the common people and the middle level manpower that we have in terms of affordable housing,” he said.

Guardian