FCT MINISTER COMMISION NEW DRAINAGE AND ROAD PROJECT

By Punarimam Fehintola

Residents of Dutse Makaranta in Bwari Area Council of the FCT have joined the latest batch of beneficiaries of the next level promises of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. Indeed, relief has finally come the way of the longsuffering residents who for years have groaned under the torture of menacing erosion & flooding challenges as the Government through the Ecological Fund Office (EFO) domiciled in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGOF) has intervened to put a stop to their misery by carrying out a crucial and timely erosion control & road rehabilitation project in the area. President Muhammadu Buhari who was represented at the project commissioning by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Musa Mohammed Bello, assured residents of the community that the government is sensitive to their plight and ever committed to their yearnings and aspirations to leading an improved life – in decent environments and in dignified living conditions – hence the project. The minister seized the opportunity to encourage Nigerians to be patient and keep faith with the government, promising that so much more is in the works that is geared towards ensuring a better life for all Nigerians. One of the residents of the beneficiary community, Mr. Chike Uzor, expressed profound gratitude to the Government for coming to their aid. He however implored the Government to do more as, according to him, the entire area is prone to volatile, rampaging and perennial ecological challenges, particularly erosion and flooding problems. Representatives from the Ecological Fund Office (EFO) who awarded the project, assured the community of more interventions from the agency stating that, unlike in the past when the Ecological Fund was seen and used essentially as slush money for servicing political interests, the agency has been repositioned under the Buhari-Osinbanjo (APC) administration to become much more prudent, timeous and responsive in carrying out its crucial mandate of salvaging Nigerians from ecological and other climate change challenges. The Director of Projects of the company that executed the project, Engr. Funso Fasipe, urged the community to desist thenceforth from acts that were inimical to the preservation of a healthy environment and to manage, maintain, utilize and/or enjoy the facilities in such a way as to ensure its longevity and hence the derivation of maximum benefits therefrom. The contract for the project was awarded by the Ecological Fund Office (EFO) as part of its last quarter project for 2019 and was completed in record time around November last year, but was commissioned on Tuesday, 25th February, 2020.