The Federal Government of Nigeria on Wednesday asserted that trying to put a stop to the escalating population explosion in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) may not be possible as it is a function of urbanisation.
Minister of the FCT, Mallam Mohammed Musa Bello made this assertion while fielding questions from State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Saturday.
The FCT Minister said the administration was making efforts to manage the situation even though he said stoping the population in the FCT from increasing was not an option because of the nature of the city and the purpose it serves.
According to him, the situation was following a trend with the urbanisation factor, which is a global reality.
He further noted that the administration was doing everything to make sure that the crowd is managed by ensuring that institutions are strengthened and infrastructure is increased to meet the needs of the city.
He said, ‘Urbanisation is a reality that we cannot reverse, it’s a worldwide phenomenon and urbanisation will continue. As a matter of fact, it has been projected by 2050, 70% of the world population will be living in urban areas, Abuja is no exception.
‘It has served as a magnet because it’s the centre of government, it’s secure, it’s peaceful, it’s in the centre of the country and it provides tremendous amount of opportunities for young people. So, this will continue.
‘But it’s something that we are trying to manage. How do we manage it? We are strengthening our institutions, increasing infrastructure within the available resources, but with urbanisation and movement of people, obviously crime also increases; the need to handle urban waste increases, and so many other things.
‘It’s something that we’ll keep on working on, and some of the demolitions we even do is as a result of that. When people come in, they don’t have housing, they don’t have accommodation, they go into shanties and they create slums.
‘As you continue economic activities, labour has to come in. So, we are trying and Abuja is trying to see how we can fit into the Millennium Development Goals of sustainability. We are trying to make a sustainable city and I tell you, it’s not going to be just government, it has to be a combination of government, private sector, the citizenry and all of us. But in spite of what you said, by and large, it’s still one of the best cities in Africa and we’ll continue to do our best.’
Mallam Bello ruled out payment of compensation for illegal structures demolished to restore the master plan of the territory.
He explained that many illegal structures and shanties demolished were built during the lockdown imposed on the territory due to COVID-19 pandemic.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
