• Okays civil service commission for capital territory
• Why I accepted to work with president, by Wike
The Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory now has a new deal from the Presidency to change the way the territory was hitherto run.
Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, announced yesterday that President Bola Tinubu had given approval for the pulling out of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
This is to allow the ministry utilize its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the development of the nation’s capital.
Wike, who briefed reporters on the new deal ,said he was able to convince the president that “if you want FCT to really carry out its developmental projects and infrastructure, then it must come out of TSA.”
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He said: “We (FCT Administration) are not a revenue generating agency of the federal government, then what financial linkages are you blocking?
“The revenue comes in, and it will go to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).We need money to do projects; I can’t go to the Central Bank to ask for money, and I can’t go to the commercial banks; they will ask how do you pay back?
“So, I said we must be pulled out of TSA, that’s the only way, we can survive it.
“Mr. President graciously agreed with us and approved that we should be pulled out from the Single Treasury Account.
“You will see that from next year it will be project upon project in FCT. And what you saw in Port Harcourt, Abuja would be something else. So for us, it is one of our happiest days, and we have to thank Mr. President for foresight.
“People will kick against it, but it is not personal, it is about the growth of the city, welfare of the civil servants and the interest of the women – our mothers, sisters and wives”.
Wike noted that the development was the real essence of the renewed hope agenda of the Tinubu Administration.
Continuing, he said: “One of the reasons that I accepted to work with Mr. President is because he has the capacity and political will to do those things that people are afraid of doing.
“The problem of this country is leadership, so many people don’t want to take actions as they believe that some people will be angry.
“There is no action you take that everybody will be happy with. But what is important is that you are guided by law and your conscience”.
On the FCT Civil Service Commission,Wike said the National Assembly had in 2018 passed a bill to that effect which was subsequently assented to by the then acting President Yemi Osibanjo but he said nobody wanted to implement it for different reasons.
He explained that while some were afraid of what others would say, others felt the development would reduce their power and influence.
The minister said that he was not aware of the existence of the law until recently.
“So, I wrote a Memo to Mr President. I say, you have a renewed hope agenda; civil servants in FCT are suffering; they have lost hope.
“They are not committed to work. Why should I be working because at the end of the day, I can’t get to the apex of my career? As such, we must implement that 2018 law as passed by the National Assembly. If there are challenges, of course there is no law that is perfect. You can only know the challenges when you start implementing.
“So, let’s implement, whatever the challenges are, then, we can begin to talk of how we can amend it.
“I can tell you authoritatively that Mr President has given the approval for the establishment of Civil Service Commission for the FCTA,” he said.
Wike explained that with this development, civil servants will go beyond directors to become Permanent Secretaries, adding, “that is the essence of the renewed hope agenda.”