Tunji Wusu –
Chief Tony Okocha, a former national chairman of the Protocols/Logistics Committee for the disbanded Tinubu-Shettima Grassroots Independent Campaign Council (TSGICC), has expressed hope that the new Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, will revive the Abuja Masterplan.
He claimed that due to the actions of developers who buy up and develop every available place, obstructing streams and subjecting the area to constant flooding, the nation’s capital was turning into a slum.
On Monday, Okocha gave a speech in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, at an event hosted by members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to mark Wike’s appointment as a minister.
The APC leader declared, “I reside in Abuja or frequently visit Abuja. I am aware that Abuja’s current status and the original beauty with which it was created are starting to wane. It is making its way into slums.
As some of you may already be aware, Abuja recently experienced flooding, which is not unique to the Abuja framework. The reason is because some individuals have started to acquire and develop properties on waterways, thus taking the rules into their own hands.
“It is claimed that water must find its way, and that if it cannot travel via the designated channels made for it, it will undoubtedly find another way out. As a result, the Abuja masterplan, which was once considered to be the epitome of perfection, has begun to wane and is no longer eligible to be referred to as a capital city.
“When there are many of us who are interested in making a profit, every area of land that is exposed to them turns into a market. That is what is taking place at the moment in Abuja. The initial scheme is almost over.
“I believe that the President might be interested in returning it to its position, and you don’t need a push and start to achieve that. You require a courageous person. You need a confident person who can transform Abuja into what it once was at any given moment.
Okocha called the former governor of Rivers State “a square peg in a square hole” and thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for bringing Wike into his cabinet.
“I intend to thank the President in writing; he has put a square peg in a square hole,” Okocha continued. When it comes to leadership and administration, the former governor Wike is no amateur. He is not a weakling when it comes to politics.
“The President will therefore receive even more of all he needs to fulfill the duties for which he has been entrusted. The benefit of wike is that it may transform a stone into a marble. As a result, his failure there will serve as a stepping stone.
