By David Obio
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory,FCT, Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike has stressed that security, agriculture and job creation are among the top priorities of the FCT administration.
Wike stated this when he received a delegation from the British High Commission in Nigeria led by the British High Commissioner, Dr. Richard Montgomery on a courtesy visit to the FCT Minister on Tuesday.
The British High Commissioner had sought to understand the priorities of the FCT Administration for its development, in order to improve bilateral relations.
In his response, the FCT Minister informed that creation of jobs, especially in the agriculture sector was prioritized to ensure that the teeming youth in the FCT were provided a source of livelihood, adding that the FCT Administration, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had also provided the necessary support to the security agencies to address the security challenges especially in the nation’s federal capital.
The Minister equally stated that the ongoing provision of infrastructure in the Abuja city centre and the area councils, apart from accelerating the development of the FCT, were also avenues for job creation for the youths who would be engaged during the course of the projects. Barr. Wike said that, “When you say priority, creation of job is key. If you are not able to create jobs, of course, you know what that will mean for the teeming youths. So, we believe that creation of job is not only where there is white collar job. By these activities going on, so many of the youths are employed.
“If you go to the area councils today, there are lots of jobs going on and that have created opportunities for the youths to be employed. So, creation of jobs is priority for this administration.
”The minister also stated that the FCT has vast arable lands for agriculture, while expressing the readiness of the FCT Administration to collaborate with investors in the agricultural sector to create employment for the youths and promote food security.He emphasized the need to remove the youths from loitering the streets aimlessly without job by partnering with investors in the area of agriculture, that will also create jobs.
The minister observed that it will be of great interest to the FCT administration to collaborate with partners in identified areas.In similar vein, Barrister Wike said that the FCT is open to investments and partnerships in the tourism sector to make the city a major tourist attraction.He reiterated that, inspite of the security challenges in the FCT, remarkable improvements had been made in the last few months due to the level of support and commitment of the security agencies.
He blamed the level of insecurity in the FCT in recent past on the activities of kidnappers and bandits from the neighbouring states, noting that the security agencies had done quite well to tame the activities of the bandits and other criminal elements. Wike expressed confidence that the improved security in the FCT will also increase investors’ confidence in the nation’s capital. Wike said that: “We cannot say that we have been able to solve all the problems, but it is important to know that we are making progress, particularly on the issue of security, which has been a source of concern, not only to residents but the diplomatic community.”
The FCT minister equally acknowledged the longstanding relationship between Nigeria and the British government which he said had been growing stronger. He particularly thanked the British High Commission for providing technical support towards the establishment of the Abuja Technology Park.
Earlier, the British High Commissioner, Richard Montgomery, said that the courtesy visit by the delegation was critical to the operations of the diplomatic corps and the community in the FCT as well as the British High Commission. He said the delegation was also interested in knowing the views of the FCT Minister and understanding his priorities for the development of the FCT.Giving an update on the UK-Nigeria bilateral relations, the High Commissioner said the UK’s diplomatic presence in Nigeria had been expanding in recent times due to the importance of its partnership with Nigeria.
Dr. Montgomery, while speaking on the importance of agriculture and job creation said that, “I absolutely agree with you about the job focus and agricultural focus and I’m pleased to say that we do actually have a programme working on agriculture to improve value chains so that farmers can sell their produce to people that can process and therefore trade more easily. That’s something which we hope is getting off the ground now to help the agriculture sector.”
On the effects of the economic reforms in the country, Montgomery noted that the British Government recognized the long-term prosperity of Nigeria will come from the tough reforms that the government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu is putting in place, adding that the reforms will also put Nigeria on a higher growth path, by creating more jobs and better livelihoods in the future. “So, we are very positive about the importance of the reforms that are being made,” Dr. Montgomery said.
Those in attendance during the visit include the Secretary, Economic Planning, Revenue Generation and PPP, Hon. Chinedu Elechi, General Counsel, Barr. Salman Dako, SSA, Legal and Multilateral Cooperation, Barr. Benedict Dauda, SSA, Lands, Urban and Regional Planning, Sir Micheal Chinda, Director Land Administration, Tpl. Adamu Hussain Jibrin, Head, Political, British High Commission in Nigeria, Ms Aneesah Islam and the Deputy Director Corporate Services of the High Commission, Mr. Edward Nyong.
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