By Blessing Bature
The Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC has said the planned return of suspended ‘park and pay’ policy by the Federal Capital Territory Administration would not be accepted.
The council described the act as unjustifiable which is aimed at denying AMAC to get its legitimate revenue to provide social amenities to the people.
In a statement Signed by the Senior Special Assistant on community development to the Chairman of AMAC, Yunusa Yusuf Ahmadu said the law didn’t permit another body to collect or manage motorists activities especially on street and motor parks.
It said the situation was disturbing when the FCT Transportation Secretariat made the announcement, recently, saying it is worrisome for the secretariat to be cooking up a kangaroo way to begin ‘park and pay’ which ideally the law does not permit them, they don’t have the power to do that.
It therefore asked the Federal Capital Territory Administration to hands off the policy planned to take off by the end of first quarter of 2023.
The statement explained that the plan if allowed to come back, it will affect revenue generation in the council.
“We want to warn clearly that we know the Minister as a law abiding citizen and nobody should cajole the minister to do the wrong thing, we want to tell Candido that we have records of how he never allowed the park and pay to see the light of the day when it was initially introduced by the FCDA.
“We want to say clearly as AMAC, we reject whatever action that will be introducing park and pay from the FCT Administration, it is not their duty, it is the duty of the local government, we have it in our laws, in our by laws, in our acts, whatsoever you want to define it, and it has been both in the court of law, and it is clear that it is our responsibility, so we are shocked that Candido is so inquisitive, because we know clearly that he was once the chairman of AMAC, while he was the chairman of AMAC he never allowed the park and pay to operated from the FCT Administration, why is he now so keen? Because he is the Mandate Secretary Transport, we look at it as deliberate act to sabotage the revenue of AMAC, and that we feel is very unfair and unacceptable.
“Candido should know clearly that, gone are those days when he was the chairman, he can not be Mandate Secretary and be the chairman of AMAC at the same time, it is not allowed, it is either he is Mandate Secretary. There are so many laws he should concentrate about, we have issues that in train station, people are dieing, neighboring communities are sacrificed for train stations and railway, let him go and attend to those issues, we know how people’s bags are been snatched in train stations. I think he has enough job to do rather than concentrating on how to collect park and pay or cooperate parking or whatever he calls it, it is solely the responsibility of AMAC and we have all the manpower required to enforce it and ensure that we get it done.”