The Federal Ministry of Works, Federal Character Commission, Merit House Maitama, and Murg plaza have been sealed off by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) over waste management arrears owed to the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB).
Speaking to newsmen during the exercise, Director of the board, Engr Osilama Briamah, said the affected agencies refused to pay for the services of the board. He mentioned that the board had a large amount of money hanging around waiting for defaulters to respond.
According to him, the ongoing operation would cover all public and private offices owed to the board. He said the defendants had been summoned by a senior magistrate court in Wuse II, Abuja, to appear before it on March 30, 2022, but they did not show up.
Briamah told newsmen that the breakdown of the debts showed that the Federal Ministry of Education owed N25,838,275, the Federal Ministry of Defence -N17,220,775.00, and the Federal character commission–N10,128,906.25.
Others include the Civil service commission–N2,451,649.50, Revenue mobilization, and fiscal commission—N21,683,750.00; Federal ministry of Health N 14,204,843.75, Fed ministry of Trade & Investment—N19,222,287.50, Federal Ministry of Works — N9,998,625.00, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence corps wuse- N16,583,031.25.
Ikahro Attah, the senior Special Assistant on Monitoring Inspection and Enforcement to the Minister of FCT, who led the enforcement, said the operation was part of an initiative put together by the minister of FCT and the permanent secretary to recover the board’s extreme debts. According to Attah, the FCT Administration is concerned about the large amount owed to FCTA.
“The FCT Administration requires sufficient funds to build infrastructure and keep the city running.” The administration has decided to target Ministries, parastatals, agencies, and private citizens. “We cannot wait for government funds to be restricted; it is wrong for people not to pay for services rendered,” he said.
