FCTA 2021 review : We fared well amidst  challenge and increase revenue.

 

 

FAVOUR  ISHEMBER

 

Administrative operations in the Federal Capital Territory slowed down for most part of the year 2021, as authorities grapple with stabilising and re-strategizing the Administration for effective performance in a Post-Covid era.

 

 

The FCT, like most part of the world, was greatly impacted by the outbreak the Coronavirus, with socio-economic activities virtually brought to a halt in order to contain the spread of the novel virus. Part of measures put in place to check the spread of COVID-19 in the FCT included, but not limited to, a sit at/work from home order to all civil servants below level 12.

 

 

Though the order issued by the federal government is gradually being phased out, the over eight months of skeletal activities challenged the very core of administrative processes in the Federal Capital Territory Administration.

 

 

However, the recent appointment and inauguration of Mandate Secretaries and political aides in November 2021 seem to have revived the operations in the FCTA and reduced burden off the Permanent Secretary.

 

 

The Federal Capital Territory Administration Department of Outdoor Advertisement and Signage (FCT-DOAS), said it has generated the sum of one billion, one hundred and seventy five million naira (1,175,000,000.00) in the last three years.

 

One of the Department that was not just floating but against all odds strived to maintain status  in the challenging times is the Department of Outdoor Advertisment and Signage  (DOAS).

 

 

While reeling out activities of  the  Department for the  physical year, the Director, Dr. Babagana Adams disclosed that the (FCT-DOAS)  has generated the sum of one billion, one hundred and seventy five million naira (1,175,000,000.00) in the last three years.

 

 

with the challenge of COVID-19, the department from May 2019 to December realized the revenue that it could not generate in the  last three years, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

 

Dr. Adams explained :”Since my assumption of office in May 2019, my first six months  in office we realized the revenue that the department could not generate in three years, 2016, 2017 and 2018. We raised an amount of

three hundred and thirty-three million within the period. We generated five hundred million naira in 2019 which is more than the past  years, three hundred and thirty-three million naira.

 

“In 2020 there was a total shutdown  of government offices and our activities were affected because of coronavirus,  and at that period the department generated six hundred million naira to the coffers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration(FCTA).

 

“2021 that is in progress,  the department raised seven hundred and fifty million, we are going higher everyday”

 

He said with the COVID-19 it would have been expected that the department will not do well in revenue generation, but it fared well amidst the challenge and increase revenue.

 

However, Adams regretted that activities of the department are being thwarted by fake revenue agents that parade themselves as DOAS officials.

 

He stated that the department projected over six hundred million for 2022

 

 

During the period under review amidst numerous challenge informed by the Corona virus,the Management of the FCT Water Board  hosted series of its widely acclaimed programme “The FCTWB Customer Care Forum” aimed at interacting with Residents of the FCT  for continuous improvement and optimal service delivery.

 

To this end, over 15 out of the 16 Area Offices of the organization had hosted this laudable programme in recent past which also avail Customers the opportunity to air their views on matters of water supply and related issues.

 

 

In September this year, the Cross River Water Limited paid a courtesy visit to FCT Water Board to borrow a leaf on revenue generation and to synergize with the Board.

 

 

In a bid to improve the revenue drive, the Acting General Manager, FCT Water Board, Princess Joy Okoro,  said by 2022, the board will commence online billing for customers by 2022

 

 

She said that the online billing amongst other measures, will help to achieve the monthly N500 million revenue target by next year.

 

“The revenue performance of the Board had improved significantly with the months of March 2021, July 2021, September & October 2021 recording unprecedented, improved percentages of 41%, 19.49%, 66% and 23% respectfully.

Notably, prior to my appointment, the best performance was March 2020 with a performance of N122,729,926.75 from 7395 transactions. The months of March, July, September and October 2021 have not just recorded higher figures but also higher transaction volumes, a direct consequence of my philosophy of encouraging Customers to pay water bills.”

 

The acting General Manager also disclosed that prior to her appointment last year October, the FCT Water Board who was generating little above N100 million now rakes in over N200 million monthly as revenue.

 

Speaking further, she disclosed the Boards plan to install solar in all its facilities to ensure timely printing of bills for customers.

 

She said that in 2021, the board recorded unprecedented improvement in areas such as; improved revenue, increased transaction volume reservoir and production department reservoir.

 

“We have a target of N400 million to N450 million monthly. I think we’ll get there and you rightly know that we already have an act which was approved and assented since 2017.

 

“It has not been easy to implement absolutely. By having that act, we are supposed to be autonomous and to be autonomous, we have to be both financially and otherwise.

 

“It has not been possible. Why? Because we have not be able to reach our target to be able to have everything within us but we are working towards that and I believe by next year, the autonomy will be achieved.”

 

While noting that the Board currently has 54,000 customers in its database, Princess Okoro further said that steps have been taken to update the database which could be said to be obsolete as it was prepared 25 years ago.

 

It became imperative to update the database as most of the houses captured then may no longer be in existence.

 

“We have even gone further because we have a database that was created 25 years ago. You would appreciate the fact that some of the data (houses), are no more in existence or the house owners are no more there.

 

“We have taken cognizance of that. So we will start the enumeration from next year. We want to enumerate all our customers from next year to be able to get accurate database.

 

“Presently, we have 54,000 customers on our database. Within that 54,000, some of those properties are no more in place. So we want to do enumeration which we have started.” She said

 

 

Also, the human capacity building received a boost through massive in-house and external training of personnel in the year 2021.  The organization, under the leadership of the the FCT Minister, Malam  Muhammad Musa Bello, celebrated the World Water Day on 22nd of March 2021 with the theme “valuing water’ in a classic manner.

 

 

 

Central Data Control Room (site No. 1) at Lower Usuma Dam Water Treatment Plant was handed over to M/S Daneejow Nigeria Limited for the Procurement and Installation of Hardware and Software for Real time pipeline Network; Information/Monitoring and Transmission for FCT Water Board.

 

 

 

PRODUCTION/MONITORING AND EVALUATION:

During The period under review, Washing of Recovery/Dirty Water Tank, Clarifiers, Filters and Chemical Tanks amongst other activities were carried out.

 

 

 

It is worthy to note that all these and more where achieved during the period under review amidst numerous challenges facing the Management and the FCT Administration

 

FCT Administration, Agriculture Secretariat: The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA  banned the use of scrap tyres to singe animals, warning of terrible health consequences for consumers.

 

 

Notably,  the Islamic Development Bank IsDB  committed about $55.5m to the development of Special Agro-Processing Zones SAPZ in the territory in the physical year.

 

The administration also announced its plan to engage the Agro Rangers Squad of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC to help provide security for farmers in the territory against threats posed by bandits fleeing into its fringes from its contiguous states.

 

 

Also, provision has been made in the 2022 budget for the procurement of 12 tractors for the six Area Councils in the territory to boost farming and ensure food security in the wake of constant influx of other Nigerians into the territory.

 

 

‘Embarrassing and worrisome Abattoirs local butchers in the nation’s capital, particularly in its abattoirs often use scrap tyres as substitute for firewood to singe or de-hair slaughtered ruminants.

 

However, Mandate Secretary, Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat in the FCT, Mallam Abubakar Ibrahim described the development in the abattoirs as an embarrassment.

 

 

Pledging that officials would pay greater attention to the abattoirs especially this Yuletide, the Secretary said his team was also partnering with relevant agencies to ensure efficient waste disposal at the abattoirs.

 

 

He said; “The issue of FCT abattoirs has become an embarrassment to the administration and as a sign of my commitment and determination to address this issue, the first two projects I visited were Kugbo and Karu Abattoirs.

 

 

“We want to ensure that we do the needful by first ensuring that water is provided in the abattoirs round the clock because when we visited the Kugbo Abattoir, we found out there was a water challenge and which my predecessor did a lot in that regards

 

 

“We want to ensure that the wastes are managed well. The fist approval I have was on waste evacuation.

 

 

“We want to make sure that the issue of use of tyres to skin animals is stopped. I went there and handed down the warning personally and we are working on a sustainable method for them to use. Efforts have been put in place in that direction.

 

 

“Another area we are looking at is animal husbandry and veterinary services so that we can have proper inspection of the meat.

 

 

“It is true that if we are to make progress in Agriculture, we have to go into mechanized farming and we have already given a directive to the Director, Administration and Finance that 12 tractors should be out in the 2022 budget. At least, each of the six Area Councils will have two tractors in 2022.

 

 

“I am happy to note that the Boards of the AfDB, IFAD and the ISDB, have all approved the Nigeria SAPZ Project on the 13th, 16th and 18th December, 2021, respectively. In the first phase, the ISDB is investing a minimum of Fifty-Five Million, Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand US Dollars ($55.47m) in the FCT SAPZ. We are committed to making this a resounding success and shall provide the needed counterpart contribution to complement this investment”, he added.

 

 

On post harvest losses, he said the secretariat has continued to sensitize farmers and extension workers on modern storage methods.

 

 

FCT IRS:The Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Services, FCT-IRS,  hinted on plan to embark on an aggressive public enlightenment campaign and sensitization programme to educate and mobilize prospective taxpayers with a view to boosting the revenue base of the FCT Administration.

 

The Acting Chairman of the agency, Malam Haruna Abdullahi who gave the hint noted that though since inception of the Service, they have been educating and sensitizing the residents and taxpayers to their civic responsibilities.

 

further more, he stated that in the year 2022, the Service will also embark on enforcement in collaboration with the relevant law enforcement agencies in line with Section 8 and Part V of the FCTIRS Act 2015.

 

Malam Abdullahi stressed that, the action has become necessary to address defaulters who insist on shortchanging the FCT Administration.

 

He also disclosed that in the coming year 2022, the service has further resolve to have continuous engagement with stakeholders across the six area councils in the FCT to further strengthen the synergy and collaboration with the critical players across the FCT.

 

According to him, ” We believe that our activities in the coming year would not only strengthen the Service for better performance on all our mandates, we shall activate fully the process to position FCT-IRS as a leading revenue generating agency in Nigeria”.

 

“Once again, we thank you for the support in the out-going year and we count on you to do even more in the coming year 2022”, he added.

 

He made commitments that, “We will not rest on our oars, until the Service becomes the highest Sub National  Revenue Generating Agency in the Country. We cannot achieve this alone; hence the need for the support of all our major stakeholders including the media”.

 

He pledged to work assiduously with the media and other critical stakeholders to raise the bar of revenue generation in the nation’s capital with the aim of overtaking Lagos in the nearest future.

 

However, as it stand currently, FCT is rated second in terms of revenue generation across the federation after Lagos state.

 

 

Transport Secretariat: The Transportation Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA),  said that the revenue generated by Department of Road Transport Services (DRTS), between January and end of November 2021 stands at N3.7 billion. This is as the Secretary, Transportation Secretary, Hon. Zakari Dobi,  disclosed that during the period under review, no fewer than 1,386 traffic offenders have been prosecuted.

 

 

As parts of measures to ensure compliance to the ban on the use of commercial motorcycles within the Federal Capital City and environs, the Ministerial Task Team between January and end of November this year impounded at least 1,823 motorcycles 499 tricycles 482 unpainted commercial taxis 315 vehicles for traffic light violation and 389 for illegal parking.

 

 

“Between January and December this year, a total of 50,123 vehicles were inspected with 28,517 scaling through while 21,786 failed the tests.

 

 

“1,386 traffic offenders were prosecuted during same period, 108 were discharged.

 

 

“We recorded 127,704 vehicles registration, 4,866 revalidated vehicles, 690 change of category and 247,876 renewals and other related activities between January and end of November, 2021.

 

 

“The revenue generated by DRTS between January and end of November 2021 stood at N3,795,634,120.78. This is an improvement from the N3.502,783.176.08 generated between January to December 2020.” He said

 

further more, it is revealed  that the Directorate will intensify efforts in 2022 to surpass the achievements recorded in 2021 Regularisation/certification of commercial vehicles/ e-hailing transport services will be inforce in 2022 just as we would commence registration of Dispatch bikes and riders certification.

 

Notably, the FCT Administration has concluded plans to collate a comprehensive database of all motorcycle, tricycle riders and owners in all the Area Councils in FCT, considering the recent security situation in the Territory.

 

 

 

“In 2006, there was a total ban on the operation of motorcycles in FCT, particularly the Federal Capital City (FCC), but with the recent happenings, we now have another programme that is called  Public Transport Management (PTM), system FCT. With this system, we are going to have all the details of all the operators of motorcycles, tricycles and motor vehicle operators.”

 

 

All the tricycle and motorcycles outside the FCC and all the area council will be duly registered.

 

 

The data of the owner of the vehicle and the rider would be taken. Apart from the data, they will be trained and they be given the rider certification for the purpose of security.

 

In case any thing happens, we’ll be able to trace the owner of the motorcycle if the rider is not there.

 

 

 

Education:The FCTA Education Secretariat listed eight strategic plans for schools across the territory in 2022.

 

Secretary FCT Education Secretariat, Malam Sani El-Katuzu, said in the year ahead security architecture will be strengthened with introduction of technologies, particularly for schools in vulnerable locations.

 

He  revealed that teachers’ welfare will be given priority, with the upgrade of physical facilities in all schools.

 

El-Katuzu also disclosed that in 2022  academic activities and programmes will commence at FCT University of Science and Technology (FUSTA), and transforming of FCT College of Education, Zuba  to FCT University of Education, Zuba.

 

He said other programmes would be close monitoring of private schools’  activities in the territory with a view to ensure compliance with existing regulations  and standards.

 

According to him, ” We owe it a duty, whoever we are, either as parents, guardians and custodians of children to put in more efforts and be vigilant and know what is happening in our schools, it will help us curb the excesses of students and other residents”

 

On the achievements recorded, El-Katuzu said  the secretariat established six Junior Secondary Schools, six Primary Schools, eight early Child centres, eleven Senior Secondary Schools across the six Area Councils of the FCT, bringing the total of Senior Secondary Schools to ninety three.

 

“It is indeed heart-warming to note that these new Senior Secondary Schools located in rural communities so that no child in FCT is left behind in terms of access to quality education services” he said.

 

Also, various Boards and Departments of the Education Secretariat have been charged to continue to intensify their efforts in providing, improving and sustaining the quality services they render in the Sector.

 

 

 

The Secretary explained that having received briefs from the directors on assumption of office, it is imperative for him to physically visit their various location of operations and meet with the management and staff of each Board and Department while soliciting for their maximum support and collaboration so that, they can together achieve all round success in the Education Sector within the time available.

 

El-katuzu said, everyone is a stakeholder either as Directors or Staff in the provision of functional education services in the FCT.

 

The Education Boss noted that, Education holds the key to other developments in any nation hence it could not be toyed with adding that the FCT Education Secretariat under his supervision is determined to restore the lost glory of the sector without compromising standards in the discharge their duties.

 

 

He said he will not take for granted any useful suggestions that will help to move the sector to a greater height noting that the Directors and Staff in the Education sector had a lot to offer in their various mandates considering their wealth of experiences in the sector.

He urged them to map out strategies in which challenges confronting the Education sector will be frontally tackled.

According to him, every service rendered by each Board and Department should enhance the attainment of good education for overall development in FCT.

 

He commended the Boards and Departments for their efforts to ensure Education in FCT holds a place of pride.

He expressed his delight at the ongoing e-Education platform registration explained by the Director, Department of Policy, Planning, Research and Statistics, Dr Sani Mohammed Ladan which is on FCT online and Multimedia Education portal where all schools in FCT are expected to register their staff to enable them log in and have access to e-lesson plan, e-note, e-scheme of work and e- time table.

 

The Director informed that, the Honourable Minister for FCT, Minister for State, FCT, Permanent Secretary, Secretary for Education, Directors and Desk officers on EMIS from the Six Area Councils have been registered and can access all FCT Schools at the comfort of their offices in order to monitor it or and assess the Teachers activities.

 

 

The Secretary for Education said, every support needed will be given for the success of the e-education as FCT Schools move from paper to paperless as expected in the digitalised world so FCT Schools can not only be accessed, but meet up with global practices.

 

Most importantly,  FCTA, revealed plan to transform the FCT College of Education, Zuba to University of Education.

 

 

 

El-katuzu said the Education secretariat would do everything humanly possible within the limit of resources available to ensure the actualisation of the establishment of the institution.

 

Similarly, the secretary disclosed that the secretariat would ensure the commencement of academic activities and programme at the FCT University of Science and Technology (FUSTA).

 

He also said that the FCTA administration would establish FCT Polytechnic and adopt technology as a strong tool in the delivery of education services to the residents of the territory and for education administration.

 

El-katuzu pledged to prioritize teacher’s welfare, improve their working conditions, and ensure that the security of students, teacher’s and assets are further strengthened with introduction of relevant technologies particularly for schools in vulnerable locations.

 

He assured that the secretariat would upgrade physical and educational facilities in all our schools and monitor closely the activities of private schools with a view to ensure compliance with existing regulations and standard.

 

El-katuzu also disclosed that the secretariat had concluded plans to ensure the use of Multimedia in the teaching and learning process through its expanded training programmes which lasted for five weeks with about 3500 evaluators, school heads, administrators and teachers across the six Area Councils.

 

According to him, the Department of Quality Assurance has registered 147 schools in 2021, carried out issuance of ‘Batch 14’ Accreditation Certificate for 2020 and also carried out 2,993 Resumption visits to both private and public for school checklist and guidelines provided by the secretariat.

 

El-katuzu decried lack of perimeter fence wall in some schools, encroachment on school lands by private developers and difficulties in acquiring lands for establishing new schools.

 

 

He therefore urged everyone to bring visible improvement to Education in the fulfilment of their mandates.

 

 

Health:

 

 

As Nigerians are going through the widening 4th wave of COVID-19, the FCT Administration under the leadership of Malam Bello reiterated that the emphasis is still on the non pharmaceutical strategies: such as minimising physical contact, keeping social  distances, wearing facemasks, and hand washing, to avoid the escalation of the pandemic.

 

In particular, the FCTA noted that the residents and other stakeholders in the nation’s capital city must take precautions, by continuing to be aware of established specific and simple preventive measures.

 

 

 

Dr. Abubakar Tafida, Secretary of FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat (HHSS) disclosed that about three weeks ago, the FCTA concluded that the Territory is into the forth wave, following a rising number of cases.

 

 

He added that as of Sunday December 19, 2021, FCT had a total of 84 cases, which brought cumulative cases so far confirmed in the FCT since the first wave to about 24,861.

 

“Now we have 1,246 active cases. We noted an additional 13 cases in the past 24 hours. In terms of people or cases  on admission, we have a total of 105; 92 of this number are in the Dome, 13 at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, this signifies the severity of the conditions, so preparedness is key to effectively handling the pandemic.

 

 

 

“So you can see that within the span of three weeks, we are having almost a thousand plus, so if we continue to neglect these preventive measures, the situation might become very alarming and difficult to handle.

 

 

 

“In our last meeting, we looked at the current situation, the increasing number of cases, what we have been doing, and we have developed strategies, which are in consonance with scientific and other data available to us.

 

“As we are going through this wave, the emphasis still is we need to take precautions ourselves. This is very important. The public must continue to be aware of these specific and simple preventive measures.

 

“And we are imploring all stakeholders; security, traditional, religious leaders, people of note , to ensure that they are supporting this effort, by imploring and advising people to continue to observe these measures.”

 

 

 

 

He continues: “As we are all aware, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a lot of global  upheaval, as there were lots of agitations, destructions , death and socioeconomic hardships.

 

 

 

“The Federal Capital Territory has always been in the firing line, probably it’s only Lagos State that would ahead of us. But in terms of preparedness and providing the leadership and other support, I don’t think there is any state that has exceeded the FCT Administration.

 

 

 

 

“We are making plans and preparations for expected new cases, and we have adequate bed spaces for what we have forecasted.

We made adequate arrangement for both medical and consumable supplies.”

 

 

Department of Reformed Coordination and Service Improvement (RCSI):

 

 

 

No fewer than two thousand, three hundred staff of the FCT Administration have been exposed to various Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills, aimed at improving service delivery to residents in the Territory.

 

 

 

It was gathered that the trainees were drawn from across the various Secretariats, Departments and Agencies (SDAs) of the FCTA, through the continuous capacity building interface scheme of the FCT Department of Reform Coordination and Service Improvement (RCSI), within the last eleven months.

 

 

Director of RCSI, Dr. Jumai Ahmadu made this disclosure Wednesday during an interactive session with journalists on the programmes and activities carried by the Department, which represent the summary of end the year report for 2021.

 

Ahmadu explained that the training programmes were mainly train the trainers driven initiatives, with the aim to bring the workforce up to date with current technological trends, for efficiency in the system.

 

She noted that Department leverages on continuous exposure of staff to capacity building initiatives especially in ICT, to enhance improved service delivery to residents in the Territory.

 

 

 

 

According to her, RCSI which was established by the FCTA in January 2020 , to serve as a focal point for driving all changes, reforms, innovation and improvement efforts within the Administration in line with the overall frameworks set by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), and other Central Agencies of Government, has been putting in place structures to boost its operations.

 

 

She listed some of the programmes and activities carried out by the Department for the year 2021 to include: launch of the Citizens’ Engagement Platform; Town Hall Meeting on Resettlement & Compensation; One Day Retreat on issues of Multiple Taxation; Town Hall Meeting on removal of illegal structures in the FCT.

 

She added that others include: Lagos Retreat on Multiple Taxation, sensitization on vitizen engagement Platform across the 6 Area Councils, Staff Recognition Award 2020, enlightenment workshop In Partnership with Code of Conduct Bureau on strict compliance with the Rules guiding assets declaration.

 

She continued:  “Three Day Sensitization Workshop for Desk Officers on the use of the citizens engagement platform, BPSR Lunchtime series held monthly.

 

“Training of website managers  partnership with the Bureau of Public Service Reforms on the participation in the scorecard of assessment in FG websites.

 

” And domestication of the FG E-Government Master Plan – talks with The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and

deployment of standard operating procedures in partnership with the office of the head of the civil service of the Federation-on going.”

 

 

 

 

 

To tackle infrastructure deficit in Abuja, the nation’s capital city, the FCT Minister, Muhammad Musa Bello,  flagged off commencement of project under the Abuja Land swap policy in Gwagwa district phase IV, signally the full resumption of the initiative, barely six years after its suspension by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

 

In particular, Bello officially handed over the site to Gwagwa Concession Ltd, and other  principal partners of the project that include

Julius Berger PLC and UBA as financiers, for the comprehensive infrastructure development under the FCT Land Swap programme.

 

 

Recall that the land swap scheme

designed to bridge the infrastructure deficit in the FCT, was initiated by the previous administration in 2012, before it was suspended at the inception of the present administration in 2015.

 

 

 

According to the Minister, the resumption of the initiative would pave way for provision of the desired infrastructure in the areas earmarked for the development.

 

Bello said the project which is coming under the land swap initiative was developed as a means of accelerating infrastructure development in the FCT.

 

 

 

“This is one in the series of the projects that we are going to flag off before the end of our administration.

 

 

“The FCTA is going to be very tough on ensuring the protection of the interest of the State, people and private partners”, he stated.

 

 

 

He explained that the government grant land to private investors, through public private partnership, to boost infrastructural provision in the city.

 

 

 

According to him, investors are expected to within 10-year development plan, facilitate provision of infrastructure development in the given site, encouragement of real estate development in line with the standard set by the FCTA.

 

He added that the initiative will help to resolve issue of compensation and resettlement of indigenous people.

 

He noted that government alone cannot fund infrastructural provision in FCT, as the cost of development runs into trillions.

 

 

Calling on the partners involved in the agreement to heed to the terms and conditions of the arrangement, the Minister however reiterated determination of the FCTA to ensure the protection of interest of all stakeholders under the land swap policy.

 

 

 

Similarly, the FCTA Permanent Secretary, Olusade Adesola explained that the return to the land swap initiative followed directive of President Muhammadu Buhari  to the Ministers to ensure continuation of existing ongoing projects.

 

 

He said it is a capital intensive project by a private company  in line with the land swap policy, aimed at assisting the FCTA to accelerate the development of the FCT.

 

 

 

It is worthy to note that all these and more where achieved during the period under review amidst numerous challenges facing the  FCT Administration