…Warns staff against unauthorized allocation of parks
By Joyce Remi- Babaueju
The FCT Minister Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello has tasked the Joint Union Action Committee, JUAC, the umbrella body of the various employees’ unions in the Federal Capital Territory Administration to properly maintain a Recreationnal Park which was allocated to the Union.
Bello announced the park allocation in Abuja on Friday, September 30, 2022, during the third quarter meeting with JUAC which was held at the park ground.
According to the Minister, the Park will be open for use for all staff of the FCTA and its numerous agencies for recreational and sporting activities as well as sundry ceremonial events.
The Minister disclosed that the park which is an officially designated green area located on plot number 1470, BO5 at the Utako District of the city, said that the allocation was part of efforts by the FCT Administration to ensure the greening and beautification of the city, adding that it should be used to showcase how Parks should be managed in the nation’s capital.
He further disclosed that the Departments of Parks and Recreation and Development Control as well as the AEPB and FCDA have been mandated to ensure that the Park is properly fenced, well maintained and kept clean at all time, to meet the required standards of park operations in the city.
The Minister who also spoke against the practice of converting Parks and Gardens in the FCT for uses other than what is prescribed by law, cautioned the Union against erecting permanent structures in the Park, insisting that it should be used strictly for recreational activities.
Meanwhile he also warned the Parks and Recreation Department of the FCT against the illegal and unauthorized allocation of parks in the FCT, stressing that any official of the Department that is found guilty of engaging in such acts would be heavily sanctioned alongside their collaborators.
Reacting to the unexpected gesture from the Minister, FCTA Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olusade Adesola, commended the Minister for going the extra mile to allocate a very central and accessible Park for use by staff of the FCT Administration. He attributed the gesture to the Minister’s principle and love for FCTA staff and everyone.
Adesola assured that the Park would be well maintained by relevant agencies of the FCT Administration to make it a model for parks operation in the FCT.
He said, “We will support the efforts of JUAC to make this place well maintained and useful to all of us. We will make it a model park so that anybody that wants to talk about Parks operation will say come to our park and see how to run a park. We will maintain opening and closing times and limit our activities to what is required to run a park.”
The JUAC Chairman, Comrade Korede Matilukuro, who expressed his appreciation at the gesture with solidarity songs and dances, pledged that the park will indeed be well maintained and used strictly for the purposes for which it was allocated.
