In a decisive move to combat corruption within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Minister Nyesom Wike has declared the controversial ‘Park and Pay’ policy in Abuja illegal.
Wike made this announcement during a live media parley on Wednesday, marking his first year in office as FCT minister.
The minister revealed that the scheme, which has been diverting government funds under the pretense of legitimacy, was brought to his attention by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). According to Wike, the policy involved private consultants who were pocketing the majority of the revenues meant for the government.
“A call from a Senior Advocate exposed a scheme that has been siphoning government funds under the guise of a legal operation,” Wike stated. “These are the issues we must address within the system. Sometimes, if these matters aren’t brought to our attention, we may remain unaware. We can’t be everywhere.”
The situation came to light when the Senior Advocate informed Wike about individuals attempting to seize cars under the pretext of the ‘Park and Pay’ program, claiming to represent the Transport Secretariat. Wike recounted the conversation, saying, “The Advocate said, ‘Sir, some people came to our office, and they are trying to seize our cars. They claimed to be from the Transport Secretariat.’ I asked him to hand the phone to them, and I questioned the person, ‘Who are you?’ He said he was from ‘Park and Pay’ under the Transport Secretariat.”
Unaware of such operations, Wike immediately sought clarification. “I wasn’t aware of this, so I called the person responsible. I asked, ‘Who collects the money?’ To our surprise, there were agreements between the secretariat and certain individuals posing as consultants. These consultants take 80% of the revenue, leaving only 20% for the FCT administration,” he explained.
Wike firmly declared the operations of the ‘Park and Pay’ program illegal and assured that immediate actions would be taken to dismantle the scheme. “I’m telling you, this is illegal, and nothing like that should exist. If my colleague hadn’t called me, I wouldn’t have known,” the FCT Minister concluded.
