Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has stated that the FCT Administration will make a definite decision on open grazing within Abuja‘s city center after consulting with herders.
“Before we take any decision, we will do proper consultation so that nobody will say you never alerted them, you never interacted with them before you took that decision.
“We are going to call the cattle people to sit with them. We cannot allow things to go on like this. We didn’t say that there will be no cattle in Abuja, but within the city,” he said.
Visitodell gathered that Mr. Wike made the disclosure while fielding questions from journalists after reviewing some road construction in Abuja on Saturday.
Cows would be allowed to graze in the outskirts but not in the city center, he claimed.
Concerning the prohibition on commercial motorbikes from operating within the city center, the minister stated that a stronger decision will be made if the federal government supplied buses as alternatives.
“We did not take a firm decision because we have not been able to provide the buses that will be the alternative for the people.
“It is within the government’s responsibility to provide the alternative and then ask the motorcycle operators to leave the city centre.
“This is so that you don’t ask them to leave, and people will be suffering; no,” he said.
Some of the projects seen were the completion of Roads B6, B12, and Circle Road in the Central Area, as well as the rehabilitation of the Federal Secretariat, which Julius Berger is in charge of.
The minister also examined Setraco’s building of the southern Parkway from Christian Centre (S8/9) to Ring Road 1, as well as CGC’s expansion of the outer Southern Expressway.
The project had four interchanges and ran from Villa Roundabout to the OSEX/Ring Road 1 Junction.
Mr Wike also examined the full scope development of Arterial Road N20, from Northern Parkway to ONEX, with Gilmor Engineering handling spurs.
