The Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) has explained why it is against the reintroduction of On-street parking, otherwise known as ‘Park and Pay’ policy on Abuja streets by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
The senior special assistant to the AMAC chairman on community development, Yunusa Yusuf Ahmadu, told newsmen in Abuja at the weekend that the reintroduction of the policy would deny AMAC the legitimate revenue it’s needs to provide social amenities to the people.
Recall that recently, the FCTA said it has concluded plans for the reintroduction of ‘Park and Pay’ policy on Abuja streets, which was suspended in 2014.
Ahmadu, however, described the reintroduction of the policy as unjustifiable, adding that AMAC has not permitted anybody to collect or manage motorists activities, on its behalf, especially on the streets and in the motor parks.
He maintained the council would resist any attempt by the FCTA to reintroduce the policy, adding that
the administration does not have the legal backing to reintroduce the policy.
Ahmadu asked the FCTA to
hands off the policy, which has been scheduled to take off by the end of first quarter of 2023.
“We want to warn clearly that we know the Minister as a law abiding citizen and nobody should cajole the minister to do the wrong thing.
We want to tell Candido that we have records of how he never allowed the park and pay to see the light of the day when it was initially introduced by the FCTA.
“The council knows some people that challenged it in the court. It was challenged and it was argued and defined by the judges and lawyers, it was clearly that it is the responsibility of the local government to collect park and pay or corporate parking or any other name they want to fine tone or call it.
So we want to tell the Transport Secretariat not to mislead the FCT Administration.
I personally know the Minister, I know what the Minister is capable of doing, he is a law abiding citizen and he wouldn’t want anything that will smear his name or not in tanden with the rule of law.
“We want to say clearly that as AMAC, we reject whatever action that will be introducing park and pay from the FCT Administration, because it is not their duty.
It is the duty of the local government, we have it in our laws, in our by laws, in our acts, whatsoever you want to define it, and it has been both in the court of law, and it is clear that it is our responsibility, so we are shocked that Candido is so inquisitive, because we know clearly that he was once the chairman of AMAC, while he was the chairman of AMAC he never allowed the park and pay to operated from the FCT Administration, why is he now so keen?
Because he is the Mandate Secretary Transport, we look at it as deliberate act to sabotage the revenue of AMAC, and that we feel is very very unfair and unacceptable.”