Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike on Wednesday declared the “Park and Pay” scheme in Abuja as illegal.
Wike disclosed this during a live media parley with select journalists to commemorate his one year in office in the nation’s capital.
According to him, the scheme which has been siphoning government funds under the guise of a legal operation, was brought to his attention by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN.
“The scheme, which appears to have been operating under the radar, highlights a critical flaw in the system that allows private consultants to pocket the lion’s share of revenues meant for the government,” the FCT minister said.
“These are things we need to fight within the system. Sometimes, if you don’t bring it to our attention, we may not know. We can’t be everywhere.
“The incident unfolded when a Senior Advocate of Nigeria reached out to me with a troubling report. He said, ‘Sir, some people came to our office and they are trying to seize our cars. They claim to be from the Transport Secretariat. I asked him to give the person the phone, and I asked the person, ‘Who are you?’ He said, he is ffrom ‘Park and Pay from the Transport Secretariat.”
Unaware of such activities, the immediate past governor of Rivers State, said he immediately sought clarification.
“I wasn’t aware of this, so I called the person in charge of it. I asked, ‘Who collects the money?’ Unknown to us, there are agreements between the secretariat and some people who claim to be consultants. So, the consultant takes 80%, and the FCT administration takes 20%,” Wike explained.
After declaring their activities as illegal, the minister added that immediate action would be taken to dismantle the operation.
“I’m trying to say that it’s illegal, and nothing like that exists. And if my colleague hadn’t called me, I wouldn’t have known,” he concluded.
“Park and Pay”, a popular On-street parking scheme, which was first introduced about a decade ago, was suspended following public outcry.
However, it was reintroduced in August last year, just few days before Wike assumed office as minister.
