Wike says park and pay scheme illegal
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has declared the On-Street Parking scheme, also known as the ‘Park-and-Pay’ scheme, illegal, citing fraud in the contract agreement between the managing contractors and the FCT.
The Minister made the statement on Wednesday during a media briefing to commemorate his first year in office as FCT Minister.
The scheme, which was first introduced in 2014, was also reintroduced in 2023 after the FCT administration signed a massive N908.3 billion agreement with concessionaires NAJEC Limited and Messrs Automaten Technik Bauman Nigeria Limited, each of which will generate an estimated N26.93 billion in revenue over a 10-year period.
The then-Permanent Secretary of the FCT, Olusade Adesola, who signed the agreement on behalf of the FCT in August 2023, noted that the scheme was reintroduced with the permission of the six area councils and that it sought to establish order and organization in the city.
However, Wike stated that he was uninformed of the reintroduction program, noting that the deal called for an 80% repayment to the contractors, with just 20% to be paid to the administration.
He said that he has now requested that a statement be issued informing residents that the scheme was illegal, emphasizing that people should not be forced to pay for parking in front of their businesses or places of living.
“A senior advocate colleague called me and said, ‘Sir, people came to the office now, trying to hijack all our cars.'” He claimed they were from the Transportation Secretariat.
I said, ‘Give the person the phone.’ I asked, “Who are you?” What are you doing? He said, ‘Park and pay.’ I responded, “What do you mean by Park and Pay?” I park a car in my house, and I pay?
“I contacted the Transportation Secretariat and the Mandate Secretary. I inquired about who introduced the Park and Pay concept and what it entailed.
Who collects the money? It was discovered that the (Transport) Secretariat had reached arrangements with several individuals claiming to be consultants. Then I questioned, “Do consultants take 80% and the government takes 20%?”
“Where is the 20% being paid to the government? I requested that a statement be drafted. I called the Director of Press and requested that he issue a statement notifying the public that Park and Pay does not exist. It’s illegal. “That’s what I’m trying to convey,” he remarked.
The Minister said that contracts such as the Park and Pay scheme were established in collaboration with administration secretariats, claiming that he was working to minimize corruption in the system to a bare minimum.
“The point I’m saying is that no matter how you shuffle things, government servants will still be working with you. It’s not easy, but you do your best to keep it to a minimum. But we must continue to fight hard,” he said.
