Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has declared the On-street Parking scheme, popularly known as Park and Pay, as illegal in the nation’s capital, Abuja.
Wike made this declaration during a live media chat on Wednesday in Abuja, as part of his first anniversary in office.
He stated: “I was away, a colleague of mine, a friend of mine called me, he is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. He said ‘sir, people came to our office now trying to hijack all our cars and that they said they were from the Transport Secretariat’. I said, what is that? I said give the person the phone. I said who are you and he said from Park and Pay. I said what do you mean by Park and Pay? I park in my house and I pay?”
Wike further explained: “I called the Mandate Secretary of Transport Secretariat. I said, come, who introduced the Park and Pay? What does it mean? Who collects the money? Unknown to us, there was an agreement between the Secretariat and some people who say they are consultants. Consultants? I said okay, consultant takes 80 percent and the government takes 20 percent? I said okay, where is this money paid into? I said, draft a statement and call the Director, Press, send out the statement that the public should be aware that there is nothing called Park and Pay.”
The minister emphasized: “So, sometimes, these things are done in convince with the various Secretariats. I was a governor. So, I know that these things happen and we won’t deny that fact.”
Wike urged residents to continue to report any illegal activities in their areas, stating that if his attention had not been drawn to the Park and Pay scheme, he may not have known of its existence.
