Reps quiz FCTA official over park & pay policy
The House of Representatives Committee on FCT has quizzed the FCTA Mandate Secretary for Transportation, Chinedum Elechi, over the reintroduction of the “park and pay” policy in the territory.
In a session with Elechi and his team, the committee, chaired by Muktar Aliyu Betara, asked the officials to explain how the policy was brought back after a court declared it illegal.
The committee lamented that residents and motorists in the nation’s capital were being harassed by those employed to enforce the policy.
City & Crime reports that the FCTA reintroduced the policy in August, 2023, after signing an agreement with two concessionaires.
The policy was suspended in April, 2014, after a high court stopped the
FCTA from collecting fees from residents for on-and-off the street parking within the metropolis. The court ruled that the policy was not backed by law.
Betara, therefore, demanded details on how the reintroduced park and pay arrangement was established, who authorised it and how remittances were being made to the coffers of the FCTA.
Responding, Elechi said the policy was regulated and supported by a legal framework and that only designated areas served as parking zones.
He said, “The park and pay is by regulation. We have a legal framework. It is part of the ways of controlling traffic. “So, under the park and pay, designated areas are meant to be parks. So, it is legal.
“It is (revenue) paid through concessionaires. There is usually a ratio between the concessionaires and the FCT. So, for areas where we have the concessionaires, there is a percentage that goes to the concessionaires. It is 60 per cent; and 40 percent goes to FCT. The infrastructure for the work is usually provided by the concessionaires. It (revenue) goes straight to the revenue account of the FCT; not transportation.”
Betara asked, “How was the contract established? In appointing your concessionaires, what procedure did you follow? How much has been remitted to the FCDA from January to date? Who gave you the approval?”
Responding, Hussaina Olayemi, the Director of Legal Services of the Transport Secretariat, explained that the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and the Abuja Investment Company (AIC) - the FCT’s organisation responsible for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) - were involved.
She said, “After their involvement, the concession was submitted to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval. So, we have the FEC’s approval.”
The committee criticised the FCDA for allocating 60 per cent of the policy’s revenue to concessionaires while the government received only 40 per cent, demanding a clarification on what infrastructure the concessionaires were providing.
Replying, the mandate secretary stated that the concessionaires were responsible for marking roads.
However, the committee’s chair countered, asserting that no roads in Abuja had been marked by the concessionaires.
The committee ruled that during the next appearance, the mandate secretary should bring a copy of the agreement with the concessionaires and details of the remittances received from January to date.