Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has requested the Senate to approve a security vote for the office of tbe Minister to enhance the administration tackle the security challenges in the nation’s capital.
Wike stated this when he appeared before the Senate Committees on FCT and Area Councils to defend the N1.1 trillion budget of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) for the o2024 fiscal year.
Wike said approving the security vote for the FCTA was necessary to ensure that security agencies eliminate threats without going through the rigours of official bureaucracy capable of delaying action and revealing sensitive security information.
“If you recollect what we said in the Security Council meeting, I did say that in tackling the issue of insecurity, there are certain operations that we call covert operations and that even some people may not even know. But here in Abuja or FCT, no security man can be given N10,000.
“He has to apply. You have to take it to the permanent secretary, who will take it to the DFA (Director of Finance and Accounts) before the money will be released. Now, in that case, you don’t even know whether it is the permanent secretary or the DFA that is giving out information regarding the operation,” the minister noted.
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Abuja recently witnessed increased cases of kidnappings, armed robbery and killings of innocent residents, a situation that necessitated the Senate to surmon the Minister and the FCT commissioner of police to the National Assembly for explanation.
According to Wike, “There is no security vote in the FCT and so, I did present this when we discussed security issues. This is just to let you know, so you don’t forget that you did promise us that you would make sure that this time around, there would be a security vote to take care of some of these challenges.”
