Jonathan’s Agenda Is Our Guide – Engineer John Chukwu, Permanent Secretary, FCT

Tajudeen Suleiman and Nicholas Uwerunonye

What, in your own assessment, are the achievements of Bala Mohammed as the FCT Minister?

Well, the results are obvious, you are journalists; you should be able to see the evidence yourselves.  You can see the work of the FCT administration under Senator Mohammed. You can see the infrastructure that is being done. The Kubwa Road is one; the Airport Road is another. The water supply, the health care and the educational sector and, of course, the transport policy, these are all aimed at improving the quality of lives, the security of the city and a safe environment for the residents. The FCT administration has keyed into the Transformation Agenda of Mr. President.

What would you consider the highlights of the achievements of the FCT administration?

Let me summarise it. A few years ago, you know how long it took you to get to the city from the airport. The roads have been expanded and you now have streetlights lighting your neighbourhood throughout the night. If you go around the FCT at night, the lights are on and security agents are visible. We want to sustain the sanity we have been able to achieve in the lives of residents.

What kind of an administrator is the FCT Minister?

He is a man of vision, a man of passion in whatever he does. He is a great mobiliser of men. The advantage he has is that he has worked in the civil service. This makes it quite easier to deal with. Of course you cannot take away his other competences as a politician, an administrator and so on. I find him quite easy and cooperative to work with.

Any challenges as an administrator in the FCT?

Well, the FCT is not like other MDAs; it is like a state. We have 28,000 staff like in a state. You are talking of roads, health, education, and so on. You are talking of issues to do with community, chieftaincy and so on. Then you have issues in the contiguous states because what happens in Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger affects us here. Then you have influx of people, people who now see the FCT as a safe haven. So you are dealing with increased demographics but with limited resources. We have lots of challenges meeting with these challenges.