The Federal Ministry of Works, Federal Character Commission, Merit House Maitama, and Murg plaza have been sealed by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) over waste management arrears owed to the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB).
Addressing journalists during the exercise, Director of the board, Engr Osilama Briamah, said the affected agencies refused to pay for the services of the board.
The board’s Director, Engr. Osilama Briamah, told the press during the exercise that the impacted agencies refused to pay for the board’s services.
He indicated that the board had a large amount of money hanging around waiting for defaulters to respond.
According to him, the currently ongoing operation would cover all public and private offices owed to the board.
The defendants had been summoned by a senior magistrate court in Wuse II, Abuja, to appear before it on March 30, 2022, but they did not show up.
The breakdown of the debts showed that Federal ministry of Education owed N25,838,275, Federal Ministry of Defence -N17,220,775.00 and Federal character commission–N10,128,906.25.
Others include Civil service commission–N2,451,649.50, Revenue mobilisation and fiscal commission—N21,683,750.00; Federal ministry of Health N 14,204,843.75, Fed ministry of Trade & Investment—N19,222,287.50, Federal ministry of Works — N9,998,625.00, Nigeria Security and civil Defence corps wuse- N16,583,031.25.
Ikahro Attah, the senior Special Assistant on Monitoring Inspection and Enforcement to the Minister of FCT, who led the enforcement, said the operation was part of an initiative put together by the minister of FCT and the permanent secretary to recover the board’s extreme debts.
According to Attah, the FCT Administration is concerned about the large amount owed to FCTA.
“The FCT Administration requires sufficient funds to build infrastructure and keep the city running.” The administration has decided to target Ministries, parastatals, agencies, and private citizens. “We cannot wait for government funds to be restricted; it is wrong for people not to pay for services rendered,” he said.
