By Myke Agunwa
The Conference of Professionals in the Peoples Democratic Party (CP-PDP) has called on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to hold a live media public hearing and allow Nigerians to interrogate him on the management of funds and lands in the FCT in the same way he has been holding live media chats on the activities of the PDP.
The group in a statement by its national coordinator, Barr. Obinna Nwachukwu on Thursday, described the FCT is a cesspool of corruption, mismanagement of funds, land grabbing, racketeering, vindictive revocation and demolition of property.
It also alleged that fleecing of residents, commuters and businesses with heavy tariffs, multiple levies and fees, are the everyday practices in the nation’s capital.
The group accused Wike of “treasury looting, opaque award and inflation of contracts, pillaging of collected levies and non-compliance with public spending due process by officials since the removal of the FCT from the monitoring mechanisms of the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
“As professionals, the Conference, after thorough review, submits that the arbitrary removal of the FCT from the TSA by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is an invitation to unaccountability and recklessness in the management of the resources of the Territory”.
The Conference demanded that the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, convene a live media public hearing and open the books of the FCT for public scrutiny in line with the demands of accountability and transparency under a democratic government.
The group said that the FCT Minister will use the opportunity created by the public hearing to clear the air on the issues as well as come clean on the source of funding for his foreign trips, partisan engagements and heavy convoy, since assumption of office which create the impression that the minister is in popularity contest with the President.
While awaiting the FCT Minister on the earliest date, time and venue for the live media public hearing, the CP-PDP directed all professionals in public accounts, procurements, land management, contract award and implementation, project engineering and monitoring to immediately commence compilation of necessary materials as memoranda ahead of the hearing.
The CP-PDP reassured Nigerians of its commitment towards democracy, transparency, stability and growth in the polity.