Reps oppose reintroduction of Abuja park & pay policy

Members of the lower legislative chamber of the National Assembly have voiced their opposition to the re-introduction of the park and pay policy in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Justice Peter Affen, of the FCT High Court had in his ruling in 2014 declared the policy as ‘illegal’ following which its implementation was suspended.

The lawmakers, during the debate on the motion sponsored by Uko Nkole, titled ‘call for the restructuring of the park and pay policy in the federal capital territory in line with the international best practices,’ opposed the motion through voice vote.

The lawmakers argued that the house has no jurisdiction to make laws for the FCT and that since the court has ruled that it was illegal, it will be in unparliamentarily for the house to reintroduce it for the second time.

In his lead debate, Nkole explained that the policy was abolished as a result of a High Court ruling that it had no backing of any known law, and that the court ruling that declared the policy illegal meant that certain fundamental actions necessary for implementation of such policy were not taken by the FCT administration before embarking on it.

Nkole however admitted that the policy was characterised with fraud, harassment, thuggery and other forms of irregularities while it lasted which he said made the FCT residents to celebrate its abolition.

He further observed that “staff of ministries, departments and agencies have designated official parking spaces which high profile visitors had access to, which shows the policy to be discriminatory and only targeted at the less privileged, in violation of section 15(1, 2) of the Constitution of Nigeria.”

While soliciting for the leave of the house for the FCT administration to package the park and pay policy as a bill for the consideration of the National Assembly, Nkole argued that “the planned reintroduction of the policy without proper planning and legal framework could again inflict FCT residents with the kind of fraud, harassment and illegalities they earlier went through.

“The millions of naira generated from illegal operation of the policy while it lasted, is yet to be accounted for by both the FCTA and the private operators of the scheme who acted with gross impunity,” said Nkole.

KEHINDE AKINTOLA