The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has called for the swift resumption and acceleration of the review of the Abuja master plan.
He made this call during a meeting with a delegation from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), led by its Chief Representative in Nigeria, Yuzurio Susumu, in Abuja on Tuesday.
JICA was awarded the project to review the Abuja master plan in 2019, and Mr. Wike emphasized the need to expedite the process to ensure completion by 2026, noting its critical importance for the administration.
“We need to speed up the process to ensure completion, ideally, by 2026. This is crucial for us as an administration,” he stated, acknowledging JICA’s commitment to urban development projects and expressing readiness to cooperate fully in achieving the objectives outlined in the master plan.
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Mr. Wike praised JICA for its sustained activities in Nigeria and commended its efforts in promoting agricultural practices to enhance food security and nutrition in the FCT. He emphasized the importance of sustaining these initiatives and exploring new opportunities for agricultural development.
In response, Mr. Susumu acknowledged the challenges facing the Abuja master plan review, including setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic and bureaucratic obstacles. However, he assured the minister of JICA’s ongoing efforts to advance the project and ensure its successful implementation.
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“We were happy to get the project for review as planned several years ago, and Japan’s government approved it for implementation. Since then, we’ve been trying to start the project, but unfortunately, there have been unfortunate issues like the COVID outbreak and bureaucracy, and we couldn’t start until now,” Mr. Susumu said.
The call by Mr. Wike underscores the importance of the Abuja master plan review and the collaborative efforts between Nigeria and JICA to ensure sustainable development in the FCT.
