The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Friday told newly approved waste collection contractors that the administration will not tolerate incompetence, political patronage, or excuses in the management of waste across Abuja.
Addressing the contractors during a meeting in Abuja, Wike said waste management remains one of the biggest challenges confronting the capital city, largely due to the “insincerity and lack of capacity” of previous service providers.
“I’m going to talk to you about the importance of waste management in the city. I decided to have this brief interaction to let you know the importance of waste management in the FCT. If there’s one area where we’ve had problems, it has to do with the management of waste, and sincerity of contractors,” he said.
The Minister recalled that upon assumption of office in August 2023, he discovered that many contractors lacked the equipment and capability required for the job.
“When we came on board in August 2023, I found out that so many of the contractors don’t have any capacity for waste management. Of course, in our system, anything goes. Nobody will want to dare to correct things that are wrong,” he said.
He stated that the FCT Administration had since resolved to stop “political contractors” who secured jobs without readiness to work.
“I don’t know how you are picked, I don’t know how the procurement department do it, whether they are sure that you have the capacity, you have the equipment, or you just sat in their offices and look at the faces and contacts,” he noted.
Wike further announced that a task force will be set up to verify all waste collection zones, while expressing doubts about how some areas were carved out.
“Sometimes I don’t even believe some of these areas that have been carved out, whether they exist. I have seen Musa Yaradua in two or three areas. So I’m going to set up a task force that will monitor before anybody will tell me to approve payment,” he said.
He warned that any contractor working in high-visibility districts such as Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse II, and airport corridors must deliver consistently, as these routes shape the global perception of Abuja.
“Those of them who come, whether diplomats, may work and live within the vicinity of Wuse 2, Maitama, and Asokoro. So, that gives them the impression of how the entire city looks like. You must know that you have to work very hard,” he said.
“There is no weekend break. You cannot say because of the weekend, Saturday, Sunday, you don’t work. You must have a special team that have to remove refuse both Saturday and Sunday.”
Wike issued stern warning to contractors assigned to Asokoro, which he described as his “daily route.”
“If your company is Oscar, know that as I go to work and I see refuse, I will terminate the work immediately. I will terminate the contract. If you like, say due process was not followed. We remember that you have not done your job,” he said.
He insisted that contractors must show capacity, not connections, saying, “Do your work, get your pay. If you don’t do your work, you don’t expect to be paid. It will be terminated.”
He added that the administration would deduct payments for any day or week a contractor fails to evacuate refuse.
“If you say you were trying to fix your equipment, that means failure. We will not suffer because your equipment or vehicles are broken,” he cautioned.
The Minister directed the FCTA Procurement Department to inspect contractors, especially those awarded two or more zones, and submit a detailed report by Monday.
He said, “You must show me where your equipment are, where your office is situated. Not scraps. Not those that come and carry refuse and as they are going on the road, the refuse is dropping.
He emphasised that no area of the FCT should be left unserviced.
“If I see that somebody has capacity to take over your job, I will tell that company to take over that location and then pay the money I’m supposed to pay you to that company,” Wike warned.
“Nothing like contact. Nothing like I know the person who knows him. The only person who knows me is the person who wants to do the job and do it very well. If you’d like, be related to me, if you like let us be twins, it’s not my business,” he said, adding that, “we must get the job done.”
The Minister lamented the attitude of some residents who place refuse indiscriminately along the roads, including in high-income districts.
“In Asokoro now, you’ll see no poor man lives there. They bring out their refuse and put it in front. Now, who will come and collect it? You. Who will pay? They expect that it is the responsibility of the government,” he said.
He urged contractors to interface with residents in their zones so citizens can report gaps in service delivery.
“As citizens, they owe us that so we can also know that the contractors… are not living up to expectations,” he added.
NEWSNGR reports that the meeting followed the Federal Capital Territory Executive Council (FCT EXCO)’s approval on Thursday of major contracts in sanitation, transport, and waste evacuation.
Coordinator of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Felix Obuah, confirmed that EXCO had approved the provision of waste collection and management across the FCT.
“By Monday, the 17th of November, the new contractors will take up the waste collection and management of FCT… with this approval, you will see a clean Abuja,” he said.
Also briefing journalists, Coordinator of the Satellite Towns Development Department (STDD), Abdulkadir Zulkiflu, announced the ratification of a contract for emergency evacuation of waste in the Dogon-Gada community.
He said the N111,913,176 project, executed last October, cleared waste from open dumps, waterways, and streams within the area.
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