Wike Declares FCT’s ‘Park-and-Pay’ Scheme Illegal, Uncovers Fraud in Contract

Wike Declares FCT’s ‘Park-and-Pay’ Scheme Illegal, Uncovers Fraud in Contract

By Matthew Eloyi

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared the controversial On-Street Parking scheme, also known as the ‘Park-and-Pay’ scheme, illegal. He cited significant fraud within the contract agreement between the managing contractors and the FCT administration.

Speaking during a media briefing on Wednesday to mark his first year in office, Wike revealed that he was unaware of the scheme’s reintroduction in 2023.

“A colleague of mine, a senior advocate, called me and said, ‘Sir, people came to the office now, trying to hijack all our cars.’ He said they were from the Transport Secretariat. I said, ‘Give the person the phone.’ I asked, ‘Who are you? What are you doing?’ He said, ‘Park and Pay.’ I replied, ‘What do you mean by Park and Pay? I park a car in my house, and I pay?’” Wike recounted.

The scheme, initially introduced in 2014, was revived in 2023 after the FCT administration signed a N908.3 billion agreement with concessionaires NAJEC Limited and Messrs Automaten Technik Bauman Nigeria Limited.

The deal promised an estimated N26.93 billion in revenue over a 10-year period. However, Wike exposed a troubling clause in the agreement, which stipulated that 80% of the revenue would be paid to the contractors, leaving only 20% for the FCT administration.

“I instructed that a statement be drafted. I called the Director of Press and said, ‘Send out a statement informing the public that there is no such thing as Park and Pay. It is illegal. That’s what I’m trying to convey,” Wike stated.

The Minister further disclosed that such contracts were often arranged in collusion with secretariats within the FCT administration, vowing to reduce corruption in the system to the bare minimum.

“The point I’m making is that, no matter how you shuffle things, you still have civil servants working with you. It is not easy, but you try as much as possible to reduce it to the bare minimum. But we must continue to fight hard,” he emphasized.

Wike’s firm stance against the ‘Park-and-Pay’ scheme is seen as part of his broader efforts to cleanse the FCT administration of corrupt practices.