The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared the On-Street Parking scheme, commonly known as the ‘Park-and-Pay’ scheme, to be illegal, citing fraudulent practices in the contract agreement between the managing contractors and the FCT administration.
Wike made this declaration during a media briefing on Wednesday, marking his first year in office as FCT Minister. He revealed that the scheme, initially introduced in 2014 and reintroduced in 2023, was underpinned by a contract worth N908.3 billion with concessionaires NAJEC Limited and Messrs Automaten Technik Bauman Nigeria Limited. The agreement was estimated to generate N26.93 billion in revenue over a 10-year period.
Wike disclosed that he was unaware of the reintroduction of the scheme, which he claims stipulated an 80 percent payback to the contractors, leaving only 20 percent to be remitted to the administration. He has directed the release of a statement to inform residents that the scheme is illegal and emphasized that people should not be required to pay for parking in front of their homes or businesses.
In his remarks, Wike shared an anecdote: “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 further inquired from the Transport Secretariat and the Mandate Secretary about the scheme and its financial arrangements. He discovered that the agreement involved consultants receiving 80 percent of the funds, with only 20 percent going to the government. “Where is this 20 percent being paid to the government?” Wike questioned. “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,’” he said.
Wike also addressed the issue of corruption within the FCT administration, stating, “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.”
