Malam Mohammed Musa Bello, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has urged residents to participate in the upcoming 2023 general election next month with a focus on peace, harmony, and togetherness.
In his New Year's address, the minister who made this declaration congratulated FCT residents for their outstanding behaviour and noted that they had demonstrated a commitment to the FCT's founding values of harmony and peaceful coexistence.
The minister asserts that in his New Year's message for 2023, he urged residents to cast ballots in local council elections and commended them for electing council chairs in accordance with the law and democratic principles.
“Once again, I call on all of us, in the same spirit of peace, unity, and togetherness, to participate in the 2023 general elections next month. As residents of the FCT, we are obliged to live up to the ideals of the founding fathers of the territory as a place that every Nigerian can call home.
“We must collectively resist any attempt to cause disharmony and disaffection within our ranks. Elections in the FCT have always been peaceful. Let us ensure that the upcoming 2023 polls also reflect this.
“In the preceding year, the FCT Administration consolidated its efforts of providing world-class infrastructure for the territory with efforts to complete ongoing projects and investing heavily in the maintenance and upgrading of existing ones.
“It is to our credit that despite the heavy rainfalls and attendant floods that devastated several parts of the country, we were largely spared this misfortune. This is because, having learned from our experiences in the past, adequate measures were taken to prevent any such re-occurrence,” he said.
For the sake of safety and the integrity of the Abuja Masterplan, Bello also asked for the public’s help in eradicating squatter settlements and other forms of urban blight within the metropolis.
“It must be understood that these corrective measures are essential if truly our city is to evolve into one of the world’s most aesthetically pleasing and functional cities. The presence of illegal settlements and shanties will only draw us further away from attaining this goal.
“Fellow residents, we are confronted daily with the unwholesome and unpatriotic activities of vandals who wantonly destroy or steal public infrastructure installed by the government at great cost—replacing or repairing this critical infrastructure cost a lot of money which otherwise would have been invested in other equally essential projects.
“You are therefore urged to treat critical public infrastructure as you would treat your personal property and help to protect all public assets located within your vicinity.
“I also wish to commend the security agencies in the FCT for the tremendous work they have been doing in ensuring the safety of lives and property within the Territory as the incidences of violent crimes have witnessed a decline over the past few months,” he said.