Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Wike, has expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the recently awarded solid waste cleaning contractors.
Wike, who stated this at a meeting with the contractors in his office on Tuesday, expressed his deep dissatisfaction with their performance, barely two weeks after they commenced operations.
The minister acknowledged that waste disposal is globally challenging, especially in developing nations, but stressed that the Administration will not tolerate excuses for non-performance.
Wike stated that he had been inundated with calls from residents and stakeholders on how messy the city is, stressing that though the contractors have just started, ‘a good dancer is known by the first step he takes.’ “The moment you take the first step, you would have known whether this is a good dancer or not”, he said.
He highlighted that key districts and major entry points like Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse, and the Airport Road corridor, must be prioritised, as they determine the public perception of the city’s cleanliness.
The minister also issued a final appeal, linking the contractors’ performance directly to their livelihood:
“I felt that I don’t want to take a decision without calling you back to say look, disappoint your enemies, disappoint your detractors so that you continue with the job. It’s your daily earning where you live. It’s your workshop. If you don’t work, you won’t eat. So, take it very seriously.
“My appeal is that we have to take this waste management very serious… We must be up and doing to ensure that we really change the city in terms of waste management,” he charged the contractors.
He also assured the contractors that if they perform their duties diligently, there will be no delays in processing their payments.
The minister equally appealed to FCT residents to pay their sanitation fees and urged them to cooperate by properly bagging their refuse and bringing it out at specified times.
To combat indiscipline and indiscriminate refuse disposal, Wike disclosed that a new task force would be established to focus on sanitation enforcement.
“We are trying to set up a task force whereby if anybody carries refuse or construction waste—if I see that you don’t bag your refuse, you put it on the ground in front of your house, I will take it inside your house. I will make sure the task force carries it inside your house. We cannot continue like this like a country without discipline,” he stated.