Nyesom Wike, the Federal Capital Territory’s Minister, voiced serious concerns in a recent Daily Post article about the insufficient legal consequences for anyone found damaging public property. Wike stressed that when people are caught destroying public property, including manhole covers or street lights, the punishment is merely a little N10,000 fine.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
During his address in Abuja at the Ministerial Sectoral Updates, part of the events marking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s first year in office, Wike highlighted the current legal framework’s ineffectiveness in preventing such crimes.
The initial session of the Sectoral Briefing was attended by several prominent government officials, including the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu; Minister of FCT, Mr. Nyesom Wike; Minister of Youth Development, Jamila Ibrahim Bio; Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu; Minister of State for FCT, Mariya Mahmud; Minister of State Petroleum, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri; and Minister of State for Youth Development, Mr. Ayodele Olawande.
Wike remarked, “For example, we install street lights, only to find them vandalized at night, with the cables cut and stolen. When these criminals are arrested and prosecuted, the law imposes a fine of just N10,000, which is not a sufficient deterrent.”
He called upon the National Assembly to help rectify this issue. “As I’ve told the National Assembly, this time, they have to come to my rescue. They have to review the law to make it very tough so that if you are caught, there’s no option of fine and if there’s an option of fine, the money will be too high,” he added.
Additionally, Wike highlighted the involvement of certain contractors in these crimes, stating, “Many contractors who supply these cables end up reselling them to the vandals. We are confronting criminals on multiple fronts and are implementing measures to tackle these problems.”CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
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