MY COVENANT WITH ABUJA RESIDENTS – FCT MINISTER
My fellow Abuja Residents, we must all acknowledge that the FCT in general and the Federal Capital City (FCC) in particular have come a long way from the beautiful idea conceived in 1976, to a bustling growing modern city hosting a population of several millions and with an unmatched growth rate of any city in Nigeria.
However, it is also true that a number of things have not gone right with the development and management of the city, thus the legion of problems that today define the perception of the city in the eyes of its average resident or visitor. My pledge therefore as your humble servant, is to ensure that the administration of the FCT returns to the trajectory conceived by its Founding Fathers, which is for Abuja to be a symbol of Nigeria’s aspirations for unity and greatness.
My overriding objective during my tenure will be to facilitate an administration that promotes a modern and sustainable city, which is defined by a functional and integrated infrastructure, with viable self-funding and an economy capable of providing employment to our teeming youths. I will strive to surmount some of the most visible challenges facing the FCT particularly overstretched infrastructure due to rapid population growth, poor maintenance culture, poorly maintained roads, blocked water and sewer lines, poor waste management practices, influx of beggars and street hawkers and poorly maintained street and traffic lights system.
Greater attention would be given to the problem of commuter transportation, water supply to the city and satellite towns, uncompleted projects (including critical major infrastructure as well as Satellite Towns development projects) and ensure upgrade of all educational and health facilities. Our goal in the end is to make the quality of life more meaningful for the residents of the city in line with the social change agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari.
AGIS AT A GLANCE
The bold decision taken by Government of the Federation in the year 2003 to embark on complete computerization of the cadastral and land registry of the FCT led to the establishment of an agency – known as Abuja Geographic Information Systems – AGIS.
Dr. Isa Ibrahim Jalo (Director/CEO, AGIS)
Within three years of its establishment the project was able to revolutionize the entire operations of the Land Administration and other land related departments of the FCT.
Decision concerning land can now be taken from an informed position with a reliable and up to date data. AGIS has become a symbol of transparency and good governance within not only the Federal Capital Territory alone but within the entire Federation of Nigeria. The acronym AGIS stands for “Abuja Geographic Information Systems”.
The AGIS project includes the introduction of SDI (Spatial Data Infrastructure) for F.C.T, the computerization of spatially related workflows in selected FCDA departments and agencies and the build up of the AGIS Resource Centre. AGIS also is the new FCDA (Federal Capital Development Agency) department for computerized land administration. The “AGIS Resource Centre” is going to be a service company for: spatially related data and services for F.C.T. and a computerized front & back office (“one stop shop”) for FCDA departments.
Front view of AGIS complex
The AGIS projects ambitious objective is to establish AGIS as an independant service provider and as the only official source for Geospatial Data on FCT, covering all of FCT: Provide a Comprehensive, All-Inclusive, state-of-the-Art, Foolproof, Computerized, Geospatial Data Infrastructure for the FCT.
Computerize the Cadastral and Land Registry for the FCC (Federal Capital City), the Area Councils and Satellite Towns of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) The AGIS Resource Centre is operating: in the AGIS Building, as an independent service provider, as a professional GIS/LIS Resource Centre, as the only official source for Geospatial Data on FCT, covering all of FCT, with revenues (additional revenues, not existing ones shifted to AGIS). AGIS should guarantee: Continuity, Scalability, Flexibility, Consistency, Sustainability, Reliability, Replicability.
