FCT Residents to Pay for Street Packing from May 1

By Olawale Ajimotokan

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) announced yesterday that it would be reintroducing the park and pay policy in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), from May 1, 2021.

This was disclosed yesterday by the Acting Secretary of the FCT Transportation Secretariat, Mr. Usman Yahaya.

Yahaya said the revival of the on-street parking policy would restore parking order in the city.

He announced that four companies have been pre-qualified to manage the exercise in the entire Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) often regarded as the Abuja City Centre.

The AMAC would be split into four districts for proper execution of the exercise.

Acourt judgment five years ago halted the proposed park and pay policy after it ordered the FCTA to stop collecting fees from residents for parking on the streets within the metropolis.

“On-street parking management was suspended in 2014 as a result of an FCT High Court ruling that declared the operation illegal because it was not specifically mentioned in the 2005 FCT Road Transport Regulation. The scheme was riddled with so many complexities, the operators were accused of many ill acts, but we have resolved the issues, so from May 1 this year the scheme will kick off,” Yahaya said.

He said the resuscitation of the park and pay policy was the outcome of various measures embarked upon by the administration in the past seven years to resolve the reservation expressed by the court and the public with regards to the scheme.

He added that the FCT administration, in collaboration with its legal team, produced the FCT Parking Regulations 2019 to amend the parking section of 2005 FCT Road Transport Regulations.