The controversial park and pay scheme introduced some months by the Federal Capital Territory Administration has been suspended. This piece of information was contained in a press statement released by Nosike Ogbuenyi, Special Assistant on Media to the FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed.
The release disclosed that the decision to shelve the system was as a result of an FCT High Court judgment delivered on last Thursday, which declared the scheme illegal.
“The judgment delivered last Thursday, April 17, 2014 by Justice Peter Affen of FCT High Court declaring the scheme illegal was thus the culmination of the attacks launched against the new system by the forces resisting the new order.
“It is however noteworthy that the court in delivering the judgment rated the scheme as an excellent policy but only faulted it on the ground that there was no valid legislation backing it.”
“As a law abiding organisation that strongly believes in the rule of law, the FCT Administration has decided to comply with the judgment of the court. By this decision, all the operators licensed by the FCT Administration have been directed to immediately suspend the operation of the scheme to give full effect to the judgment.
“Meanwhile, the FCT Administration has set in motion the process for a review of the FCT Road Transport Regulation, 2005 to address the legal lacuna and to properly capture the on-street park and pay scheme in it including the incorporation of the extensive review already started by the Administration. The review is expected to address perceived loopholes in the scheme,” the statement explained.
The scheme was severally criticised by motorists in Abuja, who complained of the excesses of the companies licensed to collect the fees on behalf of the FCT Administration.
Minister Suspends ‘Park & Pay’ Scheme In Abuja http://t.co/le32wdUNTj