1. Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike has expressed the desire of the FCT Administration for continued partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).



2. The FCT Minister said this in Abuja on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 when a delegation from JICA led by its Chief Representative in Nigeria, Mr Yuzurio Susumu paid him a courtesy visit in office.



3. Barrister Wike acknowledged the strong relationship between Nigeria and JICA, which he said has been mutually beneficial and commended the organization for sustaining its activities across the country.



4. He also commended JICA’s projects in the areas of education, agriculture, health, the provision of infrastructure in the country and expressed the desire for continued partnership in the FCT.



5. The FCT Minister said, “I’m aware of JICA’s activities in Nigeria when I was the Minister of Education. Your activities in education, your efforts to improve access to quality education. Let me commend you for sustaining it up till now and carrying it to the FCT.



6. “Your activities are quite wide and it spread across the country and we seriously commend you. You have been a serious organization and your relationship with Nigeria is quite solid”. So, we will continue to partner with you in the training of our teachers in areas we believe we require most. I know there was a time you really emphasized mathematics. I hope you can continue training our teachers in science and mathematics.



7. “Your activities in agriculture, particularly as it deals with nutrition is highly commendable and the training you’ve been having for our mothers for the sake of our children in making sure our children have nutritious food that will aid their health.



8. “So, we want to seriously commend you for most of your projects, particularly some water projects. We believe we can still sustain our relationship by making sure that we put more efforts to see that all the activities lined up are completed within the time frame and schedule”.



9. He however appealed to the organization to ensure the completion of ongoing projects in the FCT, and pledged the commitment of the FCT Administration to fulfill its part of the obligation to match the support of JICA.



10.Barr. Wike was particular about the review of the Abuja Master plan, a project for which the FCTA contacted JICA in 2018, and which was approved for implementation in 2019. While expressing the hope for its early completion, he said that the review of the master plan meant a lot for the continued development of the FCT.



11.The Minister said, “I have seen the activities which you carry out in the FCT, particularly when we approved in 2019, the review of the Abuja urban masterplan. We believe that we have to expedite action in order to concretize, by making sure that this is completed; at least by 2026, we should have completed this, if you put in more efforts to see that we achieve this which is of utmost importance to us as an administration.





12.He also directed the recommencement of the review and the signing of the technical agreement for it as soon as possible.



13.“We are happy that JICA is not one of those international organisations that come to make promises without fulfilling them. I have no doubt in your capacity and that you will continue to do more for us. So, this administration is willing to cooperate with you more in order to achieve more for our people”.



14.Earlier in his remark, Mr Yuzurio Susumu said that JICA has a longstanding relationship with Nigeria in the areas of agriculture, infrastructure and private sector development as well as social development, including education and health.



15.On the issue of the review of the Abuja Master Plan, Mr. Susumu said that talks were underway with the Tokyo Mission for the review of the master plan, explaining that the project was stalled at the advent of COVID 19 pandemic.



16.He said, “We were happy to get the project for review of the Abuja masterplan several years ago and it was approved by Japan’s government for implementation. Since then, we’ve been trying to start the project, but unfortunately, there have been unfortunate issues like COVID outbreak and bureaucracy and we couldn’t start up till this moment”.



17.Mr Susumu however expressed his delight at the Minister’s enthusiasm for advancing urban developing and the continuation of the review.

18 Also present at the event were the Chief of Staff to the Minister, Hon. Chidi Amadi, FCTA head of Service Dr Samuel Atang, mandate secretaries and senior officials of the FCTA and JICA

ANTHONY OGUNLEYE

DIRECTOR OF PRESS

(OFFICE OF THE MINISTER)

30/04/2024

FCTA/ODP/PR/534






PHOTO CAPTION


.1. FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike welcomes the Japan International Cooperation Agency Chief Representative in Nigeria Mr Yuzurio Susumu to the FCTA on Tuesday

2. L-R: JICA Project Formulation Advisor, Mr Matsishitta Keisuke, JICA Chief Representative in Nigeria, Mr Yuzurio Susumu and the FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike during the visit of the JICA delegation to the FCTA on Tuesday.

3 L-R: JICA Project Formulation Advisor, Mr Hokamura Akita, Senior Programme Coordinator, Dr Umar Halilu, Project Formulation Advisor Mr Matsushita Keisuke,, Chief Representative in Nigeria, Yuzurio Susumu, FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, Chief of Staff, to the Minister, Hon Chidi Amadi, Head of Service, Dr Samuel Atang and General Counsel, Barrister Salman Dako during a visit of the JICA delegation to the FCTA on Tuesday.