In the wake of the recent removal of fuel subsidies and the resulting economic hardships faced by Nigerians, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has announced the reinstatement of the controversial Park ‘n’ Pay policy, drawing ire from residents who perceive it as detrimental to their interests.
The FCT Administration, in collaboration with a consortium of concessionaires, has inked a deal to reintroduce the On-Street Parking, commonly referred to as the “park-and-pay” scheme, in Abuja.
The newly approved areas for the implementation of the park-and-pay policy are Zone A, covering Wuse II and Utako, with NAJEC Limited serving as the designated concessionaire. The projected revenue from this zone is estimated to reach a substantial N11.875 billion. Meanwhile, in Zone B, encompassing Maitama and Garki 1, the concessionaire is Messrs. Automaten Technik Bauman Nigeria Limited. This zone is expected to generate an even higher revenue of N15.05 billion. Both concessions were awarded for a duration of 10 years each, with a combined value of N908.3 billion.
The policy was suspended about eight years ago, precisely in April 2014 after resistance by some residents who decried the high-handedness of operators and also queried the ownership of companies being used for ticketing and enforcement.
The FCTA permanent secretary, Olusade Adesola, who signed the agreement on behalf of the Administration, explained that the move was to promote a culture of orderliness and organisation.
He added that the initiative will decongest the city and make motoring a more pleasant experience and that under the scheme, parking lots will be provided for motorists, while those who indulge in wrong parking will be fined.
Also, this development has not gone down well with motorists and residents of the FCT who described the policy as anti-people, saying that it will worsen the hardship faced by motorists who cannot afford to fuel their cars regularly because of the increase in price of petrol.
The move has also sparked widespread criticism and resistance from the FCT residents. Many view the reintroduction of the park-and-pay policy as further evidence of governmental insensitivity to the economic struggles faced by ordinary citizens. With the recent removal of fuel subsidies leading to an increase in the cost of living, the burden of additional expenses such as parking fees has struck a nerve with the already financially strained populace.
Local voices of dissent argue that the policy disproportionately affects those with lower incomes, who will have to divert limited resources toward parking fees. Critics are also skeptical about the transparency of the concession award process, raising concerns about potential corruption and lack of accountability.
A civil servant, Mr Moses Ishiaku, said no amount of explanation on the policy would be welcomed, and that the FCT government seems to be insensitive to the plight of residents of the territory who are struggling to survive the present economic hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy.
“The FCTA is acting as if the government does not know the challenges Nigerians are going through. For them to reintroduce the park-n-pay policy is wickedness to the people of FCT, who are struggling to survive the present hardship in the country. For you to fuel your car to work is a problem and you still want them to pay for parking their cars.
“This is not right at all. It is another move to extort the poor residents of the territory who do not know how to feed their families because of the rate at which the prices of things have gone high in the market. Imagine you managed to buy less than 20 liters of fuel at N10,000 and you get to town, you will still pay money to park. That is wrong and completely against the interest of the people,” he said.
Ishiaku said that instead of introducing a policy that would increase the hardship of residents, the FCTA should think of how to bring in palliatives that would reduce the suffering of the people and ensure that many residents do not die of high blood pressure during this period.
“I am not in support of that policy; FCT should look at other means of generating revenue. The government is supposed to provide car parks at strategic places in the city for people to park their cars; you do not expect them to carry their cars on their heads. If car parks are provided and people still park their cars in the wrong places then you can charge them for illegal parking,” he said.
A motorist, Hassan Bello urged to reconsider the policy in light of the current economic climate.
“We are already buying fuel at International prices yet we earn locally. The government needs to halt unwarranted tax on us,” he said.
He stressed the need for the government to be sensitive to the economic struggles faced by ordinary citizens.
Also, a businesswoman, Ms. Cynthia Idoko, pleaded with the FCT administration to stop the implementation of the policy immediately, saying the policy would further add to the suffering of the residents.
“This is not the right time to reintroduce such a policy, because Nigerians are seriously suffering, things are not easy at all anywhere in this country. Prices of everything have gone up, school fees, house rents, transport fares, foodstuffs, and other things. People with cars can barely feed themselves a day and now they want to add more burden to the ones we are carrying already.
“Even when things were not that challenging, people were not comfortable with the policy, not to talk of now that cost of living has increased by 300 percent and we are still grabbing with the hardship which came with the subsidy removal. The government should not act insensitive to our plight by adding more problems to what we are facing presently,” she said.
Idoko said that the policy should not be reintroduced now and that people are already suffering as a result of the fuel subsidy removal in the country and should not be made to suffer more.
“The government should initiate programmes that will improve the living standard of citizens and not a policy that will add to the hardship of citizens,’’ she said.
The residents also raised concerns that apart from the financial implication that would be introduced as payment for the period a car would be parked at designated areas, that operators of the policies may use it as an opportunity to extort people by later secretly inserting exorbitant charges for defaulters of the policy.
A social analyst, Mr. Hassan Dabo, said that although the policy may be good in the eyes of the government because it is aimed at generating revenue for the territory, the problem with such policies is that selfish operators may want to make more money for themselves by introducing exorbitant charges for people who do not park on designated places.
“I was a victim of Park n Pay before it was dissolved some years ago. Then they will tell you to pay less than N100 for some time, but when you want to park and you are looking for where to park, the people assigned to direct you will go and hide so that you will park in the wrong place.
“When you parked in the wrong place and leave, after some time they will appear and lock your tyres and give you a fine that you can not pay. Then the least you pay for their offense was N15,000. It was not funny at all.
“So, with the reintroduction of this policy, such an attitude from the operators is bound to happen and they will start extorting people again amid the present economic hardship.
“The truth is that I am not comfortable with the policy at all, because it will add to the suffering we are experiencing in Nigeria. The government should not choke us with too many expenses.
“We spend exorbitant amounts to fuel cars and we will still spend money to park the cars in some designated areas. That is absurd. The government should think of how to improve the living standard of the people, not punish them with anti-people policies,” he said.
However, Mr. Tosin Adebisi, an entrepreneur, said the re-introduction of the park and pay policy within the city center was a welcome development that would generate more revenue for the council, and that it should be done with some sense of decorum.
Adebisi said that the funds generated from the policy would go a long way to help in the development of the city. “The idea of reintroducing the park and pay is a welcome development, this will also serve as a means of generating revenue for the council to provide more infrastructure if properly managed.
“I am in support of the reintroduction of this policy; it will help to check the way and manner some people park their vehicles indiscriminately.”
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