Senate President, Senator David Mark has charged the Federal Capital territory, FCT, Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, to brace up for painful measures and decisions to enforce the Abuja master plan, especially through removal of shanties and illegal structures.

Mark said it was the only way of preventing the capital city from being bogged down by the same pitfalls that disqualified Lagos as the seat of the Federal Government.

The Senate President said this during a special interactive session between the Minister and FCT residents to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the relocation of the seat of the Federal Government from Lagos to Abuja.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Senator Mohammed declared as illegal the collection of tenement rates by some area councils in the Federal Capital Territory.

He said the framework for the collection of the rates had not been put in place and that even after it would have been put in place, the rates would be jointly collected by FCTA and area councils.