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What City People Found Out
That FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike is one of the most favoured Ministers in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet is unarguable. Both are very close. Over the last 12 months, Wike has enjoyed a pride of place in the President’s heart. He is one of the few Ministers who sees the President almost on a daily basis.
Anytime Wike has any policy or operational issue to discuss with the President, he goes straight to Aso Rock to see him.
The President in turn calls him up from time to time to give him ideas of what he would like Wike to do. That is why in the last 365 days, both Pres. Tinubu and Wike have bonded so well. Not many people know that indeed President Bola Tinubu and FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike have an understanding.
City People can authoritatively reveal that before the President gave Wike the job, the President had a long discussion with him and he told him matter of factly what he wanted him to do as the new FCT Minister.
Abuja is very important to Pres. Tinubu politically. He wants to win Abuja votes in 2027. He did not win convincingly in Abuja at the last elections. Pres Tinubu, wasn’t happy at the scores he made and he feels he can change all of that, come 2027. But he knows he has to work hard this time around. He believes 4 years is enough time to transform Abuja, which in effect will lead to more votes for him at the next elections.
So, he wants Wike to transform FCT and make it a place of pride.
He wants him to complete so many abandoned projects and road networks. He wanted him to kick start the Abuja Rail Mass Transit project. Wike himself said this in a TV interview. “The President asked me to focus less on Land matters in the first few years, but face the issue of abandoned projects,” he recently explained.
And Wike has been doing just that since he settled in. From day one, Wike targeted May 29, 2024 date for delivery of many of his projects.
City People gathered that, before President Bola Tinubu assumed office the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, was faced with many abandoned projects.
So, the Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda was, expected to, among other things, complete ongoing projects and transform the FCT into a more habitable and economically vibrant city.
When Wike was appointed in August 2023, he vowed to deliver on Tinubu’s mandate and administer the territory in compliance with the Abuja Master Plan.
According to him, it will be achieved through the establishment of an effective service-oriented administration that will respond to the needs of all residents and other stakeholders.
He noted that Abuja had witnessed foundation laying ceremonies of several structures worth billions, only to be abandoned midway or at advanced stages of their construction.
The Minister pointed out that some of the contracts were awarded in 2007, some in 2011, while others were awarded between 2015 and 2017, but all abandoned.
Once he settled down to work, the Minister summoned all the contractors handling different projects in the FCT to a meeting to know what the problems were and how to get them back to site.
“Our problem is funding,” the contractors told him then. They assured the Minister that they would get back to work if they were mobilised.
Eventually, Wike got most of the contractors back to site, after agreeing on a payment plan with money from the FCT Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and budgetary allocations.
He equally introduced new innovations and enforced the payment of outstanding ground rents and other taxes in the FCT, a decision that increased the territory’s revenue generation significantly.
The minister also secured the approval of Tinubu to withdraw FCTA from Treasury Single Account, to enable the Administration to access funds from financial institutions to fund projects.
To ensure quality and timely delivery of the projects, Wike personally inspected the execution of the projects and kept the contractors on their toes.
Nine months later, the Wike-led FCTA announced the completion of numerous projects some of which were commissioned last week, to celebrate Tinubu’s one year in office.
One of the completed projects is the construction of the official residence of the Vice President, which was awarded in 2010 but abandoned.
Another project was the rehabilitation of the Abuja Rail Mass Transit (ARMT) System, now ready for commercial operations, access roads to the train stations and parking lots.
Also completed was the extension of Inner Southern Expressway (ISEX) from the Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX) to the Southern Parkway, made up of 3.8km length of 10 lanes expressway.
The ISEX enables east-west movement on the Southern flank of the city, linking the Abuja – Keffi highway.
The full scope development of the Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX) from Villa Roundabout to Ring Road 1 Junction, including four interchanges was also completed.
The OSEX is the primary road bounding the Federal Capital City (FCC) on the southern flank, connecting the city with the Kaduna – Abuja–Lokoja Federal Highway.
The project, being developed in phases, involves full scope development of about 6.7km of 10 lanes of the expressway from Villa Roundabout to Apo Roundabout.
The construction of the Southern Parkway from the Christian Centre to Ring Road 1 was equally completed.
The project consisted of the construction of 5.4 km length of the road, made up of two main carriageways of four lanes each, and two service carriageways of two lanes each, making a total of 12 lanes.
It also includes the construction of 4 interchanges, with 8 bridges in addition to other facilities.
The Southern Parkway traverses the City Centre, linking the outer fringes and inner portions of the city Expressways.
Also completed was the B6 (Constitution Avenue)/B12 (Independence Avenue) roads in Central Area, spanning from the Circle Road in the Three Arms Zone to the National Stadium, and linking the Central Area with the Airport Expressway.
Wike also completed the interchange bridge, linking Wuye and Wuse I District under the provision of Wuye District Infrastructure project.
The full scope development of the Arterial Road, N-20, from Northern Parkway (Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Expressway) to Outer Northern Expressway (Murtala Mohammed Expressway) was also partly completed.
The project involves the development of about 5.6 km of road with interchanges at Kubwa and Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Expressways, made of 2 main carriageways of 3 lanes each, making a total of six lanes.
It also includes the construction of 2 interchanges with 4 bridges, in addition to other facilities.
Another milestone of the Wike-led FCTA was the completion of the provision of engineering infrastructure to Guzape District Lot II.
The project consisted of the development of 30.80km roads, 33km underground stormwater drainages, and 53km underground foul drainages.
It also provided a 33.5km potable water supply network, 22 box culverts, one electrical power substation and 80 compact unit transformers.
Also provided, was a 163 km electrical cable network, 50km telecommunication ducts and construction of one fully equipped mini–sewage treatment plant.
Wike also completed the rehabilitation and resurfacing of existing roads Arterial Road Corridor (Abdul Rasheed Na’Allah Way), in Institution and Research District.
The projects provided access roads to some institutions and government agencies like the Institute of Human Virology, Federal Medical Centre, Economic and Financial Crime Commission, National Open University of Nigeria, Body of Benchers, and some private institutions like Baze University.
Other completed projects included the renovation of the FCT Minister’s residence in Life Camp and the construction of 11km access road from the Airport Expressway to Kuje Township.
The minister equally completed the resurfacing of 189 roads covering 57 km within the Abuja city centre.
He assured that other ongoing projects would be completed by December, before awarding another set of abandoned projects.
Some of the ongoing projects included the rehabilitation and resurfacing of 366 roads in Wuse, Garki, Asokoro and Maitama Districts, covering 117km.
Also ongoing are the rehabilitation of District Hospital Gwarimpa, Cottage Hospital Gwagwalada and District Hospital Utako, provision of access road to Kabusa Garden Estate, and Greater Abuja Water Supply Project.
The construction of one Service Carriageway of Inner Northern Expressway from Ring Road III to Ring Road IV, as well as120km rural roads across the six Area Councils were also ongoing.
Other ongoing projects include the rehabilitation of Federal Secretariat Phase I, and the rehabilitation of 19 public primary and secondary schools across the territory.
Wike said that the road projects, when completed, would position Abuja to compete with any city in the world in terms of road network.
He added that similar attention was being accorded to satellite towns and rural communities in terms of roads infrastructure.
He, however, noted the challenges of funding and corruption, affecting the delivery of development projects in the territory and assured that steps were being taken to address them.
Many Abuja residents have described the feat as unprecedented.
Recall that Nyesom Wike, had promised that the FCT Administration would deliver the Abuja Rail Mass Transit (ARMT) project on May 29. And he did.
The minister stated this after an inspection tour of the project in Abuja, months back.
Recall that FCTA awarded a N5 billion contract for the rehabilitation of the ARMT system in August 2023.
The contract was awarded to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd (CCECC) to be delivered in 8 months.
On assumption into office, Wike identified the ARMT as one of the projects that would be commissioned on May 29 to mark President Bola Tinubu’s one year in office.
He said: “I am not a pessimist, and I believe that if we put all our energy into it, we may achieve it. I have also disbursed the funds for access roads, so we have no excuse.
“This is one project that I am so compassionate about, and you know that Mr. President has given me a directive that must not be taken for granted.
“When we first visited the metro station, I discovered that there were many security lapses.
“I remember when I first came after our inauguration, I did say that we would have to work on the issue of security by putting a fence around the Metro Station to fend off criminals.
“Unfortunately, that has not been done and to my surprise, I discovered that the contract was not even awarded to CCECC. It is a different contractor awarded by the FCT.
“This is my first time hearing this, and we are going to take it up immediately to see that the fence is put in place because you can’t talk of operation when you have not tackled the issue of security.”
He expressed concern that vandalism and stealing had continued unabated at the facility despite the engagement of security companies to secure the project.
“I will not be happy if in May this year, we are not able to operate this metro line. It will be very disastrous for me.
“Even the designs of the rail stations are very poor. Whoever approved the design is unfair to Nigerians. I have told CCECC that the designs are not even acceptable in their countries,” Wike added.
He expressed optimism that the May 29 target would be achieved despite the challenges.
President Bola Tinubu is so happy with Wike. He says Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has brought the nation’s capital back to life with infrastructural development.
Tinubu spoke in Abuja a few days ago, at the inauguration of the Southern parkway named after him by the FCT minister.
The inauguration of the road project was one of the activities marking Tinubu’s one year in office.
The President commended the minister for the development recorded in the nation’s capital since he took charge of the territory.
Tinubu said the Southern parkway was started 13 years ago, but his administration prioritised it when he assumed office.
“Infrastructure is an enabler of economic development and prosperity. The needs of our citizens are paramount in our minds,” the president said.
He emphasised that the southern parkway not only represents a road network but also “our collective aspiration for progress”.
He added that the road will “not only ease transportation but ease movement within the FCT,” underscoring the project’s role in building a “world-class capital city.”
On his part, Wike said the project is one of the principal outlets conceived as a free way to provide access and connectivity according to the Abuja master plan.
The minister said the road will enhance traffic circulation around the city centre and reduce travel time.
Wike said the road was first awarded for N16.2 billion in 2010 but was later revised to N35.7 billion owing to changes in the scope of the project.
He said his team, on assumption of office in 2023, was confronted with several uncompleted projects abandoned for several years in the nation’s capital.
Since he assumed office Wike has left no stoned unturned in turning around the rot he met at the FCT.
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