Tinubu Treats Governance As Serious Business, Says Wike, Defends FCT Infrastructure Drive

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared that President Bola Tinubu regards governance as a serious undertaking that must deliver results, attributing the ongoing infrastructure revolution in Abuja to the President’s business-minded approach to public administration.

Speaking during his monthly media chat in Abuja on Thursday, Wike said the rapid execution and completion of major infrastructure projects across the Federal Capital Territory was made possible by innovative financial reforms approved by President Tinubu, particularly the removal of the FCT Administration from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

According to the minister, the previous TSA arrangement significantly hindered the administration’s ability to finance capital projects, but the new arrangement has enabled the FCT Administration to leverage its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to secure loans from commercial banks for project execution.

“The President saw that governance is business. This business must succeed.

“He pulled us out of the TSA. We can now approach commercial banks, negotiate with them, and use our Internally Generated Revenue as collateral. We don’t have to wait until we get N200 billion in cash; we tie our IGR to these loans, the banks pay the contractors, and the jobs keep moving.”

He explained that the new funding model has restored contractors’ confidence in government, resulting in the speedy delivery of projects awarded barely six to seven months ago.

Wike also defended his administration’s demolition of illegal roadside markets and structures obstructing road projects, insisting that the government would not legitimise unlawful activities under the pretext of providing livelihoods.

“We will not encourage illegality to be a source of livelihood. You build a road, and people turn it into a market. How can a well-thought-out government allow that?

“If you justify that by saying they are looking for a means of survival, then you are also saying armed robbers who go out for illegal operations should be allowed because they are looking for something to survive on. No, we will not allow it,” he said.

The minister further disclosed that the administration had constituted a special task force to remove hoodlums, illegal traders and other unauthorised operators from major traffic intersections, including Area 1 and Wuse 2.

“We are going to chase them out. I just hope the media houses will not turn around to criticise the government and say we are attacking poor people when we take action,” he warned.

Reflecting on inherited infrastructure challenges, Wike lamented the long history of abandoned projects in the FCT, citing the Apo-Karshi Road, which was awarded in 2010 but remained unfinished for over 16 years.

“The Apo-Karshi road was awarded in 2010. We are now in 2026. That is 16 good years of people complaining. If it was done, who would be complaining?” he asked.

He assured residents that the project would be completed before the end of the year.

“With this current government, by December, maybe before the end of December, I will carry you along, and we will go there and commission it,” he said.

According to the minister, more than 70 per cent of the projects executed by his administration over the past three years were inherited contracts that had been abandoned for as long as 15 years.

Responding to questions on why Mandate Secretaries seldom make authoritative statements on government activities, Wike maintained that accountability ultimately rests with the Minister as the chief executive of the FCT Administration.

“Who is the chief executive? It is the minister. If anything goes wrong, it is not the Mandate Secretaries you will hold responsible; it is the minister.

“I know virtually everything happening in all the departments, and that is why I am in charge. Is it not better to hear from me directly and hold me responsible?” he stated.

Wike reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to sustained infrastructure development across the FCT, assuring residents that while every challenge cannot be addressed simultaneously, projects would continue to be executed in a gradual, structured and equitable manner across the six Area Councils.