Friday June 13, 2025|

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s achievements in office have effectively dismantled opposition alliances and rekindled public trust in governance.

Speaking during the commissioning of Arterial Road N16 (Shehu Shagari Way) from Ring Road 1 (Nnamdi Azikiwe Way) to Arterial Road N20 (Wole Soyinka Way), and adjoining roads in Katampe District, Wike said: “Your good work has killed the coalition. I was thinking that truly, there would be coalition.”

According to him, the spate of infrastructure delivery under Tinubu’s administration has left opposition elements helpless and frustrated.

“I hardly watched some stations but sometimes, I don’t know how spiritually I was touched to just tune and start watching. This morning I was touched and was watching. I didn’t know that people can be pained. I didn’t know. And now I know there are such people that are pained.”

“My duty now is to make sure to continue to give them high blood pressure. As e dey pain them, e go dey sweet us. As e dey sweet us, e go dey pain to them. That’s my job. I’ll be happy every time, moving, laughing. And then they will be there fighting, shouting and killing themselves,” he added.

Wike said the joy and applause from Abuja residents was clear proof of the positive impact of Tinubu’s administration.

“Let me first of all convey the happiness and appreciation of the people of FCT. I’m sure that when you came out from the vehicle, you saw how happy the people were. That’s to tell you they appreciate and recognize the good works you are doing.

“Like you said yesterday, there are some people, whatever you do, they will never be happy. They were born not to be happy, and so there is nothing you can do about it. But those who appreciate, who are happy, you can see how elated they are. That tells you that the day you go to the satellite town, what will happen, because they’ve never seen it so. It is unbelievable.”

Crediting President Tinubu with restoring public faith in governance through prompt delivery of projects and respect for contracts, he further recounted his strict approach to ensuring timely delivery of projects.

“This road was awarded by your administration. It is not one of those projects that were inherited. Having worked with you for a few years, I’ve seen how passionate you are about violation of contracts and abandonment of contracts.”

“This job was awarded by Federal Executive Council last year September, and we flagged off this project in October.

“I told the contractors, I said, listen, I don’t want to hear complains. Whatever it will take you to do your job, do it. If I pay you under rainy season, you must work under rainy season. If I pay you in dry season, you must work in dry season. I don’t want to hear that, oh, the rain was too much. Return the money so that we can keep it. After the rain, we can pay you. You can’t keep our money when we have paid you, then you say it is raining, No. Send our money back.”

Initially skeptical of CGC, the construction company handling the project, Wike said: “I’m quite elated. Initially, I was skeptical about the contractor CGC until when you appointed us sometime in August 2023. The road from the Presidential Villa to Asokoro, that interchange, I couldn’t believe that we can have it and it was done by the CGC. Everybody saw how that place was. So I started having that confidence in them.”

Speaking further, he revealed how CGC assured him the road would be completed in time for the second-year commissioning.

“I told CGC, are you sure that Mr. President will commission this (N16) road project in his second year in office? They said yes. I said, are you sure? They said yes. Should I include it as part of the project to be commissioned? They said yes. I said, see, to look for my problem is not good o. Now you have made a promise, you have to keep to the promise.”

Furthermore, Wike also narrated how he overcame community resistance that initially stalled a segment of the road.

“So in one of my inspection time I came here, I said, where does this road lead to? They said, it stops there. I said, what is the meaning? Without a road connecting to another road, I was told that the village by the road, they are giving problem. I said, why would they give problem? They don’t want development.”

“So I sat down with the chiefs. Even though they gave me problem too. But when they saw my own problem was bigger, they said, let’s better settle this matter. For the first time, we have paid your compensation 200 percent. I said to them, I don’t want anything that will stop the construction of this road.”

While emphasizing that the government’s credibility has led contractors to complete jobs even before official approvals, Wike explained how the Renewed Hope agenda is restoring faith in governance.

“I said, look, the essence of Renewed Hope is to make you to be happy. You (Nigerians) have lost confidence in government but now, the president has said, no, you can’t lose confidence. You can’t. Government is here to make you happy. And that’s what we have done.

“This extension was approved by the Federal Executive Council one month ago, but the job had been finished before the award came out. That tells you the confidence they have in the government that, yes, they (contractors) will be paid.

“Before, no contractor would take that risk. That is why we believe that if companies know that the government they are dealing with, they will be paid. They will go about doing their work. As I speak to you now, companies, contractors are competing among themselves for us to just award the job.”

The FCT Minister further assured the president that under his watch, no FCT project would be abandoned, saying that by his third anniversary in office, virtually all the contracts awarded under president Tinubu would all have been completed.

“I want to thank the management of CGC. No one contract that you have been awarded under the FCT, would be abandoned.”

“By the time you do your third year in office next year, you will see that virtually all the contracts you awarded under you as the president, as the chairman of the Federal Executive Council, will all have finished them to the glory of God and no contractor will be left.” he said.