X-raying Wike’s first year as FCT minister

Shortly after assuming office as FCT minister on Aug. 21, 2023, Mr. Nyesom Wike announced short-, medium-, and long-term plans to restore the Abuja Master Plan.

Wike, along with FCT minister of state Mariya Mahmoud, explained that overhauling the FCT would reposition it to be among the best cities in the world, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda.”.

He added that emphasis would be placed on infrastructural development, taking one project at a time, to restore the city to its glory.

The minister said that development would also be extended to the six area councils as part of strategies to decongest the city and open a rural economy.

Sadly, Wike was confronted with the sight of abandoned projects that characterised the capital city.

The minister noted that FCT had, over the years, witnessed foundation-laying ceremonies for several structures worth billions, only to be abandoned midway through or at advanced stages of construction.

While assessing them, he pointed out that some of the contracts were awarded in 2007, some in 2011, while others were awarded between 2015 and 2017, with all being abandoned.

Confronting the challenge, Wike said that revenue leakages would be blocked so as to mobilise the needed resources for infrastructural development in the FCT.

“I will ensure that Abuja gets the best. You will see projects upon projects, and projects that will be completed and not abandoned.

“I am not a party to abandoned projects. I start a project when there is money; as such, we will look into our finances before we begin any project,” the minister said.

Innovatively, 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 2023 Supplementary Budget.

To improve IGR, the minister inaugurated a Task Force on the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy for mass housing developments and the recovery of land use contravention fees in the FCT.

He equally introduced 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.

This is evident with the recent declaration of N126.54 billion collected and remitted between January and June by the FCT Internal Revenue Service.

The then acting Executive Chairman of the service, Mr. Haruna Abdullahi, said that the figure was 53.5 percent higher than the N82.46 billion collected in the first half of 2023.

The minister also secured the approval of Tinubu to withdraw FCTA from the Treasury Single Account to enable the administration to access funds from financial institutions to fund projects.

These initiatives paid off, as nine months later, the Wike-led FCTA announced the completion of numerous projects that were inaugurated in May to celebrate Tinubu’s one year in office.

Some of the projects included the official residence of the Vice President, the Abuja Rail Mass Transit system, and the and the Inner Southern Motorway from the Outer Southern Motorway to the Southern Parkway.

Others are the full-scope development of about 6.7 km of 10-lane Outer Southern Motorway from Villa Roundabout to Ring Road 1 Junction and the construction of the Southern Parkway from the Christian Centre to Ring Road 1, named after President Bola Tinubu.

Equally inaugurated were the completed B6 (Constitution Avenue) and B12 (Independence Avenue) roads in the Central Area and the Wuye interchange bridge.

The full-scope development of the Arterial Road, N-20, from Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Motorway to Murtala Mohammed Motorway, was also partly completed and named after noble laurel Wole Soyinka.

Another milestone of the Wike-led FCTA was the completion of engineering infrastructure in Guzape District Lot II and the resurfacing of 189 roads covering 57 km within Abuja city centre, among others.

He assured that other ongoing projects would be completed by December 2024, including the rehabilitation and resurfacing of 366 roads in Wuse, Garki, Asokoro and Maitama Districts, covering 117 km.

Also ongoing are the rehabilitation of District Hospital Gwarimpa, Cottage Hospital Gwagwalada and District Hospital Utako, Greater Abuja Water Supply Project and rehabilitation of 19 public primary and secondary schools across the territory.

The minister also recently inaugurated the construction of three bus terminals in the FCT to ensure a secure and convenient travel experience for commuters in the FCT.

He also inaugurated the construction of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal Complex to strengthen the administration of justice.

Road users and residents described the feat as unprecedented, saying that Wike was the best thing that had happened to FCT.

“I have been living in Abuja for 16 years but never witnessed a speedy delivery of road projects until Wike happened.

“Look at the road to Asokoro from Apo, which was under construction for several years, but Wike delivered it in just eight months,” said a resident, Mr. Andrew Moses.

Similarly, Mr. Shuabu Yunusa, a taxi driver, said, “It is now seamless going to Asokoro from Apo. The Tinubu-led administration is really working and deserves our commendation.”

In keeping with his promise not to leave rural communities behind in the development agenda, the minister has inaugurated the construction of rural roads spanning more than 42.2 km across the six Area Councils and promised to complete them by December.

Similarly, the minister has also handed over the staff of office to four newly coronated chiefs of Karu, Kwali, Pai, and Yaba, as part of measures to strengthen traditional institutions and improve governance in communities.

According to him, the traditional rulers are expected to draw the attention of the government to any development, security, and other issues that require government attention and response.

Beyond infrastructural development, stakeholders said that Wike has carved his name in gold by ensuring the implementation of the FCT Civil Service Commission (CSC) in 2018, against all odds.

On October 13, 2023,the minister announced President Tinubu’s approval for the establishment of the CSC for the FCTA, in line with the provisions of the law.

This, he said, was to allow career progression for civil servants in the administration, from director to permanent secretary and, hopefully, Head of Civil Service.

On March 12, Wike announced Tinubu’s approval for the appointment of Mr. Udo Atang as pioneer Head of Civil Service of the FCTA.

Mr. Emeka Ezeh was also appointed Chairman of the Commission’s Board, along with six others as commissioners, representing the six geopolitical zones.

Similarly, 10 other directors in the FCTA were appointed as pioneer permanent secretaries for various secretariats of the administration.

The excited pioneer head of the FCT civil service described the development as a demonstration of the reality of the renewed hope agenda of the Tinubu-led government.

Commending Tinubu and Wike for renewing the hope of FCT workers, Atang said: “The staff of the administration have never had it this good.

“In the new FCTA system, every member of staff is a potential permanent secretary and head of service.”

To ensure gender equality as well as women and youth participation in governance, Wike, within one year in office, has created the Women Affairs Secretariat and the Youth Development Secretariat.

This has increased the number of secretariats in the FCTA from eight to 10, with a view to ensuring inclusive governance.

On security, the Wike-led FCTA has supported security agencies, including vigilante groups, with motorcycles and operational vehicles fitted with modern communication gadgets.

This, according to him, is to enable security agencies to navigate hard-to-reach communities in rural areas and improve security operations within the city.

Wike equally inaugurated a Joint Task Force, consisting of all security agencies in the FCT, to curb the menace of “one chance” and another to curtail the activities of arm thieves, kidnappers, and all forms of crimes within the FCT and its environment.

While assessing the performance of the Wike-led FCTA on security, Mr. Adamu Gwary, Director, Security Services Department, FCTA, argued that the impact was impressive, considering the reduced incidents of security breaches.

Sharing Gwary’s view, Prof. Kailani Muhammed, Director-General of the Confederation of All Progressives Congress, said that FCT had become a safe haven where residents could afford to sleep with their two eyes closed.

Despite the laudable feats within one year in office, stakeholders have stressed the need to invest more in people-orientated projects such as the provision of clean water, quality health services, and transportation systems.

This, according to them, willhave a significant have a significant impact on the lives of the common residents of the FCT.