70% Of FCT Projects We Completed Were Abandoned For 16 Years — Wike

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has revealed that about 70 per cent of the projects completed by the FCT Administration under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu were abandoned contracts awarded 15 to 16 years ago.

Wike said the projects were revived and completed in line with Tinubu’s directive that no viable government project should be abandoned.

Speaking during his monthly media chat on Thursday in Abuja, the minister said the administration deliberately focused on inherited projects before embarking on new ones.

According to him, allowing the projects to remain abandoned would have denied residents the benefits of critical infrastructure and wasted public resources.

“The President said we can’t abandon old projects. While we cannot abandon old projects, we must also carry out new ones.

“I can tell you that about 60 per cent of the projects we have executed in the last three years were projects awarded 15 to 16 years ago but abandoned.

“If we had allowed that, people would still be asking questions about those abandoned projects. So, we first made sure they were completed, and we have achieved that with not less than 70 per cent of them,” Wike said.

The minister stressed that while inherited projects were being completed, the FCT Administration also initiated new road and infrastructure projects across Abuja and the satellite towns.

He attributed the pace of development in the nation’s capital to President Tinubu’s support, particularly the decision to remove the FCT Administration from the Treasury Single Account (TSA), which, according to him, made funds readily available for infrastructure development.

Wike maintained that the administration would continue executing projects aimed at improving transportation, opening up new districts and enhancing the quality of life for residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).