Ahead of the forthcoming FCT Area Council elections, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has endorsed the re-election bid of the All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmanship candidate for the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Christopher Maikalangu.
The endorsement came on Monday during the flag-off of a 7-kilometre road project in Tunga Madaki, where Wike directly linked the government’s development efforts to electoral support in return.
The project, which includes four-span bridges and will connect nine settlements to the Abuja Airport via Bill Clinton Drive, fulfills a promise made during the land acquisition for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport’s second runway.
Wike explained that although the land belongs to the FCT, the Aviation Ministry had to pay compensation, during which the affected communities demanded road access as a condition.
“It was quite unfair that people would surrender their ancestral land for a national project like a second runway, yet they had no access road, even to the airport they gave land for.
“So, I took the matter to Mr. President, and he said, ‘Whatever they ask for, give it to them.’ Today, we are here to fulfill that promise,” he said.
The FCT minister stated that the road construction would be completed and commissioned by June 2026, to coincide with the third anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“This is a government that listens, a government that keeps its promises. For the first time in your lives, you asked for one thing, and the government responded. That is what the Renewed Hope Agenda is all about,” he said.
Addressing the excited crowd, Wike lauded Maikalangu, whom he described as a tireless advocate for the Tunga Madaki community.
“Maikalangu has never stopped reminding me about the promise made to you during the land compensation process.
“He kept pressing, and here we are today. I am handing him over to you. Support him in the February 2026 elections, so that by June, when the road is commissioned, we’ll all dance together in celebration.
“One good turn deserves another. When you do for me, I do for you. When you fall for me, I fall for you. When you listen to me, I listen to you,” he said.
He asked them to reflect on past leadership and question the absence of attention before the APC-led administration.
“You have had council chairmen before, did anyone remember Tunga Madaki? Did they connect you to the airport to whom you gave land away? Ask them where they were when your roads were impassable,” Wike said.
He added that the road would catalyse development across the nine previously neglected communities.
Earlier, the FCT minister of State, Mariya Mahmoud, explained the project’s broader impact.
“The inclusion of a four-span bridge demonstrates the administration’s determination to ensure resilience and durability in our infrastructure,” she stated.
