Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr. Nyesom Wike, has vowed that no amount of intimidation or blackmail would derail his focus on infrastructure development.
Wike made these statements while commissioning the rehabilitated Phase 2 of the Lower Usuma Dam Water Treatment Plant in the Bwari area council.
The minister’s statement was a response to recent media reports, particularly on a private television, alleging that the FCT administration was indebted to local contractors to the tune of N5 billion.
“Let me use this opportunity to tell people that no amount of blackmail will stop us from being focused. I will never be intimidated.
“You see the problem in this country is that when you want to fight corruption, corruption will fight you back, and it’s corruption that is fighting back. We are going to defeat corruption,” he said.
Wike categorically denied knowledge of the contracts in question, blaming civil servants who he alleged awarded contracts without ministerial approval.
“Civil servants stay in their offices and award contracts worth N15 million, N10 million, N20 million without the minister knowing.
“And then you hear, ministers, sitting in the office and people will tell you that you are owing 15 billion Naira, when you don’t know when it was awarded, certainly it will not happen! Let heaven come down,” he said.
He challenged the contractors to provide proof, questioning their legitimacy. “Let anybody who said I awarded a contract bring the documents.
“Let them show me the job that they are commissioning. If you look at their faces, you will know that those who awarded the contracts to themselves are bringing those people to come.”
Wike outlined his administration’s strategy of prioritising major capital projects, contrasting the alleged “small, small” contracts of the past.
He revealed he had shifted the budget allocation to 70 percent for capital expenditures and 30 percent for recurrent, reversing previous trends.
“Every day, some people want to buy computers, every budget you will see all kinds of things. Some people will say, I want to travel to U.S. about land administration. You want to learn land administration, you go to U.S.? I mean, there’s no nexus,” he said.
The minister pointed to the increased Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the FCT, from N9 billion to over N30 billion monthly, as the engine funding current projects, vowing to continue his development drive until 2027.
Shifting to the project, Wike revealed that the Phase 2 rehabilitation was awarded in 2022 for approximately N50 billion and completed under President Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope” agenda.
“This phase two is very important because it increases the carrying capacity and of course will improve water supply to the residents of Abuja,” he said.
He also announced that the Federal Executive Council had already approved the rehabilitation of Phases 1, 3, and 4.
Furthermore, he confirmed the flag-off of a N90 billion project to provide water to satellite towns, starting with Bwari on Wednesday and Karu on Thursday.
“All this is geared to make life easier for the people of the FCT. We are not concentrating on the development of the city, we are taking development to the satellite towns,” he said.
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