The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has announced that a substantial compensation package of N1.1 billion will be disbursed to residents of the Kuje area council affected by the ongoing road expansion project.
Wike made this known during an inspection tour of various road projects in Kuje and Jabi district and the construction of the new Court of Appeals quarters.
The minister expressed his satisfaction with the progress of the ongoing projects, stating, “First of all, I am very impressed with what we saw this afternoon.
“It is progressing as expected. By the grace of God, we believe that in September, the contractor will have handed over the structure, which is the aboriginal division of the Court of Appeal.”
He stressed the importance of promptly compensating affected Kuje residents to avoid project delays.
“I came here to see the report on the valuation I was supposed to pay. I said it would be proper for me to see the kind of structures I would pay for.
“I will immediately approve it so that they can start paying the compensation so that the work will not be delayed,” he said.
The minister specified that the compensation would cover various properties impacted by the construction, stating, “The entire estimate they gave was 1.1 billion. I will make it available so that the contractor will not find any excuse for delay.”
In addition to the road construction updates, Wike also addressed the issue of minimum wage, declaring the federal government’s commitment to increasing workers’ salaries.
“Well, first of all, it is the commitment made by the federal government under the new agenda that workers’ wages should be increased. In line with that, we have adopted it and approved the payment of the arrears as agreed with the labour,” he noted.
He expressed confidence that the wage increment would boost worker morale and productivity: “I expect that the workers will also see this as a boost and be more committed for us to achieve the development required in the city.”
As construction efforts continue, residents of Kuje are looking forward to timely compensation, which they hope will mitigate the impact of the road expansion on their lives.
