Wike Says 70% of Abandoned FCT Projects Completed Under Tinubu

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, says that about 70 per cent of the infrastructure projects completed by the FCT Administration (FCTA) under President Bola Tinubu were contracts inherited from previous administrations that had been abandoned for about 15 to 16 years.

Wike said the decision to revive and complete the projects was in line with President Tinubu’s directive that viable government projects should not be left to waste, stressing that the administration deliberately prioritised inherited projects while simultaneously embarking on new ones across the nation’s capital.

Meanwhile, the minister claimed that he is unpopular among the FCTA civil servants because he “blocked the avenues through which government money was being diverted,” as his administration works to curb wasteful spending and redirect public funds to infrastructure development.

Wike said his decision to block what he described as channels through which government resources were routinely being diverted had attracted resentment from some workers, but insisted that fiscal discipline remained central to the Tinubu administration’s development agenda.

The minister, who spoke yesterday during his monthly media chat in Abuja, said that abandoning projects already funded with public resources would have been a disservice to FCT residents, who had waited for years to benefit from critical infrastructure.

According to him, “the president said we can’t abandon old projects, and 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 further explained that the administration adopted a dual approach, completing inherited projects while initiating new infrastructure to expand the capital city’s road network and accelerate development in satellite communities.

He explained that the objective was to improve connectivity, decongest traffic, and open up new districts for residential and commercial development. He further attributed the pace of infrastructure delivery in the FCT to President Tinubu’s continued support for the administration, particularly with the removal of the FCTA from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

In the meantime, the minister criticised the practice of approving expensive overseas conferences and study tours, arguing that many such engagements offered little value to governance while placing unnecessary pressure on public finances.

According to him, requests to attend foreign conferences on issues such as land administration no longer receive approval under his watch, as similar knowledge could be acquired through visits to states within Nigeria with established land administration systems.

“We waste our resources on frivolities,” he said. “You expect me to approve funds for you to attend a one-week conference on land administration in America. For what?

“If you want to study land administration, go to Lagos or Port Harcourt, see how theirs work or doesn’t work, and compare it with Abuja. I will not approve N20 million for that kind of trip.”

He further stated that his administration had fundamentally altered the FCT’s budget structure by shifting emphasis from recurrent expenditure to capital investment, a move he said was already yielding visible results through the execution of critical infrastructure projects across the territory.

Recalling that about 65 per cent of the FCT budget was committed to recurrent expenditure before he assumed office, leaving limited resources for development projects, he said the spending ratio has now been reversed, with 70 per cent of the budget devoted to capital projects and 30 per cent to recurrent expenditure.