The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike assumed office as the 17th minister on August 21, 2023, with a focused beginning and eyes on Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda target. DANIEL TYOKUA writes on the Minister’s 365 days in office.
Wike records startling achievements in one year of his administration in core areas of security, land administration, staff welfare and infrastructure facelift, evidence abound that he has largely done well within the period.
With the struggle to curb kidnappings and terrorism when he came on board, he held town hall meetings with strategic stakeholders in all the six area councils to find solutions to the, then unabated menace.
At the meetings, he re-echoed synergy and collaboration among traditional rulers and security agencies to defeat the bad men that were about seizing the territory.
The minister, after successful engagements with the stakeholders, walked the talk by donating 50 operational vehicles with communication gadgets to security agencies to strengthen the fight against insecurity in the territory.
Equally, he bolstered the security in the nation’s capital by distributing 100 motorcycles to security outfits and the six area councils. Each of the six area councils received ten motorcycles, which was allocated to their respective Vigilance outfits.
The police got 30 motorcycles, while the state security services and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) received five each.
Wike during the exercise, said the initiative was necessitated to support security agencies with the needed logistics to enable them to combat crime in the Federal Capital Territory. During the fora, he usually said FCT as a capital must not be by name.
He raised a panel to investigate issuance of C-of – Os to housing estates to help each house in mass housing estates in the city has its C-of -O paid for.
The minister opposed to the system where residential areas in the FCT have been turned to commercial, which he promised to deal decisively with those in involved, the has since completed it report, waiting for implementation.
Perhaps not surprisingly, he made President Tinubu to see reasons why FCTA should be pulled out of Treasury Single Account (TSA), and the president concurred.
This, he said is to help FCT Administration utilize the territory’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the development of the nation’s capital.
In his believe, the Central bank cannot give FCTA loans, and even the IGR is spent as it comes and you cannot tangibly do anything with it, which will make his administration not to do well because of where and how to get revenue.
On staff welfare, he tabled the case before Tinubu for the need to give the staff a sense of belonging in line with the renewed hope agenda of Mr president. For many years the fight for FCT Civil service has been on, but under one year , Mr. President has done it.
Civil Servants in the FCTA were stagnated because they could only become directors and not rise to permanent secretaries. Before now, then Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had as Acting President signed a law to create the FCT Civil Service Commission to allow for career progression but the law has never been implemented. But Wike has made it possible .
The Federal Capital Territory Administration now have Head of Service, Civil service commission, and permanent secretaries.
Wike’s presentation and request made Tinubu to approve the creation of a secretariats for women and Youths to be handling issues that have direct bearing on women and youths.
In his efforts to boost infrastructure development and make rural dwellers happy, the minister awarded construction of roads in the six area councils of AMAC, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Kwali and Abaji, all the projects, according to the various contractors, they will be ready in December.
He said the projects were vital because in the past, people in the communities were forgotten but with president Tinubu led administration their hope is renewed.
On assumption of office, Tinubu told Wike that he wants to ride on Abuja Light Rail in his first one year in office, the project that was officially inaugurated in July 12, 2018 to alleviate traffic congestion but was abandoned, Wike didn’t only complete the project he insisted that all necessary areas that were not taken into account are all corrected, today the Abuja Light Rail is functioning well, which marks a significant milestone in the territory’s journey towards modern urban transit solutions.
Wike’s victory signs under one year, also included the completion and inauguration of Southern Parkway from the Christian Centre to Ring Road 1, Full scope development of the Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX) from Villa Roundabout to Ring Road 1, and the Construction of the Vice President’s official residence.
Others are the Completion of B6 and B12 Circle Road, also known as Independence and Constitution Avenue, and the full scope development of the Arterial Road, N20 from Northern Parkway (Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Expressway) to Outer Northern Expressway (Murtala Mohammed Expressway).
The minister’s imprints cut across all the areas because of his custand inspection and tour of projects, putting contractors on their toes to deliver.
It is unarguably that the recent #EndBadGovernance protests that rocked the country flopped in the Federal Capital Territory because of the minister’s sterling performance and unending engagements that Wike took good number of days to dialogue with Abuja residents through the key stakeholders.
His graph of success within 365 days in office can’t be forgotten in a hurry.
