Wike: If Tinubu wanted APC to win, he would have drafted me to Osun

• Unveils more projects to transform Abuja, targets December completion

From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has  declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would have won last Saturday’s Osun State governorship election had President Bola Tinubu deployed the full weight of his political influence, boasting that he would have personally led the effort.

Wike, who remains a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while backing the Tinubu administration, said the President deliberately allowed the election to proceed without Federal Government interference, insisting that the outcome was proof that there was no use of “Federal might” to secure victory for the APC.

“If the President had wanted to win the Osun State election at all costs, I would have been there and we would have won it, and there’s nothing the governor can do,” Wike said while inspecting flood-prone areas in Maitama, Abuja.

The former Rivers State governor added: “There was no Federal might used in Osun. When you see the force and might of the Federal Government, you will know.”

Incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke, candidate of the Accord, was declared winner of the August 15 election after securing 19 of the 30 local government areas, while the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, won 11.

Wike also suggested that Adeleke could have been in the APC if political circumstances had worked out differently. “Ordinarily, Adeleke would have been with APC if things had worked out well.”

The minister further predicted that the 2027 presidential election would be easier for Tinubu than the 2023 contest, attributing the expected advantage to what he described as the weakened state of the opposition.

“The 2027 elections will be the easiest one for the President compared to 2023. This time around, the opposition has been crippled, homeless, no feather,” he said.

Wike unveils Abuja road completion deadline

Meanwhile, Wike inspected the ongoing construction of the Inner Southern Expressway (Goodluck Jonathan Way) and the service carriageways of the Southern Parkway in Gaduwa District, assuring that the projects would be completed by December 2026 or early January 2027.

“I am quite confident by December ending, God willing, these two projects will have been delivered to us, and you can imagine what the landscape will be,” he said.

He said completion of the interchanges, carriageways and adjoining road infrastructure would improve traffic flow, decongest major routes and strengthen connections between different parts of the FCT.

The minister also highlighted the economic benefits of the projects, particularly the engagement of youths from host communities in construction activities, which he said had helped maintain peace around the project sites.

He commended China Geo-Engineering Corporation (CGC), the main contractor, for sustaining round-the-clock construction activities on the Southern Parkway and Inner Southern Expressway.

The Inner Southern Expressway project, originally awarded in 2014, had suffered years of delays before the renewed push by the current FCT Administration.

Wike attributed the accelerated pace of work to the release of funds by the Federal Government and thanked President Tinubu for approving the full release of funds for the first phase of the project.

The phase comprises two major interchanges and more than five kilometres of road infrastructure.

He also praised CGC for continuing construction despite delays in its initial mobilisation, saying the contractor’s commitment demonstrated confidence in the administration.

“Everything is not about profit; sometimes it is about your contribution to the development of the area. Money will come at the end of the day.”  Wike urged other contractors handling projects in the FCT to emulate CGC by prioritising timely delivery of infrastructure, assuring them that the administration would meet its financial obligations.

The minister also defended the performance of the FCT Administration, saying the recent flooding had exposed challenges requiring urgent intervention but should not diminish its infrastructure achievements.

He disclosed that 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy had been signed in the past three years, compared with about 7,000 issued by two previous administrations over 13 years.

“Nobody can diminish what this administration has done in the past three years. Nobody can diminish it,” Wike said.

“This administration has done very well as far as the Federal Capital Territory is concerned. That does not mean that I can claim that it has solved all problems, no.

Are there problems? Yes. Have they solved major problems? Yes. Will they continue to solve problems? Yes.”

He said the FCT Administration would continue to enforce planning regulations, tackle environmental challenges and pursue major infrastructure projects irrespective of political considerations.

Orders demolition of Maitama houses

Meanwhile, Wike has ordered the immediate demolition of houses and other structures built on designated waterways in Maitama and other flood-prone parts of Abuja.

The minister directed the FCT Development Control Department to commence the demolition immediately and complete the exercise by Saturday, warning that neither the ongoing political activities nor the status of property owners would stop enforcement.

“We will demolish all those houses found on the water channel. Some of them are senators. Some of them are big men.

“Whether there’s election or there’s no election, all those houses will go down. Heaven will not fall. Rather, heaven will be at peace that the right thing has been done,” he said.

Wike said inspections conducted after the recent flooding showed that some property owners had blocked channels designated in the Abuja Master Plan for the evacuation of stormwater.

He identified construction on waterways, blocked drainage channels, indiscriminate dumping of refuse and inadequate desilting as major factors aggravating flooding in the capital.

“Unfortunately, we have gone there, and we have seen how people have blocked channels where, in the Master Plan, that is the right way where the water is supposed to be channelled,” he said.

According to the minister, many of the affected properties belonged to wealthy Nigerians and had existed for years, but neither the age of the structures nor the social status of their owners would shield them from enforcement.

“All those built-up areas that were not supposed to be built up, not a single poor person will live there. Those houses are houses built by well-to-do Nigerians.

“Those houses are not houses that were built last week. Those houses have been there 10 years ago, eight years ago.”

He insisted that the FCT Administration had the political will to enforce planning laws and correct violations of the Abuja Master Plan.

“And let nobody make the mistake that this government lacks the political will to do anything. The person must be making a very big mistake,” Wike said.

“If there is one minister that has that political will, I have. I have the political will.”

The minister also ordered the immediate desilting of drainage systems identified as requiring urgent intervention and appealed to residents and traders to stop dumping refuse into waterways.

He acknowledged the impact of climate change and heavier rainfall but said human activities had significantly worsened flooding in Abuja.

“We are in a climate change period. The kind of rains we have experienced, or we are experiencing now, we have not experienced before. But that is not that there are no man-made factors. There are,” he said.

Wike further ordered enforcement of regulations protecting designated green areas in the FCT, warning against their conversion to unauthorised uses.

Rejecting suggestions that the demolitions were politically motivated, he said enforcement of planning regulations could not be suspended because of elections.

“Now you have done your own by blocking the water channel and nothing has happened. Thank God the flood has come. It has drawn our attention to the place. Now something will happen,” he said.

“I’m going to bring those houses down. Any house that’s found on the water channel will go down.”

He specifically warned the Development Control Department against delaying the exercise.

“From today to Saturday, if Development Control delay, let them find any excuse to run away. They cannot,” he said.