You have lived up to task of transforming Abuja — Tinubu hails Wike

From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

President Bola Tinubu on Friday, gave an endorsement to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, saying he had lived up to the task of transforming Abuja into a modern capital.

Speaking through Vice President Kashim Shettima at the commissioning of Collector Road CN2 (Emmanuel Ogala Boulevard) and other roads in Katampe District, the president said Wike had “not disappointed” him after being entrusted with the assignment to renew the city’s infrastructure.

“When I gave him the assignment to make Abuja a true capital city, I knew his track records. Wike, you have not disappointed Mr. President,” Tinubu said, according to a statement from the FCT Administration.

The president praised the minister’s hands-on approach and catalogue of projects, noting that Wike had turned abandoned routes into boulevards, delivered water schemes and provided judicial housing.

“From transforming abandoned roads into new boulevards, to delivering water projects and judicial quarters, you work day and night. You do not give excuses; you give results. The people of the FCT call you ‘Mr. Project’ for a reason,” Tinubu said.

The CN2 project — a 3.9-kilometre dual carriageway executed by China Geo-Engineering Construction (CGC) Nigeria Limited in seven months, links Katampe and Mabushi to major arteries including Yemi Osinbajo Way and Wole Soyinka Way, feeding into the Outer Northern Expressway.

FCDA acting Executive Secretary, Richard Yunana Dauda, said the road includes underground storm drains, water pipelines, a sewer network, telecommunications ducts, solar street lighting, walkways and green verges.

Tinubu framed the work as more than civil engineering, saying the installation of solar-powered street lights had bolstered security and helped revive Abuja’s nightlife and economic activities.

President Tinubu used the event to urge residents to protect the new assets, pay ground rents and taxes, and avoid converting pedestrian walkways into marketplaces or vandalising solar installations.