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President Bola Tinubu on Friday gave a ringing endorsement to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), 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 responsibility of renewing 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 transformed abandoned roads into boulevards, delivered water projects and provided judicial quarters.
“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 project as more than a civil engineering achievement, saying the installation of solar-powered street lights had bolstered security and helped revive Abuja’s nightlife and economic activities.
“We have installed solar street lights, and today Katampe is bright at night. Abuja’s city life is coming back, and criminal hideouts are disappearing. This is exactly what good governance delivers: security, mobility, and dignity,” the President said.
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President Tinubu used the event to urge residents to protect the new infrastructure, pay ground rents and taxes, and avoid converting pedestrian walkways into marketplaces or vandalising solar installations.
Wike described the Katampe road as a deliberate response to a missing link exposed by previous adjoining projects, saying the road was designed to make infrastructure delivery holistic.
“Last year, when Mr. President commissioned the Gishiri road and the bridge linking Maitama, this road did not even exist. We identified the missing link and immediately moved to address it because infrastructure must be holistic,” he said.
The minister said the new road had already spurred private residential and commercial developments in Katampe, created jobs for labourers and engineers, and unlocked fresh investment opportunities.
He announced that the FCT team would commission a major water supply project for Karu on Monday to extend the benefits to satellite towns.
The Minister of State for the FCT, Dr Mariya Mahmoud, credited community leaders, traditional rulers and security agencies with ensuring the smooth delivery of the project, and thanked the National Assembly for what she described as constructive oversight.
CGC’s Managing Director, Mr Lv Haiming, said the company prioritised the hiring and training of local workers during the project, while Dauda emphasised that the CN2 road would ease travel between Katampe, Mabushi, Jahi and Maitama, and catalyse further urban growth.
