By Stanley Onyekwere
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, has been nominated as the Thisday Newspaper and Arise Television’s Minister of the Year 2024.
In a letter dated January 14, 2024, signed by Mr Eniola Bello, Managing Director of the Thisday Arise Group, the FCT Minister emerged “from hundreds of candidates chosen by millions of readers of Thisday Newspaper and viewers of the Arise News Channel.”
According to an e-signed statement from Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media to the FCT Minister, Lere Olayinka, yesterday in Abuja, the award ceremony will be held on January 27, 2025, at Eko Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The nomination letter read; “Many congratulations on your nomination as Minister of the Year! In service to Nigeria, the people of Africa and the World.
“THISDAY Awards celebrate excellence in governance, public policy, leadership and entrepreneurship; and we believe your contributions have made you worthy of honour and recognition.
“From hundreds of candidates chosen by millions of readers of THISDAY Newspaper and viewers of the ARISE NEWS Channel, you have emerged as tough and resilient in these trying times.”
However, Olayinka said should be noted that since Wike assumed office as the FCT Minister, countless infrastructural developments have been witnessed in Abuja city centre and the satellite towns.
“Also, land administration has witnessed tremendous improvements such that land allottees can now get their Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) within two weeks after paying.
“For instance, as against a total of 8,400 C-of-O Printed and signed between 2010 and 2023, Wike has signed 5,841, leaving less than 3,000 to surpass the C-of-O signed in eight years”, Wike’s media aide stated.
