By Stanley Onyekwere
As part of measures to sustain infrastructural provision in Abuja, the nation’s capital, the FCT Minister, Barr. Nyesom Wike has declared that no contract for projects that President Bola Tinubu’s adminstration has awarded under the FCT, would be abandoned.
Wike, who made this assertion yesterday during his remarks at the inauguration of 3.7 kilometre arterial road N16 to arterial N20 (Shehu Shagari way), in Abuja, said it was successfully constructed within eight months period.
He assured that by the time President Tinubu completes third year in office next year, virtually all the contracts awarded under him as the president, as the chairman of the Federal Executive Council, will all have been completed, as there is political-will to ensure that no project will be left undone.
According to him: “This road was awarded by your administration. It is not one of those projects that were inherited. Having worked with you for a few years, I’ve seen how passionate you are about violation of contracts and abandonment of contracts.
“This job was awarded by Federal Executive Council last year September, and we flagged off this project in October.
“I told the contractors, I said, listen, I don’t want to hear complains. Whatever it will take you to do your job, do it. If I pay you under rainy season, you must work under rainy season.
“If I pay you in dry season, you must work in dry season. I don’t want to hear that, oh, the rain was too much. Return the money so that we can keep it. After the rain, we can pay you. You can’t keep our money when we have paid you, then yous say it is raining, No. Send our money back.’
He continues: Mr. President has created confidence in contractors today. This road, it stopped somewhere, the extension was not awarded. But because of the confidence that the company, CGC had, believing that they now know under this government, you award contract, you will pay.
“This extension was approved by the Federal Executive Council one month ago, but the job had been finished before the award came out. That tells you the confidence they have in the government that, yes, they will be paid.
“As I speak to you now, companies, contractors are competing among themselves for us to just award the job. Most of them have gone and started without even giving them the initial mobilization. That is confidence building. And that’s what we’ve created.
“So, Mr. President, we want to thank you that we are part of this, what is going on, the revolution that’s going on. Your good work has killed the coalition.
“By Friday, we’ll go to Apo, 15-kilometer road to Wassa. By Monday, we’ll be in N5, Life Camp. By Tuesday, INEC headquarters. So, they wouldn’t know what to do. Coalition is bound to fail, and it has failed.”
Our correspondent reports that President Tinubu officially commissioned the Arterial Road N16 from Ring Road 1 to Arterial Road N20) and other critical roads in Katampe District, of Abuja, which is among the FCT’s completed 17 projects lined up for presidential commissioning, in commemoration of his second year anniversary.
It was gathered that the road network is a key boost to traffic management, urban mobility, and economic connectivity in the area delivering real impact under the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu’s administration.
