The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has accused “political contractors” of sabotaging development projects in Abuja, lamenting that their activities gave him “migraine headache.”
Wike made the remarks on Thursday during the official flag-off of the Integrated (Hybrid) Solar Lighting Project across Abuja districts and expressways under the Light Up Abuja Program: Lots I and II.
Contractors Paid Without Results
The minister disclosed that huge sums of money had been paid out to contractors over the years without tangible results. According to him, these contractors were more interested in politics than delivering value.
“Today’s event is a very difficult one, difficult in the sense that this project, though very important, has given us a lot of headache. Not in conceptualization, but in how it will work,” Wike explained.
He described the contractors as faceless individuals with no visible equipment, who continued to receive payments while offering nothing in return.
“If I tell you how much we spend every month, every week, fines, maintenance of this, maintenance of that, and we were not getting results. These contractors are politicians. You don’t even know who they are, you don’t even know where their equipment are, but you keep on paying and paying,” he said.
Tough Leadership Decisions
Wike noted that true leadership required making tough choices, even if unpopular, as long as they bring improvement to governance and fairness to the people.
“Part of leadership is to take a decision. It doesn’t matter whether that decision will favor everybody or not. But let it be a decision that will lead to improvement and fairness,” he stressed.
The FCT minister emphasized that his administration would not allow sabotage to derail the ongoing infrastructural renewal in Abuja, promising to put an end to wasteful spending on non-performing contractors.
