When Nigerians were already upbeat about the Easter celebration, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, continued his inspection tour of roads to be commissioned by President Bola Tinubu to commemorate his second anniversary.
This time around, he inspected roads in the rural communities of the FCT.
He started from the 10.5-kilometer Kabusa-Ketti road, which connects Kabusa, Pyakasa and Ketti communities.
He then proceeded to the 9.8 km Kabusa-Takushara road, which links Kabusa, Takushara, and Wasa communities.
Wike said the roads linking several communities were to bridge the gap between the rural and urban areas, as within ten minutes, one could drive to the city centre and vice versa.
He noted that this would also halt rural-urban migration within the FCT.
He stated this over the weekend while briefing the press after the inspection.
Wike said the road projects aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s directive for inclusive development, stressing that infrastructure provision should not be limited to the city centre.
“Mr President has always emphasised that we should not only concentrate development in the city but extend it to the satellite towns,” he said.
He assured that the Ketti and Takushara roads, which would serve as key arteries between the satellite towns and Abuja city, would be completed for Mr President to the commission during his second anniversary in May.
“I am happy with what the contractors are doing, and hopefully, by the end of May, these two roads will be inaugurated as part of the second-year anniversary of Mr President,” Wike said.
The Minister highlighted the strategic importance of roads to rural development, noting that improved access and connectivity in rural communities would make living outside the city more appealing.
According to the Minister, infrastructure will not only discourage rural-urban migration within the FCT. “This shift will encourage migration away from the city centre, reduce urban congestion, and drive property development in satellite communities,” he said.
Beyond road infrastructure, the Minister revealed a broader plan to improve the socio-economic livelihood of rural dwellers, including the planned construction of schools in Ketti and Takushara.
“We promised the communities we would build more schools; the file is still on my table. I have approved it, and we are waiting for the passage of the 2025 FCT Statutory Budget by the National Assembly to commence construction,” he added.
*Wike hails AMAC chair
During the inspection tour, the Minister hailed the Abuja Municipal Area Council chairman, Christopher Maikalangu, for his foresight and wisdom in bringing to his knowledge the need for rural roads that are very important to the development of the communities.
“I want to commend the Chairman of AMAC, who drew our attention to these two important roads. But for him, we may not have taken our attention to this place.
Recall that when the Minister started the flag of roads in January this year, Maikalangu, like the proverbial Oliver Twist, requested more dramatically when he almost burst into tears to convince Wike of the need for the roads.
