Wike: 60% of FCT projects completed under my watch were abandoned for 16 years

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has revealed that about 60 per cent of projects completed by the FCT Administration since he assumed office were initiated and awarded between 15 and 16 years ago but were abandoned.

Wike said the decision to revive the projects was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive that ongoing and abandoned projects across the country should not be left unattended.

The minister made the disclosure on Thursday in Abuja during his monthly media briefing, where he addressed issues concerning the state of affairs in the nation’s capital and the activities of the FCT Administration.

He explained that the administration prioritised the completion of inherited projects before embarking on new ones, noting that abandoning such projects would have further affected the development of Abuja.

“Mr President said we cannot abandon old projects, and while we cannot abandon old projects, we must also ensure that we carry out new projects,” Wike said.

“I can tell you that 60 per cent of the projects we have executed in the past three years were projects that were awarded 15 to 16 years ago but abandoned.

“If we had allowed that to continue, you can imagine what would have happened in Abuja. Even if we do new things, people will still ask about the areas that have been abandoned.

“So, what we did first was to ensure that projects that were awarded and abandoned were completed, and we have achieved not less than 70 per cent of that.”

The FCT minister added that the administration would continue to balance the completion of inherited projects with the execution of new infrastructure initiatives aimed at improving development across the capital city.