By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Barr. Nyesom Wike has said that there is no going on the construction of a resident for Nigeria’s Vice President of the nation.
Wike mentioned this during the flag-off of the rehabilitation of Asokoro District roads on Thursday.
The minister who said that the construction of the Vice President’s residence which has been a subject of public discourse, t clarified that the contract was awarded in 2010 by the Federal Government to Julius Berger, at the cost of N7 billion, but that the project was abandoned for 13 years.
According to him, the FCT Administration, as a responsible government, is duty bound to complete the project to avoid the wastage of taxpayers’ money, adding that the project has duly been sent to the Bureau of Public Procurement, with the approval of the President, for the final nod of how much will be spent.
The Minister said, “People should not be sentimental and tell lies. We did not award that contract. All we are merely doing, because of our policy of not leaving other projects to be abandoned, we felt we should continue with those projects.”
He therefore called for the support of FCT residents for the policies and programmes of the government.
Recall that the construction of the Vice President’s Residence has become a topic of public discourse, with many Nigerians kicking against such a colossal project while citizens wallow in abject poverty inflicted by the federal government’s fuel subsidy removal in January 2023.
