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Tag: Nysome wike

  • Tinubu’s second Anniversary: Wike announces 19-Day project inauguration in FCT

    Tinubu’s second Anniversary: Wike announces 19-Day project inauguration in FCT

    Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has announced that a series of infrastructure projects executed by the FCT Administration will be inaugurated over a 19-day period to mark President Bola Tinubu’s second year in office.

    According to a statement issued on Tuesday by Lere Olayinka, the Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and Social Media, the inauguration will begin on June 10 and span 19 days.

    Olayinka noted that the decision to roll out the inauguration schedule was reached during the 14th Executive Committee meeting of the FCT Administration, chaired by Wike.

    Among the projects to be commissioned are the newly renovated Abuja International Conference Centre, the Kugbo and Mabushi Bus Terminals, and the Apo–Wassa Road.

    Other key projects include the N16 Interchange and connecting road network linking Maitama, Katampe, and Jahi Districts through Gishiri village, as well as the Inner Northern Expressway from Idu (Ring Road III) to Dei Dei.

    Additional projects lined up for inauguration include the CN8 Road from Obafemi Awolowo Way (N5) to the Court of Appeal, and the N20 Flyover connecting Wole Soyinka Way with the Murtala Mohammed Expressway (Kubwa Road).

    Olayinka also mentioned the extension of Obafemi Awolowo Way from Life Camp Junction to Ring Road III, the Kabulsa–Takushara and Kabusa–Ketti access roads, and another access road in the Giri District.

    In the area councils, the minister will inaugurate the 15-kilometre road from A2 Junction (Abuja-Lokoja Expressway) to Pai in the Kwali Area Council. Additionally, the dual carriageway from Ushafa to the War College and Army Checkpoint in Bwari Area Council is also set to be commissioned.

  • Wike travels to China for key talks on FCT satellite towns water project

    Wike travels to China for key talks on FCT satellite towns water project

    The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has embarked on an official trip to China to advance efforts aimed at providing potable water to satellite towns within the FCT.

    According to a statement released on Thursday by Lere Olayinka, the Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Wike made a stopover in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, en route to China.

    While in China, the Minister is scheduled to hold high-level discussions with representatives of the China Geo-Engineering Corporation Overseas Construction (CGCOC) Group. The visit follows the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed during President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s official trip to China in September 2024, involving CGCOC and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), aimed at boosting water and electricity supply in the FCT.

    President Tinubu had earlier approved ₦50 billion for water projects in satellite towns, as part of his commitment to delivering essential infrastructure and restoring public confidence through people-focused initiatives.

    Wike’s visit is part of efforts to ensure the implementation of the President’s directive, particularly in the Gwagwalada, Kwali, and Kuje Area Councils. He is expected to return to Nigeria next week.

  • We will start picking up Beggars in Abuja from Monday — Wike

    We will start picking up Beggars in Abuja from Monday — Wike

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration has issued a warning to roadside beggars to desist from the act or risk being arrested by enforcement agents.

    The minister disclosed at Katampe during the flag-off ceremony of the construction of the access road to the newly flag-off judges’ quarters.

    He lamented that the number of persons who stay on the road is alarming which poses a threat to security in the metropolis.

    He then issued an October 27, 2024 ultimatum to the concerned parties to vacate the streets.

    Wike had on Monday, recalled how he revoked the certificate of occupancy (C of O) of some plots of land allocated to German construction giant, Julius Berger, in the Katampe District of Abuja.

    The minister spoke at the official Flag-Off Ceremony of the Design and Construction of 40 Judges’ Quarters at the nation’s capital.

    The event was attended by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun; and the President of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem; among other dignitaries.

    Wike said 70% of funds for the project had been released after its approval by the Federal Executive Council last month. He said out of the 40 units to be constructed, 20 will be allocated to the FCT High Court, 10 to the Federal High Court, and 10 to the Court of Appeal.

     

  • Wike boasts: I revoked Julius Berger land after dinning with MD

    Wike boasts: I revoked Julius Berger land after dinning with MD

    Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has narrated how he revoked the title of a land allocated to Julius Berger Nigeria Plc.

    Speaking during the official flag-off ceremony of the Design and Construction of 40 Judges’ Quarters at the nation’s capital, on Monday, Wike said the land upon which the quarters would be built was owned by the construction company.

    Addressing the CJN, Wike said, “My Lord, let me bring to your notice. You have seen this land here. When we were looking for where to get land to build. I was driving around looking for empty land and I got here and saw this empty land.

    “I saw the big post ‘Julius Berger’. I didn’t talk. I called the director of lands, ‘who owns that land?’ And he said Julius Berger. When was it allocated? He said about 15, 20 years ago. 15, 20 years ago? Nothing has been done? I didn’t bother.

    “So, I invited the MD Julius Berger. He came and we had dinner. I didn’t talk about the land. The next day, he was in the office and he saw the revocation letter as a matter of public interest. He called me and said ‘but I had dinner with you’. I said ‘yes; we had dinner but we didn’t discuss the land’.

    “How will the government allocate land for more than 20 years for organisation to develop and they did not develop it? Thank God they did not develop it and now we can have it.”

    He said 70 percent of funds for the project was released after its approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

    Wike further explained out of the 40 units, 20 would be allocated to the FCT High Court, 10 to the Federal High Court, and 10 to the Court of Appeal.

     

  • Nigerians have rejected you – Wike replies Atiku

    Nigerians have rejected you – Wike replies Atiku

    Nyesom Wike on Saturday hit back at former vice president Atiku Abubakar, labelling the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential flag bearer in the 2023 election as a serial loser.

    Atiku had taken a swipe at Wike – the Minister of the FCT and a former governor of Rivers State  over the local government elections in the state.

    The Action Peoples Party (APP) won 22 out of the 23 local government chairmanship posts in the exercise in the PDP-led Rivers, a move Atiku said is a reflection of Wike’s rejection by The people. But weeks after, the minister said having contested the presidential election in 2019 and 2023 as the PDP candidate and lost, Atiku has been rejected by Nigerians.

    “We never contested local government elections. Did we contest [Rivers LG election]? Did we pick form? I hear Atiku Abubakar say, ‘Oh they have rejected me in Rivers State. Okay, assuming though not conceding, he had lost so many times, Nigerians have also rejected him,” Wike said in Port Harcourt at a luncheon he organised in honour of members of the Rivers State Assembly loyal to him.

    “If you say for an election we did not contest; never participated that shows Nigerians have rejected us, it is okay. You that contested and failed woefully, Nigerians have rejected you, therefore pack and go home.”

    Wike, a chieftain of the PDP serving as a minister under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), fell out with Atiku in the lead-up to the 2023 election.

    Atiku had clinched the PDP ticket for the exercise after beating Wike and other aspirants. Since then, their relationship turned sour. The then-Rivers State governor faulted the ex-VP’s emergence as the party’s flagbearer, arguing that it was the turn of southern Nigeria to produce a president (Atiku is from the north)

    That pushed Wike and some of his men in the “G-5” which enjoyed membership of five then-governors. They worked against Atiku with the PDP losing Rivers, one of its strongholds to the APC in the presidential election.

     

  • Wike, 27 Rivers lawmakers refused to join APC – Okocha

    Wike, 27 Rivers lawmakers refused to join APC – Okocha

    Dr Tony Okocha, the factional Chairman of the All Progressive Congress(APC), in Rivers, has said that FCT minister Nyesom Wike and the 27 lawmakers loyal to him the state House of Assembly have not agreed to join the All Progressives Congress, APC.

    Okocha said this in Abuja at a press conference on Thursday.

    He insisted that the 27 Rivers lawmakers who are currently locked in a bitter political struggle with Gov. Siminalayi Fubara were also not members of the APC.

    “People say Wike has decamped to the APC. They also say that the 27 lawmakers currently fighting with Fubara have defected to the APC.

    “I need to make this clear to everyone. Much as I wish to have them in my fold, none of them has agreed to join us.

    “I am the one that should know if they did. But, clearly, they have not.

    “What the lawmakers did was a political gimmick.

    “I tried to woo them, but they kept vacillating and did not.

    “To defect, they must go to their wards, register and get their membership cards. None of them has done that,” he said.

    Okocha was particularly categorical in declaring that Wike would not leave the PDP.

    “Wike will never leave the PDP.

    “He has always said that PDP made him what he is. He has always said that he would remain there.

    “He is an ardent believer in PDP. He is not likely to leave that group,” Okocha said.

    He, however, said that Wike is a member of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

    “In Rivers, I am 001 in APC, but in the Renewed Hope Agenda, I am 002. Wike is 001,” he explained.

    He also spoke on Wike’s influence on Rivers’ politics

    “Wike has done so much for Rivers, so he is strong.

    “In the next 10 years, Wike will continue to influence the political direction in Rivers.

    “It will be difficult to uproot him.

    “Aside from his many projects scattered throughout the state, he has touched people’s lives directly. Such people will always be behind him,” he said.

    He described Wike as a politician that could identify with every good cause irrespective of political party.

    “Once the cause is good and will give him a platform to serve his people, Wike will be part of it,” Okocha said.

     

  • Rivers crisis: Fubara sends a powerful message to Wike

    Rivers crisis: Fubara sends a powerful message to Wike

    Governor Siminalayi Fubara has urged his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, to let go of any grip he desires to have over Rivers State and allow peace reign in the oil-rich state.

    Fubara, who stated this on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Monday, said he does not regret conducting the local government election in the state last Saturday despite the resistance by Wike’s men in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    “I have all the guts to do these things,” the governor said, asking his predecessor to let go of whatever hold he thought he had over the South-South state.

    ”There is nothing that I have not done on this earth for peace to reign. I can tell you the number of times I have knelt to beg to allow this issue to go”

    The governor said he has kept all “understanding” he had with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to ensure peace in the state but the issue has continued to escalate.

    “There is nothing I have not done on this earth for peace to reign. I can tell you the number of times I have knelt to beg that let’s allow this issue to go. I have done everything,” Fubara said.

    Asked what his message to Wike would be if they met, Fubara said, “I’ll tell him (Wike) that it has gotten to a point where he needs to let go. We need peace in this state.

    “You don’t necessarily need to win all the fights; at times, you just let go for the sake of the good people of Rivers State and the love that you have always professed for the state. We need to secure the state.

    “Fubara will leave tomorrow. Who knows who is going to come? It might be through him or another person but we need to secure the state.”

    ‘No Need To Destroy Rivers’
    Fubara said election periods are over and it’s time for governance. He urged the FCT minister to give peace a chance.

    “What I am appealing is: everyone should sheathe their swords. Even to the minister, my oga (my boss), there is no need to destroy this state.

    “He (Wike) once ruled this state and the state was an envy of every other state. Another person is there now, what we need now is the support, after four years or eight years, who knows? I will also leave and someone else will take over. That should be the spirit.

    “When it comes to the election period, you can fight and do whatever but now is the time for governance. We need all the support,” the governor said.

  • Fubara accuses IGP, Nigeria Police Force for serving Wike’s interest

    Fubara accuses IGP, Nigeria Police Force for serving Wike’s interest

    Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has accused the Inspector General of Police and the entire Nigeria Police Force of serving the interest of Nyesom Wike to scuttle the Local Government election scheduled for 5th October, 2024 in the State.

    Governor Fubara made the accusation during a World Press Conference held at Government House in Port Harcourt on Friday.

    The Governor said the already scheduled Local Government election, barely hours away, cannot be stopped or truncated because a particular person does not want it conducted.

    He said that everything that needed to be done about the electoral process legally, security wise and logistically, including the voters, have been finalised and voters sentisitised because of their high confidence levels.

    Governor Fubara said even the police have been informed, and are expected to discharge their statutory professional security duties, particularly because the court also directed so in its judgement on the election.

    He regretted that rather, the police have become hired agents sent to attack the headquarters of Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and tried but in vain to cart away sensitive materials.

    Governor Fubara said: “In the early hours of this morning (Friday), I got a security report that the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) office has been invaded by the Nigerian Police. I was really surprised because before that time, I got a copy of a signal withdrawing the police officers that were guarding the premises. So, I had to drive to the place myself since the facility belongs to Rivers State Government.

    “Getting to the scene, and to shock of everyone who accompanied me there, I met the presence of some fierce looking policemen in one truck and three other empty Hilux vans trying to force their way into the premises. And, I had to stop them. In the process, we discovered that that movement (operation), was a deliberate attempt by the Nigerian Police Force, both the Rivers State Command and the Headquarters (Abuja), to steal the electoral materials. But by the special grace of God, that act was foiled.”

    Governor Fubara questioned how so low the Nigeria Police stooped, allowing its officers to engage in such illegal acts that clearly suggested that they have become enemies of Rivers State.

    Otherwise, Governor Fubara wondered why the Nigeria Police will attempt to take over control of RSIEC or be used to stop a democratic process that is ongoing, which will lead to the emergence of elected political leadership at the Local Government Councils.

    Governor Fubara said: “Here are the questions: first, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, is it not an agency, and a process that is being controlled by the State Government? Is it not a system that is governed by the law of the State? Why is Rivers State’s case different.

    “The second part of it is: what is the special thing about this issue of taking over the premises by the Police? If we should go by what they claim that they had a court order, the court ruling said, don’t give RSIEC voter register, don’t give RSIEC police protection. Did the judgment say they should seal the premises? Or don’t allow them conduct election?”

    Governor Fubara also said: “However, the Rivers State Government and RSIEC itself also had a judgment that states clearly: conduct the election with the voters register of 2023; and police, DSS, Nigeria Army and other sister agencies should provide security.

    “I might not be a lawyer, but I understand clearly that when it comes to the issue of judgment, there is something they call first- in-time.”

    Governor Fubara asked if there is any other court unknown to him that is bigger than the Supreme Court of Nigeria, whose judgment concerning a proper constitution of elected Local Government Councils is being obeyed in Rivers State.

    The Governor stated that among all the security agencies, it is only the Nigeria Police that is acting so strangely and have become a threat to the nation’s democracy.

     

    “The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in agreement with the State Governors, directed a compliance to this judgment within 90 days with effect from the judgment date.

    “And all other States are conducting election to ensure that they comply with the directive, not just the Supreme Court ruling but also going by the understanding that we have with Mr. President.

    “And what Rivers State is also doing is not different from others. And the big question is: is any other court bigger than the Supreme Court?”

    Governor Fubara also made reference to the incident that happened in Nigeria about the botched general election of June 12, 1993, wherein the Supreme Court ruled that when it comes to the issue of election, no court should stop the process.

    “Is it not better”, Governor said: “If you feel aggrieved, if you feel you don’t want to participate in the election that you should go to court?. Why do you want to stop the process of election, to create problem, to create anarchy in the state? We are already complaining of suffering, people are hungry, and you want to stampede the local government civil servants in the State.”

    Governor Fubara assured Nigerians, and particularly peace- loving people of Rivers State that the election will go on, and nothing will stop it because everything required has been put in place.

    The Governor said: “On the issue of security, if the police feel they don’t want to be part of the election, they should withdraw.
    “I am saying this here so that the Inspector General of Police will be aware, and also know that any act against the peace of this State, anything that will bring a situation of lawlessness in this State, if it happens, I think at the end of the day, he should be prepared to take responsibility.

    “Why is the case of Rivers State different? Is it that the law or the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, when it comes Rivers State, it is be interpreted in a different way?

    Governor Fubara emphasised that the Local Government election on Saturday is sacrosanct, and demanded everybody to join hands together to make sure that it is peaceful so that there will be winners who will eventually be sworn-in to pilot the affairs of the councils.

    Governor Fubara said: “This press briefing, if you listen to me, I am not crying. I am not also calling the international community (for help). When they have their own press briefings, they call on the International community (for help). I am not calling international community.

    “But from here, I just want you to know that we are prepared. Once in the lifetime of every man, you need to stand on the side of truth, and even if it will take your life, history will not forget you.

    “Great Martin Luther King, today, we talk about him. We talk about him because he stood for what was the truth, and his life went in. And if I am going to be that Martin Luther King of Rivers State, so be it!”

    Responding to questions from journalists, Governor Fubara said the Rivers State Government sent a copy of the judgment of court mandating that the election should hold to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Inspector General of Police (IGP), Director, Directorate of State Security (DSS), and other security agencies, which he believed had been communicated to Mr President.

    He noted, “On the aspect of the Police withdrawing their services, I don’t think police (are) supposed to be part of the election process.
    “What police should do is to protect lives and property, ensure that nobody comes to cause a fight or burn people’s property.
    “In fact, police don’t need to be close to the polling units or the voting centres. What is important is for them to ensure that the lives of the people of Rivers State are protected, and their properties are protected.
    “On the issue of the election, I don’t think if they withdraw their services, it is going to marr the process. Not at all!
    “So, if the police are not providing (security), I strongly believe that some other agencies will provide security for the election,” he explained.

     

  • Defection: ‘We’ll teach you a lesson’, Wike mocks Fubara camp

    Defection: ‘We’ll teach you a lesson’, Wike mocks Fubara camp

    Ahead of the October 5 local government election in the state, Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has mocked supporters of Governor Siminalayi Fubara who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All-Peoples Party (APP)

    After Wike’s loyalists took control of the PDP in Rivers following the congress that held last month, Fubara reportedly directed his loyalists to contest the forthcoming election under APP.

    Speaking at a reception organized for him by a group, the Ijaw Peoples Assembly, in Port Harcourt, on Saturday, Wike expressed surprise that members of PDP loyal to the governor could defect to APP.

    He said: “Imagine in Rivers they are contemplating of APP. It is not about money. Money does not move. You can have all the money but if there is no capacity there is no capacity.

    “All the things you see are people envious of our growth. We have defeated them severally and if opportunity comes again, we will defeat them

    “We have not started politics, when the time comes, we will play politics. Our job is politics. Tell them to keep their party ready. We will teach them what is called politics.”

    Wike said it is not true that Ijaw people were fighting him but that few ungrateful people among the ethnic group is putting up such disposition.

    Wike described the crisis period in Rivers as a time for some people to enrich themselves, adding that such persons see the state government as a big market.

    But he said: “They are not fighting me. I am too big. If you don’t recognize someone bigger than you, know you are sick. I am far bigger and all of them put together they can’t withstand it”.

    Earlier the Director, Finance and Administration, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Boma Iyaye, who spoke on behalf of the group, apologized to Wike and told him to disregard the misbehaviour of an individual and continue to relate with the Ijaw people.

    Iyaye appealed to Wike not to judge the Ijaws in Rivers through the behaviour of one person.

     

  • PDP governors sent ministerial nominees to Tinubu – Wike

    PDP governors sent ministerial nominees to Tinubu – Wike

    Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike, has claimed that those fighting him for getting involved with the All Progressives Congress, APC-led government sent nominations to President Bola Tinubu during the ministerial appointments.

    Wike said this in response to being accused by some in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Governors of being a mole in the party while working with APC Government.

    The former Rivers Governor made the response on Friday when he appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

    “Who in the PDP that didn’t try to nominate names for President Tinubu’s appointments?

    “Yes, they did. Let them come forward and say they did not do it,” he said.