… says action on expired ground rent notice will begin today
… insists schools were not shutdown over insecurity in Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has given valid reasons why most jobs abandoned by previous administrations due to lack of are being perfected now. 
The minister also made it clear that action on expired ground rent will commence today.
FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, fielding questions from journalists after inspecting the ongoing construction of N11 roads, Guzape 2, Abuja on Wednesday gave reasons why he’s ensuring abandoned jobs are adequately fixed.
The project was awarded in 2019.
Allocation of lands in the area was done in 2018.
Full scale construction works just started, courtesy of the President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Govt.
The minister said: “Well, it is most unfortunate we have always said that most of the jobs you see us doing are jobs that were awarded years back before the inception of this administration in 2023.
“Like you rightly pointed out, in order to expand Abuja to create more cities. Here is called N11 Guzape and so I believe because of lack of funding, it was stalled.
“But we felt that the only way to make adequate…that will make people to develop is to create infrastructure.
“Remember that like Maitama II, it was awarded more than 10 years ago. And what happened is that people don’t have access to their property. And we felt that we are getting more congested and there is need to create infrastructure in Maitama II.
“And today by the grace of God, we have awarded that job for the provision of engineering infrastructure.
“So what we are doing here is the same thing so as to create more opportunity for people to carry out their building opportunities.
So it is a normal thing that has been done, it was awarded more than six years ago and these plots that were awarded is more than seven years ago.
“It is our duty though we are not the ones who awarded it but government is a continuum.
On compensation for indigenes, the minister said: ” Mind you, all those places that were affected were always compensated. Like the one in C01, we are trying to relocate them, compensation has been made and that job was awarded to Gilmore Engineering. So we don’t just compensate them, we also relocate them.
Asked about the botched notice for schools closure, he said: “You know in a system, sometimes you get baffled and that is why it is important for you to be current.
I was watching the television last night and I saw that FCT has directed that schools should be shutdown and I couldn’t believe it and I had to call the mandate secretary of education and of course he couldn’t reply.
“I didn’t get to know the circular that was given to all the schools without our approval and I know that we are having Security Council meeting today”Wednesday ) and I called the commissioner of police and I called the state director of SSS they said it is not in their agenda.
“And there is nowhere, we don’t have such a threat that will make us to now shutdown the schools; so because of that the mandate secretary of education has been suspended indefinitely and the directors who were involved will be sanctioned according to civil service rules.
“But you can imagine how people could take such decisions without the head of the place knowing and it is very unfortunate.
