Abuja residents may have an early Christmas gift as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr Nyesom Wike, has announced that several major road and infrastructure projects across the nation’s capital are on course for completion by December and early January.
Wike gave the assurance on Tuesday after inspecting ongoing projects in Kaura, Life Camp, Gwarimpa and the IBB International Golf Course.
The minister expressed satisfaction with the pace of work, saying contractors handling the projects had given firm assurances that they would meet their respective completion deadlines.
At the Kaura District, Wike said the road and bridge project being executed by Infiouest was expected to be delivered by December 15.
He said Julius Berger had also assured the administration that the N5 project in Life Camp, including the adjoining road linking the area to the Old Keffi Road, would be ready by December.
The minister said the N16 project in Gwarimpa, being handled by CBC Global, remained one of the major infrastructure projects in the area because of its bridges and difficult terrain.
Although he expressed initial concern over whether the contractor could meet the deadline, Wike said the company had assured him that the project would be delivered by the first week of January.
“If that job is completed, obviously, the entire Gwarimpa area will be a different thing altogether. That is a very huge infrastructure going on,” he said.
Wike also inspected the rehabilitation of the IBB International Golf Course, which was shut following a dispute among some of its members.
According to him, the facility has strategic importance because it is used by President Bola Tinubu and members of the diplomatic community.
He said the Federal Government had directed the FCT Administration to ensure that the facility was reopened, adding that Julius Berger had assured the government that the work would be completed in time for a tournament scheduled for November.
“I think that we’re on track, we are happy, and we can see that the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu has redefined infrastructure as far as FCT is concerned,” Wike said.
The minister said the completion of the projects before the election period would provide residents with tangible evidence of ongoing infrastructure development in the capital.
“I’m happy if these projects are completed before the election time; it will be a Christmas gift to the residents of Abuja by Mr President,” he said.
‘FCT budget implementation above 60%’
Wike also disclosed that implementation of the FCT’s 2026 capital budget had exceeded 60 per cent despite the late release of the budget.
He explained that the delay had affected payments to contractors, particularly Julius Berger, but said work resumed immediately after funds were released.
“After the budget was assented to by Mr President, we are now working on the budget. Without the budget, of course, these projects wouldn’t go on,” he said.
The minister said the FCT Administration was now implementing the budget steadily and would continue to monitor projects to ensure delivery.
“So we are implementing the budget steadily, we’re progressing, and we are happy with the work we’re doing. At least we can say for today, for the 2026 capital budget, we have not done below 60 per cent, in spite of the fact that the budget was released late,” Wike said.
