FCT Minister Commits To Timely Completion Of Kuje Road Projects

......Expresses Dissatisfaction With New Waste Contractors' Services 

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, has reaffirmed the commitment of the FCT Administration to the timely completion of ongoing key infrastructure projects in Kuje Area Council.

Barr. Wike made the pledge in Abuja on Tuesday, while addressing journalists, shortly after conducting an inspection of two vital road projects in Kuje area Council – the dual carriageway (Kuje Highway 105) from the Umar Musa Yar’Adua Expressway to Kuje Township and the dualization of the Kuje to Gwagwalada road. 

The Minister expressed satisfaction with the observed progress and reiterated the Administration’s commitment to providing critical infrastructure in the Area Councils under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He specifically praised the quality and pace of work on the Kuje Highway 105, which runs from the Umar Musa Yar’Adua Expressway (Airport Road) to Kuje Township.

According to a statement by the Assistant Director, Press, Office of the Minister, Rabi Musa Umar, the Minister disclosed that the project which was awarded in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, had been on hold and the contractor had left the site. 

He, however said, following the intervention of the FCTA and interaction with stakeholders, the contractor has since returned to work with a completion target of June 2026.

“We are very impressed with the level of work and the quality of job being carried out by the company, Arab Contractors, and they have promised to keep their own agreement that by June next year, they would have handed over that road”, the Minister stated.

Regarding the road dualization project connecting Kuje to Gwagwalada, Barr. Wike also explained that the project was awarded this year, extending the initial project from Kuje Junction to LEA Secretariat, to go all the way to Gwagwalada.

He said the project was very strategic in improving connectivity and commerce in the FCT, describing it as a major economic catalyst that would allow residents travelling between Kuje and Gwagwalada to bypass the Airport Road.

The Minister also noted that if all parties keep to their promises, 70% to 80% of the job would be completed within the scheduled timeframe.

“This is a very important road. At least, somebody going from Kuje to Gwagwalada does not need to pass through the Airport road... These are two major projects we think will change the economic activities of this area and the FCT in general”, Barr. Wike said.

Addressing questions on waste management in the FCT, the Minister expressed his dissatisfaction with the performance of the recently awarded solid waste cleaning contractors. 

He admitted that waste management is a difficult but solvable problem, adding that he would meet with the contractors to communicate the Administration’s stance and the urgency required to improve service delivery.

“I’ve gone round personally; I’m not really satisfied with the performance of the contractors involved in waste disposal. I have to give them another opportunity to interact with them today,” he stressed.

Also speaking on Area Council Education Projects, the Minister reaffirmed the FCT Administration’s commitment to the education sector, stating that the commissioning and flagging off of completed and new projects in FCT Area Councils will commence soon.

He assured residents that the Administration was serious about changing the lives of the people, both in the city, and the Area Councils, and pointed to ongoing infrastructure development as proof of the renewed hope at work in the FCT.

Summoning the waste management contractors to a meeting at the FCDA conference hall after the inspection exercise, Barrister Wike expressed his deep dissatisfaction with their performance, barely two weeks after they commenced operations.

The Minister acknowledged that waste disposal is globally challenging, especially in developing nations, but stressed that the Administration will not tolerate excuses for non-performance.

Barr. Wike stated that he had been inundated with calls from residents and stakeholders on how messy the city is, stressing that though the contractors have just started, ‘a good dancer is known by the first step he takes’. “The moment you take the first step, you would have known whether this is a good dancer or not”, he said.

He highlighted that key districts and major entry points like Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse, and the Airport Road corridor must be prioritized, as they determine the public perception of the city's cleanliness.

The Minister also issued a final appeal, linking the contractors’ performance directly to their livelihood: “I felt that I don’t want to take a decision without calling you back to say look, disappoint your enemies, disappoint your detractors so that you continue with the job. It’s your daily earning where you live. It’s your workshop. If you don’t work, you won’t eat. So, take it very seriously.”

“My appeal is that we have to take this waste management very serious... We must be up and doing to ensure that we really change the city in terms of waste management”, he charged the contractors.

Barr. Wike also assured the contractors that if they perform their duties diligently, there will be no delays in processing their payments.

The Minister equally appealed to FCT residents to pay their sanitation fees and urged them to cooperate by properly bagging their refuse and bringing it out at specified times.

To combat indiscipline and indiscriminate refuse disposal, Barr. Wike disclosed that a new task force would be established to focus on sanitation enforcement.

“We are trying to set up a task force whereby if anybody carries refuse or construction waste—if I see that you don’t bag your refuse, you put it on the ground in front of your house, I will take it inside your house. I will make sure the task force carries it inside your house. We cannot continue like this like a country without discipline”, he stated.