Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike yesterday kicked off reconstruction of the 25km Kweita/Yebu road in the Kwali Area of Abuja.
Wike assured the people that President Bola Tinubu has come to restore their lost hope by bringing back confidence in the government. He also told them that the project would not be abandoned.
The minister, who said 50 per cent of the contract sum has been captured in the FCT 2024 budget, changed the project’s delivery time from 18 to 12 months. He asked if the contractor could deliver if more money was provided.
He added: “When the people are happy, the government is happy. You lost hope in the past, you didn’t believe that a government would come and work on the road. Mr. President said he has come to bring back hope. He has brought back hope.
“For us, it is a promise made and a promise kept, we will not abandon the road. We are not in the category of those who award contracts and don’t complete them. In this year’s budget, we’ve provided 50 per cent of the funds. Do not lose hope, by this time next year, by the grace of God, I will be here to open this road.”
The minister also assured that rural roads will be prioritized as city roads.
“What we are doing in the city, we must also do in the rural areas, after all, the people are in the rural areas; the votes come from the rural areas,” he noted.
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He also praised former Senator representing the FCT, Philip Aduda, for remaining connected with the people and their hopes.
The Etsu Kwali, Luka Ayedoo Nizassan, noted that the Tinubu administration, through Nyesom Wike, has restored the hope of his people indeed.
The monarch recalled that the road was first awarded in 2015 and abandoned after three years, and rewarded in 2012 and abandoned again till Wike came into the scene.
According to him, the road, when completed, would link two area councils in Kwali to Abaji and Nasarawa State. He also noted that the road services a lot of farms where yams, cassava, bananas, plantains, beni seed and melon are supplied to the city.