*Pledges not to run against Tinubu in 2027
*Says FCTA can’t pay China $7bn for Abuja Light Rail
*Vows abandoned Millennium Tower will be president’s signature project
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, yesterday, described his successor, Siminalayi Fubara, as an ingrate over what he termed as an attempt by the governor to crumble his political structure in the State.
This was just as the minister once again pledged his loyalty to President Bola Tinubu, saying he would not contest against the President in the 2027 presidential election.
The minister also said his administration would not be in a position to pay the $7 billion contractual component of the Abuja Light Rail to the Chinese firm, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), but that they would be able to pay the naira component.
Wike, who said these during a media parley in Abuja, highlighted the quest for justice as the key reason why he and the G-5 group of governors resolved to support the ambition of Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.
Addressing the political feud in Rivers State, Wike accused Fubara of trying to foist a political crisis on himself.
“Let me tell you, I don’t like ingrates. I can’t stand it. What is happening now (in Rivers) is what former Governor Peter Odili said in his book: ‘Give a man power and money, then you will know the person.’ If you haven’t given a man power and money then you don’t know the person.
“He may be your friend, he may be your son, sister or mother or father. I don’t want to go into that,” the minister stressed
He accused Fubara of seeking to destroy the structure which produced him as governor just within three months of his emergence as governor.
“You know what is painful? All these allegations, I smile. Who and who sat with him. In all your doings be grateful in your life no matter the circumstance. Nobody who is a gentleman and a politician will support this kind of thing.
“I left projects for him to commission so he would showcase them during his 100 days, then politics came in. We are just starting. God gave you something, you are now importing crisis.
“God gave this (power) on a platter of gold, no crisis. The federal government is not fighting you, nobody at home is fighting you. You are the one trying to create a crisis for yourself.
“What kind of system is that? Who does that? Only ingrates that it is in their blood that will support what is happening there (in Rivers). Only those who are naturally ingrate.”
He stressed that his loyalty to Tinubu stemmed from the fact that the President made him the FCT Minister, having worked for the emergence of Tinubu who, against all odds, defeated all his major adversaries in Rivers State during the presidential election.
The former Rivers State Governor vowed that he would not allow anybody to crumble the political structure ahead of 2027, saying good character should never be compromised on the altar of politics.
“Nothing would make me contest against the President in 2027. Tinubu made me minister, people don’t understand, I have character. What will happen in 2027? I stood and I said I am not going to support this injustice. I was threatened that they will do me this and they would do me that. They tried many options, including using Major Generals.
“So, I stood firm with myself. This is injustice. I would not allow it. And I never collected a dime. Some people would have gone to the President and say ‘sir, we will give you this. We need so much money’. I never collected one naira from Tinubu.
“I challenge anybody. When we made a decision that we would support Mr. President, we went and did it. We said, we have looked at all the people from the South, you are the only credible candidate, not on sentiment, not on religious background.
“My son is a reverend, yes. I won’t throw away my vote. I want to elect a leader who will be relevant and somebody who will lead Nigeria very well.
“I never knew he would make me FCT Minister, I swear. There are some people who are not happy because of their religious line and party background. They carry all kinds of false information. They don’t have character. I have character. I challenge anybody to say if they gave us money. Instead of people focusing on Tinubu to achieve, they are focusing on propaganda and irrelevant reports on Wike,” he said.
Speaking further, the minister also conceded that although the FCT Administration was determined to finish the rehabilitation of the Abuja metro-line, variously regarded as the Abuja Light Rail next year, his administration would not be in a position to pay the $7 billion contractual component to the Chinese firm, the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).
On the contrary, he assured that the FCTA would be in position to pay the contractors the naira component of the contract.
He also added that the FCTA would launch a public Mass Transit by unveiling new buses next month to ply different metropolises of Abuja and ease the transportation burden of the commuters.
In addition, the minister said new vehicles would be introduced to operate as taxis in Maitama, Wuse and Asokoro Districts to effectively curb the menace of criminals, who operate in unpainted taxis, widely known as “One-Chance. Commercial tricycles would also be phased out of the city centres as they were becoming anathema for the public and visitors.
He declared that the Millennium Tower, which was awarded by the Obasanjo Administration at the cost of N57 billion to Stabilini and abandoned since 2001, would be the signature project of the Tinubu Administration.
“It is one of the signature projects Mr President will go home with. The Millennium Tower is a major project Abuja needs. I called the contractor and he said he can finish it in two years, but how do we pay? I said we can do it if we pay N3 billion every month. It is a major project Mr President will deliver for Nigerians,” Wike assured.
On the new requirements for acquisition of land in the Federal Capital Territory, particularly the introduction of National Identity Number (NIN) and Biometric Verification Number (BVN) to Certificate of Occupancy (CofO), the minister said the new features were for security and revenue generation.
He noted that existing landowners in the capital must get recertification to incorporate these new features.
“There are a lot of discrepancies, a lot of cloning of C-of-Os, so we have come up with an idea that every allottee who seeks and applies for a C-of-O must supply his NIN; this is one of the features we are going to put in the new C-of-O.
“If a corporate body doesn’t have a NIN and they have a property, they must put their BVN. So many people have not registered, and this will make them go and re-register,” he added.
