The performance of Nyesom Wike as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has been praised by members of the National Assembly.
The lawmakers praised Wike when he came before them on Wednesday to defend the 202 fiscal year’s ₦1.78 trillion FCT Statutory Budget proposal.
Lawmakers from the Labour Party (LP), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and All Progressives Congress (APC) reportedly praised the FCT’s infrastructure development.
Wike’s outstanding performance in his brief tenure as FCT minister was praised by Mariya Mahmoud, the Minister of State for FCT, and Senator Ibrahim Bomai, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT.
Bomai expressed his admiration for the FCT’s fiscal and revenue plans for 2025, saying, “This is the first time FCT is proposing to generate about ₦1.7 trillion.” The budget that FCT has proposed is among the best to date.
He added, “The estimated ₦608 billion in internally generated revenue for 2025 also shows a significant improvement.”
Abuja’s complete transformation as Nigeria’s capital city was also praised by Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central, PDP).
But Ningi, who compares the FCT’s current state to that of Cairo and Johannesburg, told the minister to do more to make the area safer.
According to Senator Ali Ndume of the Borno South APC, “You have done well, as everyone who knows where Abuja was two years ago and what it is now knows.”
“My friend told me yesterday that Wike was doing well, but I told him that the Senate was doing well because he couldn’t do anything without the Senate approving his budget.”
In order for him to succeed, Ndume promised that the Senate will continue to back him.
According to Senator Osita Ozunaso (Imo West, APC), the FCT budget performance was praiseworthy, especially the decrease in personnel costs that allowed for greater funding for capital projects.
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“People always raise the cost of personnel when we are working on budgets, but you have lowered the cost of personnel in the proposed budget for 2025 by N21 billion compared to the amount allotted in 2024.
Second, your capital expenditures are more than your recurring ones. This is praiseworthy,” Ozunaso remarked.
According to Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North), Wike is among the top ministers in the APC government.
Oshiomhole added that “what Wike has done is worth noting and commendation” since too much money was being spent on overhead and not enough for infrastructure.
The minister was congratulated by Senator Ireti Kingibe (FCT, LP) for the evident performance, which she said was undeniable.
Earlier in the House of Representatives, Muktar Betara, the Chairman of the Committee on FCT, praised Wike for the capital’s continuous transformation.
During the budget defense, Wike urged the lawmakers to accept the proposed ₦1.78 trillion FCT Statutory Budget for the fiscal year 2025.
Of the ₦1.78 trillion, he clarified, ₦1.28 trillion (72.3%) was allocated for capital projects, while ₦494.1 billion (20.7%) was allocated for ongoing expenses.
