By Sarah NEGEDU
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, says the territory’s monthly internally generated revenue has risen from about N9 billion to more than N40 billion since he assumed office in 2023.
Wike, who attributed the growth to reforms that blocked leakages and strengthened revenue collection, said the development has enabled the FCT Administration fund infrastructure projects and improve service delivery across the nation’s capital, while also reviving several long-abandoned government projects.
Speaking during his monthly media chat with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Wike said the administration’s focus on prudent resource management and aggressive collection of land-related revenues, including ground rents and Certificates of Occupancy, had significantly boosted the FCT’s financial capacity.
According to him, “When we came on board, our IGR was a mere N9 billion a month, but as I speak to you today, we’ve been able to improve it to forty-something billion. So when people now say, ‘Oh, FCT is working, FCT is working,’ it’s working because somebody has made it to work.”
He maintained that the increase in internally generated revenue was the result of deliberate policy reforms and administrative measures introduced since he assumed office, adding that the additional resources had provided the funding required to execute ongoing development projects across the FCT.
Wike also disclosed that about 70 percent of the projects completed by the FCT Administration under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu were contracts awarded between 15 and 16 years ago but abandoned by previous administrations.
He said the administration deliberately prioritised completing inherited projects in line with President Tinubu’s directive that viable government projects should not be abandoned, while simultaneously embarking on new infrastructure projects across Abuja and the satellite towns.
“The President said we can’t abandon old projects. While we cannot abandon old projects, we must also carry out new ones.
“I can tell you that about 60 percent of the projects we have executed in the last three years were projects awarded 15 to 16 years ago but abandoned.
“If we had allowed that, people would still be asking questions about those abandoned projects. So, we first made sure they were completed, and we have achieved that with not less than 70 percent of them,” Wike said.
The minister attributed the pace of development in the FCT to President Tinubu’s support, particularly the decision to remove the FCT Administration from the Treasury Single Account which he said had made funds readily available for infrastructure development.
He added that the administration will continue executing projects aimed at improving transportation, opening up new districts and enhancing the quality of life of residents, stressing that effective leadership, accountability and prudent management of public resources remained critical to delivering tangible results in governance.
