Photo Caption
FCT Minister, Barr Ezenwo Nyesom Wike flagging-off the construction of the Kabusa-Takushara access road in Abuja on Tuesday
By Ignatius Ushie
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr Ezenwo Nyesom Wike on Tuesday, flagged off the construction of the 7-kilometer Kabusa to Takushara access road in the Abuja Municipal Area Council of the FCT.
According to a statement made available to Transport Day in Abuja, Wike while speaking during the flag-off exercise, stressed government’s commitment to bringing governance closer to the grassroots to rekindle the people’s lost hope, in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He added that the provision of rural infrastructure in the FCT also lends credence to the fact that governance was not concentrated in the Abuja city center but also in the rural areas.
The Minister said that the Kabusa-Takushara road, which will be provided with streetlights, will be completed in the next seven months. He added that the road project, when completed, will enhance agricultural activities in the area and improve security in the nation’s capital.
According to him, “what we are doing today is what the Renewed Hope Agenda is all about – giving hope back to our people. I’m sure the people of Kabusa and Takushara have lost hope that this road will ever be done. But to the glory of God and by the coming in of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, it’s a different story”.
Speaking further, the Minister said, “government is no longer concentrated in the city. Government has come back to the grassroots. When a government has made a promise, it must fulfill the promise.
“One of the promises Mr. President made is that all of you in the satellite towns don’t think that government is about the city; we will also turn the satellite towns into cities, and they are constructing roads for you.
“And I assure you, it is not about flagging off projects. In the next seven months, I want to assure you we will commission this project.
“For the first time, roads are constructed in the rural areas, and we will provide streetlights. It has never happened before”.
The Minister charged the contractor with ensuring that the road project is completed within the stipulated timeframe and urged them to provide employment opportunities residents of the area.
The FCT Minister who stressed that no student should be made to stand by the roadside to welcome VIPs , especially during school hours, also expressed displeasure at the poor state of the Government Senior Secondary School (GSSS Kabusa) along the road corridor and pledged the immediate rehabilitation of the school.
He said, “this should be the last time I see this happen. Nobody should bring students out of school to line up on the road. We will not accept that any longer. We are doing what we are supposed to do, so I will not accept where our students are subjected to line up to receive us. I want to appeal to the principals of the various schools not to allow this to happen next time.
“There will be immediate upgrading of this school to be what a school is supposed to be. I’m sure when Mr. President comes here and sees this is a school our children are learning, I will lose my job, and I don’t want to lose my job. Therefore, this school, we are going to make you happy to be what a proper school is supposed to be.”
Barr. Wike, while also acknowledging the commitment of the AMAC Chairman, Hon. Christopher Maikalangu, to the provision of rural infrastructure, equally charged the residents to reciprocate the good gesture by supporting the Chairman.
In a goodwill message, the House of Representatives member representing Abuja South of the FCT, Hon. Abdurrahman Ajiya, thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing Barr Wike as Minister of the FCT, describing the Minister as a blessing to the residents.
In her remarks, the FCTA Head of Service, Mrs. Grace Adayilo, said the area’s residents had prayed and longed earnestly for the road’s construction and thanked the FCT Minister for bringing development to the people’s doorsteps.
Giving an overview of the project, the Acting Executive Secretary, FCDA Engr. Richard Yunana Dauda said the Kabusa-Takushara road is a 7-meter single-carriageway with shoulders and will be provided with solar streetlights to improve security.
Also speaking, Engr. Naim Raffoul, the Project Manager at M/s I.A.C Allied Technical Construction Company Ltd (the contractors handling the project), pledged that the company would adhere to the highest standards in executing the road project.
