Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ireti Kingibe, has argued that most residents are not benefiting from the new infrastructure development in Abuja led by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Naijaonpoint reports that the senator stated this in an interview with Channels Television, accusing Wike of making life difficult for residents of Abuja since assuming office.
While acknowledging ongoing road construction projects, Kingibe said that Wike had failed to prioritise the needs of the majority of residents.
Kingibe also questioned the relevance of some of Wike’s development priorities, such as the International Conference Centre (ICC), amid rising insecurity in the territory and reports of unpaid salaries among workers at the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).
She said, “Yes, he’s building roads, but we don’t have public transport. So the bulk of Abuja residents do not benefit from the roads.
“The women who were sweeping the streets, they have done so through several ministers. Their situation was always protected because they were indigent women, widows.
“It was our way of ensuring that they got… so whenever any minister comes along and wants to replace them with street sweepers, the trucks, we talk to him and say, no, we need them to do this. He leaves it.
“The current minister came without consultation with anybody. He, in fact, not without consultation. In spite of imploration, he fired them all.
“He has not replaced them with anything. So we FCT has had a minister who most FCT residents will say, came to what made life as difficult as possible.”