Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has challenged the claims of infrastructural progress in Abuja under the leadership of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
Dalung dismissed remarks by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who reportedly stated that Abuja now resembles London.
Speaking on Arise TV’s The Morning Show on Friday, January 10, 2025, Dalung refuted the comparison, asserting that his area in Abuja looks nothing like London.
“If the Senate President is feeling like he’s in London, it could the London of his own immediate environment,” Dalung said.
The former minister, who has previously highlighted the influence of “dangerous cabals” within President Bola Tinubu’s administration, criticized the portrayal of Wike’s projects as signs of genuine progress.
He contended that Abuja suffers from inadequate essential services, with residents relying on private boreholes for water and public schools performing no better than those elsewhere in Nigeria.
Dalung also lamented the state of healthcare in Abuja, likening it to “a transit camp,” and emphasized that true development should prioritize the needs of ordinary citizens.
“I think there is misrepresentation of progress and limiting it to the elites alone or priviledge class. It’s unfair. In Abuja, I know there’s no water. Most people support themselves with private initiatives through boreholes.
“The public school system in Abuja is not different from (those) in any part of Nigeria. The healthcare delivery system is of course like a transit camp,” Dalung stated.
He further emphasized that genuine development should prioritize initiatives that directly impact the lives of ordinary citizens, such as access to education, healthcare, and water.
“These are the services that affect common people directly, not road construction. How many poor Nigerians have vehicles, so we cannot be emphasising dualisation or road construction as development,” Dalung concluded, calling for a shift in focus toward addressing the critical needs of Abuja’s residents.