The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, is rallying the youth of Abuja and other stakeholders to refrain from participating in the planned nationwide protests scheduled for August 1 to 10, which are focused on issues of hunger and hardship.
During a ministerial engagement with FCT youths from the Abuja South Federal Constituency in Kwali Area Council on Sunday, Wike stated, “Youths and other stakeholders in Bwari and Gwagwalada Area Councils will also be engaged on the same issue in the coming days.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported a similar interaction with stakeholders in the Abuja Municipal Area Council on Saturday. The minister explained that the purpose of these interactions is to inform them about the negative implications of protests and to dissuade their participation.
Wike expressed gratitude to traditional rulers and area council chairmen for their efforts in mobilizing FCT youths to attend the engagement sessions and emphasized that the protest would be unproductive. He remarked, “There is no need for the protest. The current administration is barely one year in office and not enough to assess its performance. You can’t judge leadership within one year. I have not been in office for up to a year, but I have done so much that should be appreciated and convince people that FCT is working.”
The minister highlighted achievements in education, health, and other sectors, particularly security, and urged residents to commend and support security agencies. “It is not fair to say we have not done anything on insecurity when we have improved security in FCT. We want peace in FCT, and so we cannot fold our hands and allow it to be destroyed in the guise of protest,” Wike asserted.
Regarding the proposed Federal Capital Territory University of Science and Technology in Abaji, Wike mentioned that efforts are underway to ensure it becomes one of the best universities in the country. He stated, “I don’t want to set up a glorified university. I want to put up a university that we will all be proud to have and gladly tell the world that this is the university I attended. We are currently on procurement to build classrooms, lecture theatres, and laboratories for the university.”
Addressing land matters, Wike lamented, “The problem of Abuja is land. Once you’re made a minister, it is as if you are coming to share land. Nobody talks about development. Everybody is land, land, land, land, land. I feel so bad. Each time I am in my office, when 20 people come to see me, 18 will talk about land. Nobody will talk about infrastructure; nobody will talk about no hospitals; nobody will talk about no schools; everything is. I need 20 hectares of land and I say, ‘if you carry all this land, where will the indigenous people stay?’”
Wike concluded by urging the youths to support the current government and avoid the planned protests organized by individuals with unclear agendas.
(NAN)
