By Laide Akinboade, Abuja

The Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike on Thursday explained that the cost of completing the abandoned Millennium Tower project in Abuja has increased to between N300 billion and N400 billion.

The FCT Minister added that the increment in the cost of completing it based on the present budget of the administration, has made it financially unviable because it would affect other ongoing projects.

Wike stated this during an inspection tour of inspecting the ongoing construction of the extension of Collector Road CO1 linking Nile University area in the Institution and Research District with Lugbe, Abuja and the Arterial Road N1, from Wuye District to Ring Road II, Abuja.

The minister revealed that he has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to step in, reconsider the complex as a strategic national project, and assume its funding.

According to the minister, tying down such an enormous capital outlay to a single project would effectively cripple the territory’s finances and force the administration to abandon several other critical infrastructure projects needed across Abuja.

Responding to inquiries about the long-delayed landmark, Wike emphasised the need for a realistic approach to the city’s development priorities.

He said, “Well, you know that’s a national project. And I believe that it’s one project that the government should reconsider. It should be a tourist centre project. The capital involved is too huge for the FCT to handle as a single project”.

Tracing the genesis of the signature edifice, Wike noted that the contract was originally awarded decades ago under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

However, the minister said years of neglect, economic shifts, and delayed execution have pushed the financial requirements to an unprecedented high.

Wike further explained, “We have discussed with the contractor. Remember that the project was awarded under Obasanjo’s regime

“As I speak to you, it’s not less than 300 to 400 billion Naira that the contractor is talking about. And if you look at it, how do we carry out such a project? It means that every other project in Abuja we will have to abandon. But we are still talking to the President that he should reconsider it as a national project. So, that’s where we are”.

Despite the setback posed by the massive cost of the Millennium Tower, Wike expressed strong satisfaction with the pace and quality of ongoing infrastructure development across the territory, particularly praising major construction firms handling critical corridors.

On ongoing projects, Wike assured residents that all ongoing infrastructure projects awarded by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will be completed before the end of the year, expressing confidence in the contractors handling the various road projects across the capital city.

Wike said the Tinubu administration remained committed to delivering every project it had initiated, insisting that no road project would be abandoned.

“What should concern you is whether there is any project we have started and abandoned. Look at even the projects that were awarded since 2010. We have tried to see that all are completed, and the ones that this administration has awarded will also be completed,” the minister said.

He added: “I don’t want to be pessimistic. I’m very optimistic that all the roads that we have gone for inspection, after the commissioning and flag-off, will also be done. As far as I’m concerned, the latest by the end of this year.”

By Mike Odiakose, Abuja

A former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Jackson Lekan Ojo, has declared that no administration from 1999 to date has surpassed the achievements of the Obasanjo/Atiku administration.

Reacting to the recent attack on the former vice president by Presidency officials, Ojo lampooned them and stressed that there is nothing to show on the scorecard of the Tinubu administration apart from mounting debts.

According to him, “Most of the guys in the Presidency are unnecessarily loquacious. They speak, they are not thinking, they speak but they are not communicating.

How can somebody on this planet earth in this administration refer to the Obasanjo administration as wasted years. Honestly, most of the things we are enjoying today are from the Obasanjo/Atiku regime.

“The debt forgiveness is from the regime; the first time that we have EFCC that they are using today as a tool is from the Obasanjo/Atiku regime; the GSM revolution is from the regime; Due Process that a lot of government officials are no longer following today in the award of contracts is from the regime; ICPC is from the regime.

“Do you know that it was Atiku Abubakar that checked Sharia law, appealing to everybody and they respect him and the country was peaceful until Obasanjo second tenure when he started nursing tenure elongation and Atiku disagreed with him.

“That was why Obasanjo was not able to penetrate Northern Nigeria. That time he has already written off the office of the vice president.

“Obasanjo achieved all these things during his first tenure when Atiku was the chairman of the National Economic team. There wouldn’t have been political stability at that time because Obasanjo was not a democrat; he was a military man. It was Atiku as vice president that stabilized democracy. It was during this period that people like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala were brought home to this country when Atiku was chairman of the Economic team. People like Nuhu Ribadu, Oby Ezekwesili, Adeshina, and a host of others were brought in.

“Who is the Okonjo-Iweala in this administration, who is the Ezekwesili in this administration? Who again can serve as chairman of EFCC like Ribadu or El-rufai?

“Do you know during that time you can remember names of all Ministers because they were performing but how many Ministers today do Nigerians know their names?

“If Obasanjo was not nursing tenure elongation during his second term he would have been able to work well with Atiku. All the telecommunication and other achievements we are talking about today were all achieved during the first tenure when Atiku was chairman of the Economic team.”

Dr Ojo also faulted claims by the presidency that the Obasanjo/Atiku administration is responsible for huge pension debts.

Speaking at the 2027 general election, Dr Ojo expressed optimism that the ADC presidential candidate has the capacity to upstage President Tinubu.

“It is not Atiku’s battle. Today in Nigeria Atiku is the most popular, most relevant, he has the geopolitical spread. He has relationships with the South East and South West by marriage; he has business across the country, he has the capacity. 

“He has the political clout and sagacity to defeat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The battle ahead is the battle of the populace. 90 percent of Nigerians are living below the poverty line.

“There is no time in Nigeria’s history that we don’t have a middle class but today we have only the rich and the poor. Small scale industries are no longer working. How much do you barb your hair now? What you used to pay for a return ticket for a flight between Lagos – Port Harcourt cannot even party for transport by land today. The air is not affordable, the roads are not safe. What is this government doing?

“How much was University school fees before. Is it this deception called a student loan? You are giving students loans when they are going to pay when there are no jobs after graduation. In the future if they want to contest for any position they will tell them they owe the Federal government. You are impoverishing people and you are plugging them into tactical indebtedness.

“How much is fuel today. When Buhari was paying subsidy how much did he borrow? Now that we are not paying for subsidy we have out borrowed Buhari’s eight years within three years. How much did Obasanjo and Atiku borrow during their time?

“The battle in 2027 is between the people, the APC and Renewed Hopelessness. People are crying. Kidnapping was limited during the Goodluck Jonathan administration to North East but today North East, North West, South East, South West, North Central are all affected.

“What is the achievement of this administration? This administration has failed woefully. This is the most corrupt administration in the history of military and democratic government in this country. This is the first time that we are hearing anything about a fake parastatal.”

Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has increased his stake in First HoldCo Plc after acquiring an additional 1.77 billion shares in the financial institution through his investment vehicle, Calvados Global Services Limited.

A regulatory filing obtained from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) showed that the transaction, valued at N222.

20 billion, was executed on Thursday.

The latest acquisition raises Otedola’s shareholding in First HoldCo from 9.99 billion shares to 11.77 billion shares, increasing his ownership stake from 21.96 per cent to 25.88 per cent.

The purchase marks Otedola’s second major investment in the bank in July. On July 22, he acquired 706.13 million shares valued at N77.58 billion, further strengthening his position as the company’s largest shareholder.

With the latest transaction, Otedola’s investment in First HoldCo is now estimated at N1.47 trillion, making him the single largest investor in the financial institution.

Under the Investments and Securities Act and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules on mergers and acquisitions, any shareholder who acquires 30 per cent or more of the voting shares in a publicly listed company is required to make a mandatory takeover offer to the remaining shareholders.

Otedola’s increased investment comes weeks after First HoldCo emerged as Nigeria’s most valuable banking stock by market capitalisation, overtaking Zenith Bank following a sustained rally in its share price on the Nigerian Exchange.