Apo/Karshi road: FCTA tarminates contract over incompetence

By Wumi Tewogbade, Abuja

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, revealed on Thursday, said it has terminated Apo/Karshi road over incompetence and the contract have already been reawarded to another contractor. adsbygoogle || []).push({});

The project was re – awarded under emergency project and will be flagged off by the FCT Minster soon.

Wike revealed this when he inspected Karu , OSEX and Kishiri road , Abuja.

It would be recalled that, the Apo-Karshi road contract was awarded in 2011. The project was given to M/S Kakatar Nig. Ltd by the administration at the time and was initially expected to be completed within 20 months.

And due to the inability of M/S Kakatar Nig. Ltd, to be able to do the project, the administration terminated the contract and awarded it to SCC contractor.

According to Wike, “Let me tell you the truth, we have terminated that contract; it has been reawarded to SCC. If you go there now, you will see that they have started work. It is a road that so many people are very interested in because it will decongest some of these areas. So that’s why we should do it, and like I said, we cannot continue to play politics when it comes to the welfare of the people. That road has been terminated.

“And the road leading from Kubwa to Bwari has also started, so that there will be an alternative route to Bwari. That’s also awarded to SCC. So, we can assure you that things are moving very well according to plan”.

Speaking on Karu, Gishiri, and OSEX, he said, “Well, I have always said, what makes the government feel relaxed is when the people are happy. Of course, the very essence of governance is to make people be happy and make them have what improves their lives. When we went to Karu, you remember the first time we went to Karu to flag off, it was one road. And there, I made a promise that all the other connecting roads would be included.

“I am very happy to report the progress on the job. The contractor is doing very well. And that shows this is one of the projects we are going to line up for the 3rd anniversary of Mr President. I am quite impressed. And those houses that blocked the water channel, we are going to bring them down, to enable water to have its own way.

“And then we went to Gishiri, and you see the level of work being done by CGC. All those roads that were done by them, which were inaugurated by Mr President sometime in June this year, and that project also will be inaugurated on the 3rd anniversary of Mr President. Now we are in OSEX. This leads you from Apo to Wassa. And it’s also part of the road by the grace of God, certainly will be inaugurated in his 3rd year in office.

“So, you can see the happiness of everybody. And that’s what shows that the Renewed Hope Agenda is really working. People had never seen this type of development in Abuja before. And that is why you can imagine when we were at Karu, just mere coming down, see how the students were very happy. As we went to Girishi, look at how the pupils there are all very happy. And so, it makes us happy too”.

On the woman in Karu that built on water channel, that the FCT Minister promised some compensation, the Minister said, yes, the woman did the wrong thing and her property must go down or this can cause flooding later.

“You cannot do something to block the water channels, and we are even sympathetic by saying that we were going to give you money, but we must allow the water to have its way, because if not, it will cause a lot of flooding. That will also not be good for the people living around there. So sometimes we should not be emotional. She’s crying.

“She did the wrong thing. she caused the problem. But we are giving the human face by saying, okay, we’ll give you some funds so that yiu can find an alternative. Ordinarily, we don’t need to have done that. What she has done was to violate the building regulation”, he said.

For 2026, Wike, said Abuja residents should expect more infrastural development that will lift the lives of the people, that will improve the economic activities.

“We have started procurement around all our health centres. So next year, we believe that what you see in 2025 will be nothing to compare to what we’ll see in 2026. And I must tell you the truth, in 2026, we are not likely to put any new projects.

“We want to make sure that the projects we have started this year will be completed in 2026. Those projects will come in the 2026 budget. Mind you, that year appears to be a political year. So, you don’t expect to start projects that you may not be able to finish within the period that you’re appointed to stay. So, we want to make sure all projects we have started, by the grace of God, were completed”, he noted.