Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has lauded the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for visible transformation of the nation’s capital and for carrying out his orders by providing roads and other engineering infrastructure to the 3,112-unit Renewed Hope City in Karsana before residents could move in.
Tinubu, represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, made the commendation yesterday at the inauguration of the 10.5-kilometre access roads to the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates in Karsana West District, Abuja.
He said the completion of the road network was the culmination of the directive to the FCT Minister to immediately open up the district as “civil servants, families and investors cannot live in houses they cannot reach” and in an estate without access road and supporting infrastructure.
The President noted that Karsana West has been linked to the Outer Northern Expressway with the completion of Arterial Roads N11, N16, N40 and Special Important Local Street 03, which make all the affordable housing units accessible, liveable and secure.
Tinubu said, “When I performed the groundbreaking for the 3,112-unit Renewed Hope City here in Karsana, I gave one clear directive: provide the roads, provide the engineering infrastructure, and unlock this district for development. Housing without access is a blueprint without a building.
“For too long, Abuja’s story was ‘awarded and abandoned contracts’. Today, we are ending that story with roads that open, not ones that stall.
“I gave that assignment to a minister who treats deadlines as duties. I told the honourable Minister of the FCT, Barrister Nyesom Wike, CON, that civil servants, families and investors cannot live in houses they cannot reach. ‘Open Karsana, and open it now’. He took that brief, set the pace and delivered.
“When urgency meets quality, results follow. That is what you are standing on today.”
The President, who also heaped plaudits on the Minister of State for the FCT, Mariya Mahmoud, engineers and officials of the FCT Administration for ensuring the project was completed on schedule and according to specification, further extolled Wike, saying “You took stalled corridors and made them active corridors. You brought the same urgency to Karsana that you brought to other districts and the area councils. You measure contractors by output, not promises. Minister, you have earned my trust and you have my commendation.”
Earlier, Wike recalled that Karsana was inaccessible when Tinubu performed the groundbreaking for the Renewed Hope Estate in 2024 adding that developers had also expressed fears that their investments would become worthless without access roads.
Wike said the project became was fast-tracked by the federal government, which ensured prompt payment while the contractor fulfilled its obligation by delivering within schedule.
In her remarks, FCT Minister of State, Mahmoud, described the project as another milestone in the implementation of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, explaining that the roads would boost economic activities, improve connectivity and expand access to affordable housing across the territory.
She urged residents and stakeholders to take collective ownership of public infrastructure by protecting and preserving it for the benefit of present and future generations.