Tinubu names Wike best FCT minister in 50 years, author agrees

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared Nyesom Wike, the current Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, the best in the 50-year history of Abuja. The President's endorsement was conveyed by the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, at a special thanksgiving banquet celebrating the inauguration of 31 projects in the FCT.

Adding weight to the President's statement, a former FCT minister, Dr. Aliyu Modibo, who served from 2007 to 2008, conducted a "peer review" of past and present ministers. Speaking at the same event, Modibo identified Air Vice Marshal Hamza Abdullahi, Major General Muhammadu Gado Nasko, and the incumbent Nyesom Wike as "one of the best three ministers." When prompted by the audience, comprising various dignitaries, to rank them, the attendees unanimously chose Wike as the first.

The author, Kehinde Olaosebikan, a resident of Abuja since 1988 and a former Vanguard newspaper bureau chief, offers his personal testimony. Having observed 12 of the 17 FCT ministers over 38 years, he has witnessed numerous masterplans launched and abandoned, satellite towns promised and ignored, and disparities between the central area and surrounding communities. He confirms the significance of the dual endorsements from the President and a ministerial peer.

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Wike is the first