The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has dismissed allegations that his administration owes indigenous contractors over ₦5.2 billion.
Wike, who spoke on Tuesday during the commissioning of Phase 2 rehabilitation works at the Lower Usman Dam in Ushafa, insisted that many of the contracts being referenced were never approved by him but were instead awarded by civil servants without ministerial consent.
Contractors had on Monday staged a protest at the minister’s residence, claiming the FCT Administration was indebted to them for jobs executed across the territory. However, the minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, clarified that the current administration had not awarded any new projects since its inauguration, and that Wike had in fact cleared a ₦10 billion backlog left behind by the previous leadership.
Wike described the protest as blackmail orchestrated to pressure him into paying questionable debts. He accused some FCTA officials of using contractors as fronts to cover up unauthorized contract awards.
“I came in with the minister of state, and before long people started saying contractors were being owed ₦5 billion, ₦8 billion. I asked, who awarded these contracts? Civil servants sit in their offices and issue contracts worth ₦10m, ₦15m, ₦20m without the minister’s knowledge. Then suddenly, they claim the minister owes billions. Certainly, that will not happen. Nobody can intimidate me on that,” he declared.
He stressed that his administration would only recognize contracts awarded through due process and backed by available funds. “If I award contracts, I will pay. But I don’t award contracts when there’s no money. Even some FEC-approved projects, I told them not to mobilise yet because there was no funding. I won’t allow anyone to claim I borrowed money,” Wike said.
The minister challenged anyone accusing him of awarding contracts to provide documentary evidence. He also criticized the trend of splitting projects into small sums in the budget—₦10m, ₦15m, ₦25m—describing it as a tactic by corrupt officials to siphon funds without achieving meaningful impact.
Wike maintained that his government would not succumb to pressure to continue with what he called the “business as usual” culture of contract padding and frivolous spending.
“You cannot embarrass me. It’s not my business. Go back to those who awarded the contracts to you. Don’t come here saying your children are out of school. It’s very embarrassing,” he added.
