The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has voiced his dissatisfaction with the N85 billion contract awarded for the provision of infrastructure for the Wasa Affordable Housing project in the Wasa District of Abuja. Minister Wike expressed his concerns during a visit to the road construction site for the housing estate.
The project’s infrastructure contract, initially awarded in 2014 at N26 billion, was revised to N85 billion in 2018. The acting coordinator of the Satellite Town Development Department, Olusegun Olusan, provided an update, stating that N21 billion had been paid to the contractor, with a balance of N64 billion remaining. He also mentioned that the percentage of work completed so far stands at 21.4 percent.
Regarding the housing scheme, Olusan explained that the government’s role was to provide the land and infrastructure, while private developers would construct houses and offer them to the public at affordable rates. At the project’s inception, a two-bedroom flat was intended to be sold to the masses for N7 million.
However, Minister Wike expressed his dissatisfaction with this arrangement, emphasizing that the government should not invest N85 billion in providing infrastructure for the land and gain nothing in return. He suggested that the government should participate in the project after providing the land and infrastructure, with private developers taking the larger share.
The minister also raised concerns about the affordability of the housing for the masses, suggesting that a more equitable arrangement should be established to benefit both the government and the people.
In response to the project’s prolonged delay, Minister Wike stressed that the FCT would not award contracts merely for the sake of doing so. He indicated that the project would be revisited for proper planning to ensure that the government could derive benefits from it and that the housing remains affordable to the masses.
