I Won’t Be Tempted To Award Contracts I Cannot Fund – FCT Minister Wike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said he will not be pressured into awarding contracts without guaranteed funding, stressing that project completion remains more important than the number of contracts awarded.

Wike stated this during a media chat on Tuesday, August 4, where he explained that his administration would prioritise projects that have available funds for execution rather than embarking on programmes that could become abandoned.

The minister said awarding contracts was not the challenge, but ensuring that such projects receive adequate funding and are completed.

According to him, “Awarding contract is easy but cashbacking it is another thing.”

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Wike said he was not interested in awarding projects merely to create the impression of activity, insisting that every contract approved under his watch must have a realistic funding plan.

“No matter how attracting it may look, I’m not tempted to awarding contracts for the sake of awarding contracts. I’ll award a contract that I know it can be cash-backed,” he said.

The former Rivers State governor noted that the effectiveness of an administration should not be measured by the volume of contracts awarded but by the number of projects successfully delivered.

“It doesn’t matter how many contracts has been awarded. What people look at is ‘how many have you finished?’” he added.

Wike warned that awarding contracts without the capacity to complete them often creates abandoned projects, public complaints and disorder within communities.

“Because when you award these contracts it becomes a problem. People begin to complain ‘look at how they scattered this whole place, awarding contracts that they can’t finish.’ It becomes an eyesore, and violations would come in,” the minister said.

He further cautioned that poorly planned projects could result in significant cost overruns, with initial estimates rising far beyond their original value.

“Projects that should cost only N10bn would end up costing over a N100bn,” Wike stated.

The minister said his approach at the FCT Administration would remain focused on delivering sustainable infrastructure projects backed by available resources.