…AS HE FLAGS OFF CONSTRUCTION OF OSEX MAIN CARRIAGEWAYS FROM RR1 TO RR2
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike has hailed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the improved financial situation of states across the country, and the FCT, describing the President’s leadership style as visionary and purposeful.
Barr. Wike spoke in Abuja on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, during the flagging off of the main carriageways of the Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX) from Ring Road I Junction to Ring Road II Junction.
He stated that the country's improved financial turnaround today resulted from President Tinubu's bold decision to end the fuel subsidy, a move he said previous administrations had avoided.
Barr. Wike said many States were now able to pay salaries and embark on infrastructural projects as a result, and no longer running to the banks for loans.
According to the Minister, “Today, the leadership of the President has made it possible for all the States and the Federal Capital Territory not to be running to banks again... Every State now has money, not only to pay salaries, not only to carry out other governance activities, but also to embark on projects.
“So, if it is for that reason that so many people are going to support Mr. President, I think it is worthwhile…Now, no Governor will talk about leaving debts for his successor, unlike what used to happen before. That is leadership. It was not possible until Mr. President made that decision that this subsidy must come to an end. But for that, most states wouldn’t have been able to pay salaries today. For FCT, it would have been difficult", Barr. Wike stressed.
Reacting to the recent decamping of some governors from APC to PDP, the Minister took a swipe at his former critics who accused him of working for the APC while a member of the opposition, People's Democratic Party, pointing out that many of them had since joined the APC themselves. He said they should commend him for his actions, which, he said, were ultimately beneficial to their current political destination.
"All of them now are in APC. So, if it is true, they should commend me for working for where they are heading to. So, I should be commended for doing a good job for them," the Minister said.
Speaking on the Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX) project, the Minister affirmed that the flag-off is a fulfillment of a promise made earlier during the commissioning of the left-hand service carriageway.
He said the dualization of the road is aimed at decongesting the area's heavy traffic, which he described as a key part of the FCT Administration's promise to provide happiness to the people. He also announced progress on the relocation of Apo traders to Wasa, confirming that the FCT Administration had received the cost for providing infrastructure at the new site.
The Minister said, “We also said that we are going to relocate the Apo traders to their new site. Let me announce to you today, by the grace of God, we have received the cost of providing infrastructure from the Executive Secretary of the FCDA, so that we will provide infrastructure in the new site where they will be relocated.
"Every promise made by this administration under the leadership of His Excellency, Mr. President, be assured that we will fulfill all the promises we have made to the people of the FCT", the Minister pledged and thanked the Area Council Chairmen for their continuous support.
Earlier, while delivering the Vote of Thanks, the Minister of State, FCT, Dr Mariya Mahmoud, described the commencement of the OSEX main carriageway project as another remarkable achievement of the FCT Administration, stressing that the road initiative will reduce traffic gridlock in Abuja and also enhance the quality of life of the teeming residents.
She also expressed profound gratitude to President Tinubu for his visionary leadership, exemplified by the Renewed Hope Agenda, and thanked the FCT Minister for his steadfast commitment to the development of the capital city.
In the project overview, Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority, Engr Richard Yunana Dauda, stressed the Administration's commitment to enhancing efficient road networks that resolve connectivity issues and support the long-term development of the Federal Capital Territory.
He revealed that the Outer Southern Expressway commenced from the Villa Roundabout in Asokoro District, traversing through Apo, Wasa to Kuje and then terminating at the intersection with the Kaduna-Abuja-Lokoja Expressway in Gwagwalada, a total of 67 kilometres.
Engr. Dauda said that the full scope of the OSEX is a 10 Lane Expressway comprising of two main carriageways of three lanes each and two service carriageways of two lanes each, adding that the road had been developed progressively in stages with the first stage, from the villa roundabout to the Ring Road 1, having been fully developed as a 10 Lane expressway.
He said the project being flagged off was the two main carriageways from Ring Road 1 to Ring Road 2, expected to be completed in one year, adding that on completion, the project will rapidly evacuate traffic from the city center to the southern fringes, thereby reducing travel time in and out of the city and enhancing development along the southern fringes of the Federal Capital City.
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