The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has dismissed claims by local contractors that his administration owes them over ₦5.2 billion, insisting that the alleged debts predate his tenure.
Contractors under the FCT Administration had staged a protest at the Minister’s residence on Monday, alleging non-payment for projects executed across the territory.
However, Wike, speaking during the commissioning of Phase 2 rehabilitation works at the Lower Usman Dam in Ushafa on Tuesday, described the protest as “blackmail” orchestrated to pressure him into validating questionable debts.
According to him, many of the contracts in dispute were not awarded under his leadership but by civil servants acting without ministerial approval.
“Civil servants stay in their offices and award contracts worth ₦10 million, ₦15 million, ₦20 million without the minister knowing. Then you hear people saying ministers are owing billions. Certainly, it will not happen! Nobody can intimidate me on that,” Wike declared.
The Minister further alleged that some of those parading as aggrieved contractors were merely fronts for corrupt officials seeking to hijack the process.
“If you see the faces of those people, they don’t look like contractors. Those who awarded the contracts to themselves are pushing them to protest. If you like, go to all the embassies and sleep there—I will never feel pressured,” he said.
Wike reiterated that his administration would only honour contracts duly awarded through the proper channels and backed by available funds. He added that he had already cleared a ₦10 billion backlog inherited from the previous administration.
“If I award contracts, I will pay. And those who know me know I don’t award contracts without money. Let anyone who claims I awarded contracts bring forward the documents. If I didn’t award them, why should I be held responsible?” he queried.
He also criticised the practice of breaking projects into small budgetary allocations—₦10 million, ₦15 million, ₦25 million—describing it as a ploy by insiders to siphon funds without meaningful impact.
Wike stressed that the era of “business as usual” in the FCT was over, warning that his administration would not be drawn into frivolous spending or contract padding.
