By Ken Afor
Nigeria’s Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has assured that the Millennium Tower project in Abuja will be ready in two years.
Wike said this while briefing journalists on Friday.
The Millennium Tower also known as the Millennium Tower and Cultural Centre was conceived under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration in 2006.
Construction of the tower which is in the heart of the FCT, the Central Business District started and was topped in 2014, the project is expected to cost the sum of N53 billion after completion.
But after nine years since the halt of the construction there are indications that the Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is interested in completing the project following the address by the Minister of the FCT, Wike, on Friday.
According to the Minister, ten contracts have been chosen and the ministry has had talks with the contractors on the possibility of completing the project in earnest.
“We have chosen about ten contracts, if not more than that. We have called the companies, we have agreed,” he said.
“As I speak to you now, why the FCDA is not here, I have directed him not to join us, to make sure that all the files I approved since last week go to the director of treasury and payment must be made.”
In ensuring that the project gets the needed financial support, the Minister noted that they have introduced Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) on the project.
According to Wike, “We are signing with the companies on how we will pay final. In essence, we have introduced what we call an ISPO; tying all our projects to our internally generated revenue so that at the end of every month we will know what each company is taking and then we know the duration those contracts will end.
“We have agreed with some companies for six months and some companies for fifteen months. In fact, like the Millennium Tower, they have agreed to finish it in two years and we are paying them every month three billion Naira.”
According to the Minister, no project will be embarked upon without funding.
He revealed as part of the ongoing face-lift of the city, the Ministry will flag-off the resurfacing of most roads in the FCT particularly in Garki and Maitama.
“We don’t want any project without funding. We can’t award projects; depending on the national budget is a problem. So we will utilise the idea to tie it to specific projects so that will reduce the abandoning of projects in the FCT. That is what is going on now.
“On Monday we are flagging off the resurfacing of most of the roads in Garki, Maitama because the roads are horribly bad and to make sure that contractors are also paid, most of the project we are redoing now there is nothing like lack of funds, there is funding for those projects.”
