Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike on Thursday said that the long-stalled Abuja Millennium Tower project remains unfinished because its price tag, estimated at more than ₦400 billion exceeds what the administration can fund from its statutory budget.
Wike has extended a request to President Bola Tinubu to reclassify the project as a national asset, requiring federal funding.
Deputy Director of Press in the Minister’s office Rabi Musa in a statement said Wike diclosed this after inspecting a string of road and infrastructure projects across Abuja.
He said the tower, conceived as an iconic tourist and national monument, would siphon resources from other works if the FCTA tried to complete it alone.
“That is a national project. The capital involved is too huge for the FCT’s statutory budget.
“As I speak to you, the contractor is talking about not less than ₦400 billion. If we attempt to carry out such a project alone, every other project in Abuja will be abandoned.
“But we are discussing with the President to consider it as a national project,” he noted.
Minister Wike used the inspection tour to showcase the level of progress on road projects he said will relieve congestion and boost economic activity.
Among the sites was the extension of Collector Road CO1 in the Institution and Research District, linking Nile University to Ring Road III and adding a spur from Baze University Junction.
He described the work as part of an effort to better integrate academic and research hubs into the city’s road network.
The Minister also reviewed Arterial Road N1, a Wuye-to-Ring Road II corridor being constructed by Arab Contractors.
Wike said the FCTA and contractors were “in complete synergy” and reaffirmed a goal of formally handing over the N1 and other inspected road works by year end.
Contractors confidence he said, has helped keep projects moving even when payments lag.
“For me, it’s the confidence in us by the contractors,” he said.
“Even if we have not fully met our obligation at any point, they still go ahead knowing fully well that we will fulfill our part. That trust is there, and I am highly elated with the level of work.”
The Minister stressed that the FCTA is both finishing legacy projects dating back to 2010 and advancing new initiatives launched under President Tinubu’s administration.
He urged residents to be patient and asked the media to report what he described as visible transformation across the territory.
