President Bola Ahmed Tinubu spent the week cutting ribbons across Abuja, commissioning projects completed under FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. Our Managing Editor, Ekuson Nw’Ogbunka, takes a critical look at the projects, the politics behind them, and what they mean for the “Renewed Hope” agenda. Excerpts.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, officially commissioned the completed main carriageways of the Outer Southern Expressway, OSEX, stretching from the Ring Road I Junction on Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway to the Ring Road II Junction leading to Lokogoma and Galadimawa in the FCT.
According to a press release signed by Rabi Musa Umar, Deputy Director, Press, Office of the Hon. Minister FCTA, the President was represented at the ceremony on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Tinubu described the project as a tangible manifestation of the “Renewed Hope” agenda.
When we took the oath of office to lead this great nation, we promised a renewed hope that is tangible—hope that you can see, hope that you can feel, and hope that you can drive on!” the President declared. “We don’t start projects to abandon them. The era of uncompleted projects in Nigeria is gone! We finish what we start.”
Tinubu recalled that he had, in the last two years, commissioned the initial stages of the inherited OSEX project, also known as Mahamadou Issoufou Way. He stressed that its completion will enhance traffic flow in the FCT, reduce lost man-hours and save fuel for commuters.
He commended FCT Minister Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike and his team for their dogged determination and focused vision in structurally transforming the nation’s capital for long-term prosperity. The President noted that Wike has shown public service is about performance, not excuses.
“You have kept the contractors on their toes, and you have kept our vision alive. This is the spirit of the Renewed Hope agenda—delivering quality results for the Nigerian people, on time,” Tinubu stated. He used the occasion to reassure Nigerians of his administration’s commitment to infrastructure development.
“We will continue to build, we will continue to reform, and we will continue to invest in the future of our people,” the President added, framing the OSEX commissioning as part of a broader national infrastructure push.
Senate President Akpabio, while delivering the executive address, lauded Wike’s efforts to relocate Apo Mechanic traders along the road corridor to a permanent site in Wasa District. He noted that tangible deliverables in the FCT were earning the administration deep support from residents.
Akpabio pointed to the ruling party’s massive victories during recent Area Council elections as proof that residents were rewarding visible performance with their votes. The political undertone was clear: infrastructure was becoming an election asset.
Earlier, Minister Wike recalled President Tinubu’s explicit directive upon their inauguration in 2023 to complete all inherited projects that had already gulped significant public funds. For Wike, OSEX was a test case for that mandate.
Wike revealed the contract for the OSEX main carriageways from RRI to RRII was awarded in October last year. He said he frequently visited the site to monitor progress, while the FCT Administration ensured adequate funding to prevent delays.
The Minister admitted he originally doubted whether China Geo-Engineering Corporation, CGC, could finish the road and its bridges in time for the President’s third anniversary. He praised the firm for honoring its commitment and delivering on schedule.
“I want to sincerely thank CGC. This means that nothing is impossible if we are determined and committed to achieving results,” Wike said. He emphasized that mutual trust between government and contractor was key to hitting deadlines.
Wike also used the occasion to dismiss critics who claim Nigeria’s developmental progress is stagnant. He noted the FCT Administration has earmarked an unprecedented 31-day period to inaugurate completed projects in both the city centre and satellite towns.
“It baffles most of us when people say nothing is happening in this country. Can those in the FCT say nothing is happening in Abuja?” the Minister asked, challenging public cynicism with a calendar of commissioning events.
He disclosed that the FCT Administration has fully provided infrastructure at the new Wasa site for the long-awaited relocation of Apo Mechanic Village. That move, he said, ends years of unfulfilled promises by previous administrations to decongest the area.
FCT Minister of State Dr. Mariya Mahmoud and FCDA Executive Secretary Engr. Richard Yunana Dauda also spoke. Mahmoud praised Tinubu’s visionary leadership, while Dauda explained that OSEX, developed in stages, now completes full scope development up to Ring Road II at Kabusa Junction, improving security and socioeconomic life.
CGC Managing Director Mr. Zhong Xiang closed by calling the project a symbol of strong China-Nigeria partnership. The historic commissioning drew a high-profile delegation of lawmakers, Area Council chairmen, party leaders, security chiefs, royal fathers, and top officials—all witnesses to Wike’s construction blitz and Tinubu’s “we finish what we start” claim.
