WASA INFRASTRUCTURE: TINUBU FULFILLS DECADE-LONG PROMISE TO APO ARTISANS, EXPLAINS ECONOMIC REFORMS

By: Wisdom Acka

​President Bola Tinubu has commissioned access roads, electricity, and water supply to the Informal Sector Layout in the Wasa District of the FCT.

The President stated that the event marked the fulfillment of a long-delayed relocation promise for thousands of mechanics, artisans, and traders originally from the Apo Mechanic Village.

Represented at the event by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, the President declared that the provision of premium infrastructure to the area is a direct investment in human dignity and economic freedom designed to serve as a ladder for the economic empowerment of everyday Nigerians.

Reflecting on the decade-long delay faced by the artisans under previous administrations, the President stated that the completed project underscores his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which guarantees that public infrastructure will no longer be built exclusively for the elite.

​He noted that the informal sector remains the true engine of the Nigerian economy, sustaining millions of livelihoods, adding that by providing modern amenities in Wasa, the government aims at transforming the district into a vibrant commercial hub that will simultaneously boost the Territory’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and lower the cost of doing business.

​Addressing the broader economic landscape, President Tinubu acknowledged the hardships currently being felt across Nigerian households and businesses due to ongoing economic reforms, describing the policies as a difficult but necessary surgery required to rescue the nation’s economy.

He urged residents of the FCT and citizens across the federation to exercise patience and resilience, assuring them that their sacrifices would not be in vain as the government painstakingly tears down broken structures of the past to build a sustainable future.

​The President emphasized that his administration is actively rolling out targeted social intervention programs, investing heavily in agriculture to ensure food security, and creating jobs through major structural developments.

While handing over the new infrastructure to the business owners and artisans, he charged them to protect and maintain the facilities as a base to scale up their operations and create youth employment.

Again, the President commended the FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, and the Minister of State, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, for executing the project with speed and precision.

In his remarks earlier, the FCT Minister thanked the Speaker for representing the President on the 23rd day of the 31 days earmarked for the commissioning of projects.

The Minister also thanked the Speaker in advance, revealing that he (Speaker) would “be there on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday” to represent the President in commissioning other projects.

Wike recalled that after his appointment by the President, he had a stakeholders’ meeting with all the six Area Councils, including the Apo Mechanic Association. 

The Minister also recalled that during the first and second years of President Tinubu’s administration, the first and second sections of the Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX) were commissioned, noting that the third section of the expressway was also inaugurated earlier during the ongoing project commissioning of the third anniversary.

He expressed optimism that by the end of the President’s administration in the second term, the remaining 10 kilometres of the road would have been awarded and also delivered for the use of the people.

Wike noted that every previous government had promised to relocate the Apo mechanics away from their present location at the roadside and expressed gratitude to God that President Tinubu has been able to fulfill the decades-old-promises in less than a year.

The Minister, also thanked members of the National Assembly for their support, the Executive Secretary, FCDA, Engr. Richard Dauda and his team for competent supervision that ensured expectations and standards were met.

Abuja Digest reports that when the Minister sought to know if operators of the informal sector were happy, there was thunderous shouts of happiness and cheers from them. 

He reminded them that “agreement is agreement”, a slogan he uses to mean that “one good turn deserves another”, calling on them to also keep to the bargain by fulfilling their own promise made to support the President.

He ended his remarks by urging them to ensure their differences are settled before moving into the new place.

Earlier, the FCT Minister of State, Dr Mariya Mahmoud  described the commissioning as another major milestone in the ongoing efforts of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to open up communities, improve livelihoods, and deepen inclusive development.

She noted that the provision of vital engineering infrastructure to the informal sector layout symbolizes the triumph of purposeful leadership and the arrival of hope to communities that were previously underserved.

​Dr. Mahmoud expressed deep appreciation to President Tinubu for providing the visionary policy direction transforming the nation’s capital, while also praising the FCT Minister, for his bold, result-oriented leadership that is rapidly changing the face of Abuja and ensuring that the era of abandoned public projects in the Territory is over.

“Under his watch, development is no longer confined to the city center alone. It’s reaching the districts, the communities, and the people who exactly needed it the most”, she stated.