Kashim Shettima has through his spokesperson, Stanley Nkwocha, defended the allocation of N15 billion for a new residence and challenged the charge of wastefulness by Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate.
Shettima emphasized that the project’s roots trace back to the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, stating, “It was not originated by the present administration.”
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Nkwocha accused Obi of attempting to tarnish Bola Tinubu’s administration, asserting that Obi deliberately ignored the project’s history to score political points. The spokesperson highlighted the project’s abandonment for over a decade, revealing the sorry state of the uncompleted building “overtaken by weeds and reptiles.” According to Nkwocha, the current FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, recognizing the wastefulness of abandoning a project funded by public funds, decided to revive the construction.
Shettima challenged Obi’s characterization of the project as wasteful, urging “more cerebral Nigerians to crosscheck properly” and emphasizing the administration’s commitment to completing vital abandoned projects nationwide.
Nkwocha concluded by stating, “The array of abandoned Federal Government projects littered all over the country is a national embarrassment that the current administration has taken a bold step to save the country from.” He stressed that, completing existing projects remains a priority before initiating new ones, except in cases of strategic alignment or economic significance.