The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has renamed the Abuja International Conference Centre after President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking at the commissioning of the structure by the president on Tuesday in Abuja, Wike said the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre is a world-class structure requiring constant maintenance and that anybody using the premises must be made to pay irrespective of his or her status in the society.
President Tinubu while commissioning the refurbished conference centre asked Wike, not be distracted by “busybodies and bystanders”, saying he was impressed with the quality of projects he has delivered in less than two years as minister.
Tinubu’s counsel came in the wake of the festering crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and opposition to Wike by some governors of the party and recalcitrant ground rent debtors in the territory.
He said; “I am greatly honoured and happy to be here to reopen this International Conference Centre as part of our determined efforts to change the way we do things, to reflect us as people of quality, people of character, people of determination, people of great spirit. That is who we are and I am glad that you, Nyesom Wike, are reflecting that.
“Do not pay attention to the busybodies and bystanders. Whatever they say, continue to do your good work. You are a transformational leader, you have the foresight, the vision and the determination to succeed. Thank you very much.
“When I attended the conference of ECOWAS Parliament here, it was a very dirty, disorganized, uninhabitable environment. Aside from the sidetalk I had with the Senate President, I turned to Wike and said this conference centre is not reflecting who we are. Have we sunk this low? He said no but bear with us, we will do whatever we can to transform the place. You won’t come back to find it in a dilapidated state and today I am very happy.
“Whatever might be wrong today is a sign of the good thing that we are correcting, we are reflecting, renewing our hope and believing in ourselves in what we can do, what we can be – a great nation on earth.
“Through the Renewed Hope Agenda, we are determined to renew infrastructure across the key sectors of this country – transportation, health care, education, energy and urban development.
“Because you understand that modern infrastructure is the backbone of a thriving economy in an inclusive and progressive society. The International Conference Centre is part of our country’s larger vision to become a hub for regional diplomacy, continental trade discussions, global partnerships and many more thoughtful, well outlined goals that reflect our ‘Nigeria First’.
“You must obey what the landlord said – you want to use this place, you must pay for it”.
Earlier, Wike said the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre is a world-class structure requiring constant maintenance and that anybody using the premises must be made to pay irrespective of his or her status in the society.
The minister begged the president to not succumb to pressure from powerful interests who might want to use the structure free of charge.
He said; “Today, this Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre can match any other international conference centre anywhere, but what I want to appeal, Mr President, because I know that pressure will come, how do we sustain this? I want to let everybody know – whether you are a Ministry or an agency, you want to use this? You have to pay something. That is the only way it can be sustained. There is nothing like my brother or my sister is going to have a wedding. If you want to use such a beautiful place like this, then you must drop something.
“This place was being handled before by a politician. They gave it to a politician and he killed the place and when we tried to do work, the politician had to go to court to stop us from carrying out this rehabilitation that you are seeing today”, he explained.
