Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has issued a scathing critique of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over what he describes as “reckless and insensitive” spending on vanity projects and luxurious infrastructure, while public secondary schools in Abuja remain shut for over three months.
Sowore, speaking via a statement released today, condemned the FCT Administration’s prioritization of ostentatious urban renewal initiatives and high-profile events at a time when thousands of students have been locked out of classrooms due to an unresolved industrial action by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).
“It is the height of irresponsibility that Minister Wike is busy commissioning fountains, luxury parks, and bloated contracts worth billions of naira, while government-owned secondary schools in the FCT have been closed for three months,” Sowore said. “The children of the poor are paying the price for a government that prefers pomp over purpose.”
The FCT public school teachers, who embarked on a strike earlier in March over unpaid allowances, poor working conditions, and unfulfilled agreements with the FCT Administration, have yet to receive a concrete response from the authorities. Meanwhile, projects such as the renovation of the Abuja City Gate and the construction of ministerial lodges have moved ahead at breakneck speed.
Sowore questioned the priorities of the current administration, describing it as “detached from the suffering of ordinary Nigerians.”
“We cannot continue to watch a government that flaunts elitist projects while denying children their right to basic education. The education crisis in Abuja reflects the larger collapse of governance and accountability in Nigeria,” he added.