Wike Sets December Deadline for 15-Year-Delayed Apo-Karshi Road

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said the long-delayed Apo-Karshi Road will be completed and inaugurated in December, ending a 15-year wait for residents of communities along the route.

Wike gave the assurance on Saturday after inspecting the 13.5-kilometre Apo-Karshi Road and the ongoing 14-kilometre Bwari-Kubwa Road in Abuja.

The Apo-Karshi Road was originally awarded in 2010 under a previous administration but remained stalled for years, leaving residents and motorists to contend with congestion and difficult access between satellite communities and the city centre.

Wike said the Federal Capital Territory Administration had to terminate the original contract and re-award it to SCC Nigeria Ltd after prolonged delays.

“The Apo-Karshi Road has been a topical issue. It was awarded in 2010, one of those projects President Bola Tinubu inherited,” he said.

The minister said the importance of the road and repeated complaints from residents informed the decision to bring in a contractor with the capacity to complete the project.

“Because of its importance and the complaints by residents, we had to terminate the contract and award it to SCC, which we know has the capacity to complete the job,” Wike said.

He expressed confidence in the contractor’s ability to meet the new deadline, commending the company for sustaining work on the project despite the funding cycles.

Wike also assured contractors handling major projects in the FCT that the administration would continue to honour its financial commitments.

At the Bwari-Kubwa Road, the minister said the contractor had committed to delivering the project in December, stressing its importance to communities that depend on the route for movement and economic activities.

The minister said the delivery of infrastructure, rather than political promises, remained the clearest measure of government performance.

Responding to questions about political campaigns, Wike said citizens should judge governments by what they had delivered.

“When people ask me about campaigns, I say, ‘What is campaign? See the campaign. Campaign is about what you have done for the people and what the government has to show,” he said.

“It is not about promises; it is about taking action that positively impacts lives.”

Wike said the number of major road projects nearing completion across the FCT had strengthened his confidence that the administration would exceed its initial target of inaugurating 10 projects between December and January 2027.

He said the government would continue to focus on projects capable of easing movement, opening up communities and improving the quality of life for residents across the capital territory.