Abuja metro rail will be free for two months, says Wike

Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), says the Abuja light rail will offer free rides for two months.

Wike said this on Thursday at the ongoing ministerial press briefing in Abuja, ahead of the one-year anniversary of the President Bola Tinubu administration.

The minster said the Abuja light rail will be inaugurated by the president on Monday.

He said the free rides will commence on Tuesday, adding that it is part of the president’s renewed hope agenda for residents of the FCT.

The minister said the ultimate goal is to ease commuting in the city.

He said the president may extend the free train rides to six months.

“For those who are saying that the rail system had already been commissioned, don’t make a mistake. What was earlier commissioned was the building. What we want to commission on Monday is commercial operations,” Wike said.

“If you are going to the airport, from here to airport is 20 minutes. Seeing is believing. Go on Tuesday. We are going to allow free rides for two months.

“You know Mr. President, he can even say extend it to six months just to reduce the pain of our people. That is renewed hope agenda.”

‘SECURITY HAS IMPROVED’

Wike said infrastructure, security and education have received “serious attention” since he became FCT minister.

“How was Abuja before? Everyday was kidnapping, ‘one chance’ and all of that,” the minister said.

“But when we came onboard, we visited the six area councils and interacted with the people. They said there were no roads, security agencies.

“We took it up from there and all the area councils can attest to the fact that by December this year, we will commission up to 120 kilometres of roads.

“We have also provided security agencies with all the logistics they need. It’s not like before. The moment they want to go for an operation, logistics are made available.

“You can now sleep with your two eyes closed. Even though no society is 100 percent crime-free, but is the situation different? Yes, you can attest to the fact that it is no longer what it used to be.”

He added that the FCT administration will begin the construction of 10,000 affordable housing units tagged the ‘Renewed Hope City’ from 2025.

Wike said upon assumption of office, he discovered that civil servants in the FCT were demotivated.

“The civil servants were not in a position to put in their best, they could not grow in rank, they were stagnated at the director level,” he added.

“When we came in, we looked at the law passed and assented to in 2018. We wrote the president and he approved the immediate implementation of that law.

“Today, we have the FCT civil service commission, permanent secretary, and head of service of FCT. So, they have hope now. As far as structure is concerned, Mr. President has given them that hope.

“In the area of education, over 19 schools are being rehabilitated.”

BACKGROUND

On August 24, Wike said the Abuja Rail Mass Transit (ARMT) was going to be completed in eight months.

The rail, which was developed in six phases, was funded with loans from the China EXIM Bank.

It was commissioned by former President Muhammadu Buhari on July 12, 2018. However, it packed up shortly after, due to vandalism.

On May 17, Wike said Tinubu will commence the inauguration of completed projects in the FCT on May 27.

“By the approval of Mr. President, we believe that from May 27, we shall begin the inauguration of various projects and will end on June 6,” Wike said.

“Particularly on May 27, President Tinubu will inaugurate commercial operations of the Abuja light rail, also known as the Abuja metro line, and we will carry out the final inspection of the project on May 20.”