During the annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) held at the Velodrome, Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja, President Bola Tinubu made a public statement directed at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike. Tinubu firmly asserted that should he ever seek free land in Abuja, he expects it not to be granted.
Speaking on Sunday, Tinubu’s message resonated as he emphasized his stance on not accepting any preferential treatment.
The president urged Wike to ensure the completion of the FCT metro rail system to ease transportation in the nation’s capital.
“The landlord of Abuja, I want to ride on your metro line. If I ask for free land don’t give me but deliver the metro line for the good and the greatest number of Nigerians,” he said.
Tinubu noted that his administration will not carry on with the tradition of servicing external debts with 90 per cent of scarce revenue in the midst of many challenges in the country.
“Can we continue to service external debts with 90% of our revenue? It is a path to destruction. It is not sustainable. We must make the very difficult changes that are necessary for our country to get up from slumber and be respected among the great nations of the world,” the president said.
Chairman of UBA Plc and Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, delivered the keynote address at the conference.
The conference was attended by the attorney general of the federation, Lateef Fagbemi; chief of staff to the president, Femi Gbajabiamila; Wike; minister of sports, John Enoh; former secretary to the government of the federation, Boss Mustapha; past NBA presidents and many senior government officials.
