SENATE President Godswill Akpabio has said he no longer watches news on television because his comments are frequently misrepresented, insisting that his recent remarks on infrastructure projects under the administration of President Bola Tinubu were taken out of context.
News Point Nigeria reports that Akpabio made the clarification on Friday during the inauguration of access roads in Karsana, Abuja, where he explained that his comments were specifically about projects being executed in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), not the entire country.
“I have stopped watching news on television because most of the things they say are not what I said,” Akpabio stated.
“You were there on that day, and they misrepresented what I said. I’m used to it. What I said was about the Federal Capital Territory.”
The Senate President stressed that his earlier remarks focused on the number of projects being commissioned in the FCT by President Tinubu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
“I still repeat myself: I’ve never seen where a president and a minister of the Federal Capital Territory will commission projects anniversary by anniversary; up to 31 projects in the third-year anniversary,” he said.
Akpabio further disclosed that Wike had informed him that additional projects were already lined up for inauguration before the commencement of election activities next year.
“He (Wike) has whispered to me that before the commencement of elections in January next year, 19 more projects of high quality will be added for commissioning. So, let the people stop misquoting me,” he added.
Although he maintained that his previous remarks were limited to the FCT, Akpabio said he could also point to several infrastructure projects currently being executed across the country under the Tinubu administration.
“I was talking about the Federal Capital Territory; if I were to talk about states of the federation in general, I’ll still be right,” he said.
Highlighting some of the projects, the Senate President said the Federal Government was undertaking major infrastructure development nationwide.
“I can mention the fact that from Badagry to Sokoto, major infrastructure is being done today by this administration and that stretch alone has 74 dams which will revolutionise agriculture in the northern region,” he said.
“I can also mention the coastal road that the people of Niger Delta dreamt of for the past hundred years. But today, it has become a reality.”
Akpabio also commended the completion of a long-abandoned project at the headquarters of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), formerly known as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
“The other day we were in former FIRS, now NRS; we commissioned a project, I was shocked,” he said.
“I had seen that building right from when I was a commissioner in 2002. But under this administration, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has completed that place.
“Go and take a look at it. When you enter inside, you see quality. He is not discriminating against his projects and projects that were started more than 20, 30 years ago.”
The Senate President added that the impact of the Tinubu administration’s infrastructure drive was now extending beyond the city centre to satellite communities across the FCT.
“FCT is not born today, but the satellite towns are now feeling the impact — the impact of governance — everywhere,” he said.
“Look at this road that we are about to commission; I used to hear of Karsana village, but now it has become Karsana city. It is easy to sit on television and talk and comment.”