June 11, 2025.
FROM N240 MILLION TO N39 BILLION: TINUBU’S COSTLY QUEST FOR IMMORTALITY.
…..N39 BILLION FACELIFT FIASCO: FCTA NEGLECTS EDUCATION AND HEALTHCARE.
The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) is appalled by the Federal Capital Territory Administration’s (FCTA) reckless expenditure of N39 billion on refurbishing the already functional Abuja International Conference Centre (ICC), while critical sectors like education and healthcare in the FCT crumble. This staggering misallocation of resources, coupled with the brazen renaming of public institutions after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, exposes a disturbing focus on self-glorification over nation-building.
Built in 1991 under General Ibrahim Babangida for a modest N240 million, the ICC was a testament to prudent investment in national infrastructure. General Babangida, despite overseeing its construction from the ground up, never sought to immortalize his name on this landmark. In stark contrast, President Tinubu, whose administration merely renovated the ICC at an outrageous cost of N39 billion, has renamed it the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre. This pattern extends to other public assets, including the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Technology Innovation Complex, Bola Ahmed Tinubu Barracks, and Bola Ahmed Tinubu Federal Polytechnic. Such actions reek of personal branding and a desperate bid to rewrite history through paint and concrete, rather than through transformative leadership.
The N39 billion squandered on this unnecessary facelift could have funded a new, state-of-the-art national monument or addressed the dire crises plaguing the FCT. Primary school children have been out of school for three months due to underfunding and neglect. Area Councils and Primary Healthcare Centers have been paralyzed by months-long strikes, leaving communities without essential services. These are the real emergencies demanding urgent attention, yet the administration prioritizes vanity projects over the welfare of Nigerians.
While citizens grapple with soaring inflation, insecurity, failing healthcare, and a collapsing education system, the Tinubu administration appears more committed to immortalizing a name than solving these pressing challenges. This is not leadership—it is a shameful betrayal of public trust. For context, N39 billion is not just a renovation budget; it is a staggering leap from the N240 million used to build the ICC from scratch. This gross mismanagement of resources demands accountability.
CUPP calls for an immediate investigation into the FCTA’s expenditure on the ICC renovation and a reorientation of priorities toward education, healthcare, and economic empowerment. We urge President Tinubu to focus on building a legacy through tangible solutions—schools that educate, hospitals that heal, and industries that employ—rather than plastering his name on public assets. Nigerians deserve leadership that uplifts the nation, not monuments to personal ambition.
The time for misplaced priorities is over. Let us build a Nigeria that works for all, not a gallery of self-glorification.
Signed,
Chief Peter Ameh, National Secretary, Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP).
