President Bola Tinubu has expressed apparent satisfaction with the extensive infrastructural projects spearheaded by Nyesom Wike during his 18-month tenure as the 17th Minister of the FCT. A tour of Abuja reveals the significant scale of his achievements, particularly in the rapid construction of numerous roads and bridges. Wike has notably invested heavily in publicizing these successes, reportedly spending up to N500 million since early May on front-page advertisements in major newspapers to announce projects ready for presidential commissioning. These commissioning events are characterized by elaborate fanfare, often featuring the FCT Minister's distinct dancing style. This track record mirrors his time as Rivers State governor, where he oversaw the construction of 12 flyovers in Port Harcourt, along with other road initiatives, effectively alleviating the city's notorious traffic congestion. Under Wike’s administration, the FCT has completed 150 kilometers of roads across both satellite towns and the Abuja metropolis. The 2025 FCT budget allocates over N1 trillion specifically for roads and bridges.

Despite these visible accomplishments, a stark contrast emerges when examining the FCT's internal affairs. Nyesom Wike's personal style, marked by his opulent bulletproof Lexus LX 600 SUV (valued around $100,000) and a 2024 Phantom Rolls-Royce luxury sedan (priced between $515,000 and $595,000, equivalent to N824 million – N952 million), alongside his use of a private jet for country-wide travel, has drawn attention. This lavish lifestyle has been critiqued as incongruous with the World Bank’s assessment of Nigeria as a poverty-stricken nation with a majority of its citizens experiencing multidimensional poverty.

Beneath the surface of grand projects and a flamboyant ministerial persona, Abuja faces a dire situation. Over 100,000 FCT workers are currently on strike due to unpaid salaries and various grievances. Specifically, more than 10,000 primary school teachers in the FCT have been on strike for four months, protesting the non-payment of salaries since 2023, the N70,000 minimum wage, and other allowances. Additionally, primary healthcare workers have joined the strike over similar salary non-payment issues dating back to 2023. This industrial action has resulted in over 50,000 school children in the nation's capital being out of school for 14 weeks, while more than 200 primary health centers, crucial for low-income residents, remain shut. Senior citizens of the FCT, represented by Elder Danjuma Tanko Dara, Coordinator of the FCT Senior Citizens Forum, have described the situation as a “monumental failure of governance that has left the FCT in a state of social emergency,” lamenting that children are on the streets and the vulnerable are denied basic medical care.

A critical aspect of the crisis revolves around the financial autonomy of local government areas, known as Abuja municipal area councils (AMACs) in the FCT. Under the current administration, all 774 LGAs across Nigeria, including FCT’s area councils, receive direct funding from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). The significant increase in petrol prices since 2023 has led to improved funding for states and LGAs. This raises questions about why the six AMACs in Abuja have failed to meet their basic obligations, particularly the payment of primary school teachers' salaries, which is their direct responsibility. The fact that these councils now enjoy financial autonomy should not serve as an excuse for the alleged misappropriation of funds meant for public services.

In an effort to resolve the protracted strike by primary school teachers, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike was scheduled to meet with chairmen of FCT area councils, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). This meeting followed a series of strategic engagements initiated by NANS, including discussions at the Department of State Services Headquarters and with Muktar Betara, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on FCT. NANS revealed that these meetings helped clarify the causes of the teachers’ strike and the steps taken by the Wike-led FCTA. During a third meeting, Wike reiterated that the FCT is the only federal unit operating full local government autonomy, making area councils solely responsible for primary school teachers' salaries.

To demonstrate commitment and resolve the crisis, Minister Wike proposed a bailout plan: the FCTA offered to cover 60% of the outstanding salary arrears, with the area councils responsible for the remaining 40%. When this arrangement did not yield the desired results, the FCT Minister implemented a measure to withhold the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the area councils for May and June. The intention behind this action was to utilize these withheld funds to cover the 40% share owed by the area councils to clear the outstanding arrears. NANS, which had previously planned a mass protest, announced the suspension of their demonstration, stating they would closely monitor the implementation of these resolutions, reaffirming their commitment to ensuring students' access to education.