President Bola Tinubu has defended his administration’s decision to remove the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) from the Treasury Single Account (TSA), saying the move has given the administration the financial flexibility to accelerate infrastructure development in Abuja.
Tinubu spoke on Monday while inaugurating the Body of Benchers Office Annex and 10 units of four-bedroom staff quarters at the Nigerian Law School in Bwari, Abuja.
The president was represented at the event by George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
“But we did it because we knew that local administration must have the liquidity, the speed, and the corporate flexibility to interface with financial institutions and deliver critical projects without bureaucratic strangulation. Today, the results are glaring.”
The president also praised the minister for resolving the Nigerian Law School’s longstanding land title challenge by facilitating the issuance of its certificate of occupancy (C of O).
“When I appointed Minister Wike, I gave him a clear mandate to transform Abuja into a modern, functional and world-class capital city,” Tinubu said.
“Over the last three years, the scale of infrastructure development, urban renewal and project delivery in the FCT has been unmatched.”
On the inauguration of the Body of Benchers Office Annex, Tinubu said providing infrastructure for the judiciary does not amount to executive interference.
According to him, it is the constitutional responsibility of the executive to provide facilities that enable the justice sector to function effectively.
“Let me be absolutely clear: the provision of infrastructure for the legal community and the judiciary is not an interference in the independence of another arm of government,” he said.
“Rather, it is a constitutional and collaborative duty of the Executive to ensure that those who interpret and uphold our laws are provided with an environment that fosters operational efficiency and excellence.”
‘WE CANNOT BUILD WORLD-CLASS LEGAL SYSTEM WITH DILAPIDATED INFRASTRUCTURE’
At the Nigerian Law School, Tinubu said decent accommodation for staff is essential to producing competent legal professionals.
“We cannot build a world-class legal system with dilapidated infrastructure,” he said.
He described the newly commissioned staff quarters as the first phase of broader investments in the institution.
The president said the federal government is funding the construction of a new auditorium, additional student hostels and the digitisation of the Law School’s academic and administrative operations.
He added that similar interventions are ongoing across the justice sector, including the construction of the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal, magistrates’ courts and residential quarters for judges.
“We promised not just to govern, but to reform. We promised to rebuild the broken structures of our institutional foundations,” Tinubu said.
