The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has lashed out at critics of the N39 billion renovation of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre (ICC), describing them as lacking in good taste and national pride.
His comments come days after President Bola Tinubu officially inaugurated the newly renovated ICC on Tuesday.
The project has since drawn public criticism, including from former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who called the expenditure a “misplacement of priorities” in a country facing pressing developmental challenges.
Obi argued that the renovation funds should have been directed toward education and the welfare of Nigerian children, saying, “The N39bn used to renovate the International Conference Centre would have been better spent on addressing urgent issues affecting Nigerian schoolchildren.”
In response, Wike on Friday defended the project during the commissioning of the Left-hand Service Carriageway of the Outer Southern Expressway from Apo-Wasa.
He insisted that the extensive renovation had transformed the ICC completely, leaving only the original block structure unchanged.
“There are people who naturally lack good taste,” Wike said. “Everything in the International Conference Centre was changed.
If you love this country, you can’t criticize this project.”
The minister further dismissed criticisms based on the project’s cost, referencing the inflation and currency exchange rate differences between 1991 and today.
Wike also took a jab at Reuben Abati, a former presidential spokesperson under Goodluck Jonathan, saying,
“If you couldn’t defend your boss when you had the opportunity, that’s not our fault.
I will defend my boss, and I have the capacity to do so.”
He went on to criticize unnamed individuals for downplaying the significance of naming the facility after President Tinubu.
“Why wouldn’t you commend someone who has done well? You’re unhappy the ICC is named after Mr. President? Go and kill yourself,” he remarked bluntly.
Wike concluded by reaffirming his loyalty to President Tinubu and reiterated that leadership must be backed by visible, impactful projects.