The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Friday defended the ₦39 billion spent on renovating the International Conference Centre in Abuja, describing the upgrade as comprehensive and necessary.
Speaking at the commissioning of the newly completed Left-Hand Service Carriageway, Wike stated that everything within the conference centre was replaced during the renovation, except the building’s block structure.
Wike said that though the ₦240m was spent on building the conference centre in 1991 during the military regime of former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, a lot has changed in the prices of commodities, hence the sum of ₦39bn spent on the renovation of the conference centre.
On Tuesday, June 10, 2025, President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the refurbished International Conference Centre, Abuja, which the FCT minister renamed after him as the Bola Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja.
Some members of the opposition, including former federal lawmaker Shehu Sani, subsequently faulted Wike’s decision and argued that the conference centre should have been renamed after Babangida and not Tinubu. Some people also believed that the money spent on the rehabilitation of the conference centre was outrageous.
On Friday, Wike said those criticising the amount of money spent on the rehabilitation of the International Conference Centre “don’t have good taste”.
“The only thing in that International Conference Centre that was not changed was the block work. Everything in that Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre was changed,” the FCT minister said in a direct response to his critics.
“Nigeria, as the Giant of Africa, must not only show that it is the Giant of Africa; people must see what makes you to be the Giant of Africa. Nobody who loves this country would criticise the International Conference Centre.
“They said we did not name the International Conference Centre after someone who built it. Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport was not built by Nnamdi Azikwe. Moshood Abiola International Stadium was not built by Moshood Abiola,” he said.
Wike also knocked those who said the centre was built with ₦240m in 1991 but refurbished with ₦39bn in 2025. “What was the exchange rate in 1991?” he queried. “Compare the exchange rate to what we have in 2025.”
“We have taste, we want the best for the country, and the president has given the best for the country.
“If you did not do well to defend your boss when you had the opportunity, it is your business. I am here, and I will defend my boss.
“I have done it and I have no regret at all,” he said even as he censured those who felt the project was a misplaced priority.
