The Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP, has called for immediate investigation into the N39 billion expended by the FCT Administration to renovate the International Conference Centre, ICC, Abuja.
The coalition said the amount squandered on the ICC was an unnecessary facelift, which should have been used to address the dire crises plaguing the FCT primary schools, whose pupils have been out of school for three months due to underfunding and neglect.
CUPP’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Peter Ameh, in a statement he personally signed and made available to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, said the coalition was appalled by the FCTA’s reckless expenditure of N39 billion on refurbishing an already functional Abuja International Conference Centre (ICC), while critical sectors like education and healthcare in the FCT crumble.
According to him, aside from the pupils of the FCT public primary schools, who have been out of schools for months now, the area councils’ secretariats and the Primary Healthcare Centres have also been paralyzed by months-long strikes, which, he said, had left communities without essential services.
“These are the real emergencies demanding urgent attention, yet the administration prioritizes vanity projects over the welfare of Nigerians,” the statement said.
Ameh said the same ICC was built during General Ibrahim Babangida’s administration for a modest N240 million, which was a testament to prudent investment in national infrastructure.
“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, therefore, 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,” he said.
