- Safiu Kehinde
Popular Nigerian activist and social media influencer, Isaac Fayose, has queried the N39 billion spent on the renovation of the International Conference Centre in Abuja after seeing the poor cooling system in the centre.
Fayose had in a post on his Instagram handle on Sunday called out the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, over the renovation.
The activist, who on Saturday attended the birthday ceremony of popular fashion entrepreneur, Seyi Vodi, held at the event centre, maintained that the renovation of the centre does not worth the N39 billion spent.
He alleged that the centre has a poor cooling system with nothing worth the said amount used in renovating it.
Fayose called for a probe on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, who was at the event, to probe the renovation.
“My people, they don dupe us and you can hold me for this video. That renovation does not even worth N5 billion. What did you put there? Rug. Wetin you put that is N39 billion for crying out loud?
“EFCC Chairman, you were at the party yesterday. That is your own assessment. Did you see N39 billion there at ICC yesterday? Does that renovation worth N39 billion? How? N39 billion for that place?
“That is to me a fraud and you can hold me for what I’m saying now. I was there yesterday. I went round and looked round. I didn’t see N39 billion there. To me o, that renovation is not up to N5 billion.
“And people were there yesterday. The dignitaries were there yesterday. All of you, in you heart of heart, you guys will know. We were sweating. I was sweating like Christmas goat.y handkerchief was soaked in a N39 billion renovation? How? How did we get here? Who were the people that bidded for this place before the renovation? There is fire on the mountain.
“EFCC Chairman you are there and I’m calling you out now to probe that renovation. I didn’t see anything 39 on ground. I didn’t see it. I didn’t see anything that is worth N39 billion in that place.” He said.
The activist in a separate post further asked another attendee of the event, former Kogi State lawmaker turned lawyer, Dino Melaye, to confirm if anything in the centre worth N39 million.
Recall that at the inauguration of the renovated centre, now known as Bola Ahmed Tinubu Conference Centre, Wike defended the money spent on the renovation of the centre.
He claimed that everything within the centre was changed apart from the block work.
“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.
He held that he had no regrets over the amount spent on the project.