Oluremi Tinubu inaugurates the remodeled Abuja City

By Samuel Solomon

Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Thursday inaugurated the remodeled Abuja City Gate in the Federal Capital Territory.

The inauguration was attended by the “Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, the Minister of State for the FCT, Dr Mariya Mahmoud, and other dignitaries,” according to a statement released by the First Lady’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Busola Kukoyi.

The remodeled City Gate is part of the FCT Administration’s ongoing efforts to improve the aesthetics of Abuja and create a more welcoming first impression for residents, visitors and investors entering the city.

Providing context for the project, Wike disclosed earlier during his monthly media parley on Thursday that the idea for remodeling the City Gate came from the First Lady.

“When you come to a city, the first impression of the looks of the city will motivate you to do something there. It is not our brainchild, it is the brain of the first lady,” the minister said.

He recalled that Senator Tinubu had drawn his attention to the condition of the City Gate after observing similar landmarks during her travels.

“The day she called me, she said, ‘Minister, you have been travelling; is that how the city gate of other countries are?’”

According to Wike, he later met with the First Lady, who urged him to beautify the entrance to the capital.

“I went and met her to understand very well. She said, ‘Why can’t you do something to beautify the place? Anybody entering Abuja will say this is the city of Abuja,’” he added.

The inauguration of the remodeled Abuja City Gate adds to the series of infrastructure and beautification projects commissioned in the Federal Capital Territory.