Some leaders from southern Nigeria have advised the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),  Nyesom Wike, to ignore political distractors bent on frustrating his efforts to transform the area.

The group gave the advice on Monday while addressing journalists in Abuja under the auspices of the Citizens Network for Peace and Development in Nigeria.

It said that the appointment of Mr Wike by President Bola Tinubu was one of the best decisions of the administration.

The national coordinator of the group, Raphael Okorie, said that the minister had achieved in nine months what former ministers could not in eight years.

Mr Okorie appealed to Nigerians to be patient with Mr Tinubu, saying that he was striving to fix the economy, restore security and bring relief to Nigerians.

“Wike has done a lot in just nine months.

“We know that there are people who want to distract him from replicating his sterling performance in Rivers.

“He is not even bothered about the crisis in Rivers. He is busy with developing Abuja,” the group said.

It further said that Mr Wike had transformed the FCT, adding that it was strongly behind him and praying for him to succeed as minister.

Mr Okorie said that the group had taken time to assess the performance of the administration of Mr Tinubu and Mr Wike, adding that both were poised to urgently deliver the dividend of the Renewed Hope Agenda as promised.

According to him, from the rapid infrastructure development to  stabilising the economy, there is no doubt that Nigeria is on the path to recovery.

“Here, thereto, we micromanaged the value of the naira against other currencies of the world,” he said.

He further contended that the country’s infrastructure development became stunted before the inception of Mr Tinubu’s administration.

Mr Okorie said that the international community could not invest in Nigeria “because of inconsistent policies and over interference by the government in the affairs of the private sector.

“Confidence in our economy that hit its highest under the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration was completely eroded, Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) were near zero.

“Today, we have attained relative and realistic stability in the management of the naira and FDI is growing by the day.

“The private sector is getting the required support to grow and produce what we consume.

“Local content is being seriously encouraged and the government has opened its doors to all Nigerians to build an all-inclusive country, where no Nigerian is shortchanged by those that have invaded to destroy our dear nation.

“Our praises also go to Mr Project, Nyesom Wike for proving the president is right in appointing him as the minister of the nation’s capital,” he said.

He said that the minister had succeeded in bringing insecurity, which was a major challenge in Abuja, under control within the six months of his appointment.

“Today, the entire territory is relatively safe.

“We are not there yet, but with Wike in charge, we are optimistic that FCT will be completely safe soon,” Okorie said.

He appealed to the president to ignore those that were plotting to have Mr Wike removed as FCT minister, and urged Mr Tinubu to continue to support him.

“We also call on residents of the FCT to join hands and support Wike to succeed,” Mr Okorie said.

(NAN)