Senate President, Godswill Akpabio stirred political ripples during a road commissioning ceremony in Abuja on Wednesday when he publicly addressed former Federal Capital Territory Senator, Philip Aduda, pointedly noting that Aduda had failed to invite him to commission a single project during their shared years in the 8th Senate despite the senator being a principal officer at the time. 

The unusually candid remarks were delivered at the inauguration of the access road from Bill Clinton Drive to Tungan Madaki, one of several infrastructure projects being commissioned in Abuja as part of activities marking President Bola Tinubu’s third anniversary in office.

Akpabio, who represented President Tinubu at the event, told the gathered audience that he had nonetheless observed Aduda beaming with joy at the occasion, a reaction he attributed to the widespread satisfaction among FCT constituents who elected Aduda and are now witnessing visible development under FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.

The Senate President went further to suggest that the goodwill Aduda now enjoyed from aligning himself with Wike whom he humorously dubbed “Mr. Project” could very well translate into a return to the Senate in the next election cycle.

The remarks carried an unmistakable political undertone, widely interpreted as a validation of Wike’s growing stature as one of the Tinubu administration’s most consequential ministers. Wike has overseen a sweeping infrastructure drive across the FCT, with multiple road projects, bridges, and civic facilities commissioned in rapid succession. The minister has often drawn sharp contrasts between the current wave of delivery and the perceived inaction of previous administrations, and Akpabio’s comments appeared to echo that narrative.

Philip Aduda, a Peoples Democratic Party stalwart who served as the FCT senator and later as Senate Minority Whip and Minority Leader during the 9th Assembly, lost his bid for re-election in 2023 to Labour Party’s Ireti Kingibe. His appearance at the commissioning event alongside senior government officials signalled a notable political alignment, with the former senator’s presence interpreted by observers as an endorsement of the Tinubu administration’s FCT agenda.

The broader commissioning programme of which the event formed a part saw President Tinubu inaugurating several high-profile road projects across Abuja, with the Outer Southern Expressway, the Life Camp Arterial Road N5, and the Airport-Kuje dualized highway among the key deliverables. Akpabio, who led the official commissioning of some of these projects, conveyed the president’s message that the era of abandoned infrastructure in Nigeria was drawing to a close, with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda delivering tangible results on schedule.