President Bola Tinubu on Monday defended his administration’s decision to remove the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
The president said the move has unlocked the financial flexibility needed to fast-track critical infrastructure projects and transform Abuja into a modern capital city.
The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) disclosed this in a statement posted on its X handle on Tuesday.
He said critics had questioned the decision when it was taken, but insisted that the visible transformation across the Federal Capital Territory had vindicated the policy.
“When we pulled the FCT Administration out of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), there were sceptics. There were those who questioned the wisdom of that financial liberation. But we did it because we knew that local administration must have the liquidity, the speed and the corporate flexibility to interface with financial institutions and deliver critical projects without bureaucratic strangulation. Today, the results are glaring,” Mr Tinubu said.
The president spoke while commissioning a new Office Annex for the Body of Benchers and 10 units of four-bedroom staff quarters at the Nigerian Law School, Bwari, Abuja. He was represented at both events by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume.
Mr Tinubu credited the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, with translating the policy into tangible projects, saying the minister had gone beyond road construction to strengthen key institutions of justice and governance.
He praised Mr Wike for resolving the Nigerian Law School’s long-standing land title challenge by facilitating the issuance of its Certificate of Occupancy after years without formal documentation.
“When I appointed Minister Wike, I gave him a clear mandate to transform Abuja into a modern, functional and world-class capital city. Over the last three years, the scale of infrastructural development, urban renewal and project delivery in the FCT has been unmatched,” he said.
At the commissioning of the Body of Benchers’ Office Annex, Mr Tinubu described the new complex as a symbol of his administration’s commitment to the rule of law, institutional independence and democratic governance.
He dismissed suggestions that providing infrastructure for the judiciary amounted to executive interference, insisting that it was the government’s constitutional responsibility to provide the facilities required for the justice sector to function effectively.
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“Let me be absolutely clear: the provision of infrastructure for the legal community and the judiciary is not an interference in the independence of another arm of government. Rather, it is a constitutional and collaborative duty of the Executive to ensure that those who interpret and uphold our laws are provided with an environment that fosters operational efficiency and excellence,” he said.
Speaking at the Nigerian Law School, Mr Tinubu said providing decent accommodation for Law School staff was essential to producing competent legal professionals, stressing that “we cannot build a world-class legal system with dilapidated infrastructure.”
He said the newly commissioned staff quarters represented only the first phase of broader investments in the institution, revealing that the federal government is funding a new auditorium, constructing additional student hostels and digitising the Law School’s academic and administrative operations.
He disclosed that the federal government is funding a new auditorium, additional student hostels and the digitisation of the Law School’s academic and administrative operations, while similar interventions are underway across the justice sector, including the construction of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, magistrates’ courts and residential quarters for judges.
