**Says FCT’s financial autonomy accelerated infrastructure delivery

President Bola Tinubu on Monday defended his administration’s decision to exempt the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) from the Treasury Single Account (TSA), insisting that the policy had accelerated infrastructure delivery in Abuja by giving the administration greater financial flexibility.

The President also rejected claims that the Executive was encroaching on the independence of the judiciary through investments in justice-sector infrastructure, describing such interventions as a constitutional responsibility rather than executive interference.

Tinubu spoke at the commissioning of 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.

Defending the TSA exemption, the President said the decision enabled the FCTA to respond more quickly to development needs by accessing funds without bureaucratic delays.

“When we pulled the FCT Administration out of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), there were skeptics. 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,” he said.

Tinubu said the visible transformation across the Federal Capital Territory had justified the decision, crediting FCT Minister Nyesom Wike with translating the policy into tangible infrastructure and institutional reforms.

According to the President, Wike has gone beyond road construction to strengthen key institutions of governance and justice, including resolving the Nigerian Law School’s long-standing land documentation challenge by facilitating the issuance of its Certificate of Occupancy after years without formal title.

“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 inauguration of the Body of Benchers Office Annex, Tinubu described the facility as another demonstration of his administration’s commitment to strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law.

Responding to criticism that the Executive was using infrastructure projects to influence the judiciary, the President maintained that providing facilities for the justice sector does not compromise judicial independence.

“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, Tinubu stressed that quality infrastructure remained essential to producing competent legal professionals, saying Nigeria could not build a world-class justice system with inadequate facilities.

He said the newly commissioned staff quarters marked only the first phase of broader interventions at the institution, revealing that the Federal Government is funding a new auditorium, additional student hostels and the digitisation of the Law School’s academic and administrative operations.

The President added that similar projects are ongoing across the justice sector, including the construction of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, magistrates’ courts and residential quarters for judges.

He said the investments reflected his administration’s determination to rebuild the institutions that sustain democracy while delivering on its reform agenda.

“We promised not just to govern, but to reform. We promised to rebuild the broken structures of our institutional foundations,” Tinubu said.