Speaking at the Abuja Business & Investment Summit and Expo (ABIE 2026) in Abuja, Agama said the capital market offers the FCT a sustainable financing model for roads, rail, housing, water, transport and other infrastructure through instruments such as infrastructure bonds, green bonds, real estate investment trusts (REITs), asset recycling and tokenised municipal securities.

He argued that Abuja’s development demonstrates that economic growth is driven by investment, stressing that “cities are not built by budgets alone. Cities are built by capital markets.”

According to him, the FCT should establish a long-term infrastructure bond programme backed by dedicated revenue sources such as ground rents, tenement rates, tolls, parking fees and land-use charges, noting that this would enable the territory to finance major projects without overburdening annual budgets.

“A budget can only spend what a single year has collected. A bond can spend what 30 years will collect,” Agama said, explaining that infrastructure projects generate long-term economic value that can be used to service debt over time.

The SEC boss said the territory could also access cheaper financing through green and sustainability-linked bonds for projects including mass transit, light rail, solar-powered street lighting, waste-to-energy facilities and water infrastructure.

He further proposed the creation of an FCT Real Estate Investment Trust to unlock value from Abuja’s extensive property portfolio while giving ordinary Nigerians an opportunity to invest in the city’s real estate market.

Agama also urged Abuja Investments Company Limited (AICL) to consider listing some of its businesses or establishing a listed infrastructure fund, saying this would raise capital without increasing government debt while improving corporate governance and transparency.

On the long-abandoned Millennium Tower project, he said the estimated over N400 billion completion cost should not be viewed as a budgetary burden but as an investment opportunity that could be financed through a special purpose vehicle and offered to investors via the capital market.

“The question is not whether Nigeria can afford the Millennium Tower. The question is whether we will let ordinary Nigerians own it,” he said.

Agama further proposed an asset recycling programme under which completed income-generating public assets, including terminals, markets, commercial properties and the International Conference Centre, could be securitised or concessioned to institutional investors, with proceeds reinvested in new infrastructure.

He also called on the FCT to pioneer a regulated tokenised municipal bond programme that would allow citizens to invest as little as ₦10,000 through mobile phones in specific infrastructure projects.

According to him, the recently enacted Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 has strengthened the legal framework for sub-national governments to access the capital market while providing enhanced investor protection and clearer regulation of digital assets.

Agama disclosed that Nigeria’s capital market has grown significantly, with total market capitalisation exceeding N217 trillion as of May 2026, comprising about N160.5 trillion in equities and N56.7 trillion in bonds.

He said recent reforms, including the migration to a T+1 settlement cycle and regulatory measures to deepen market participation, have improved market efficiency and strengthened investor confidence.

The SEC Director-General assured the FCTA of the Commission’s readiness to provide technical support for structuring and registering capital market instruments, saying the commission would work closely with the territory to unlock financing for infrastructure projects.

He added that Nigeria’s capital market remains critical to mobilising domestic savings for national development, insisting that “money is not scarce; delivery capacity is scarce, and financing follows delivery capacity.”

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The 1,659 whose appointments were confirmed were among the 2,281, who sat for the confirmation examination conducted by the FCT Civil Service Commission on February 28, 2026.

In a statement on Sunday, the Senior Special Assistant to the Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, quoted Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, Emeka Ezeh, as saying that some of the workers who sat for the confirmation were employed as far back as 2016 and 2019.

“2, 512 candidates were invited to present themselves for confirmation examination but only 2,281 turned up for the examination.

“A total of 224 officers were absent, fueling suspiction that they could be ghost workers.

“Some of the workers, who sat for the confirmation were employed as far back as 2016 and 2019, while others were
employed shortly before Wike assumed office in August 2023,” he said.

The FCT Civil Service Commission has also concluded plans to conduct both the 2025 and 2026 promotions as approved by the Minister and in line with President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to renewing the Hope of FCTA workforce.

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JUAC had in a statement signed by Comrade Abdullahi Umar Saleh, the Union’s Secretary, issued to the staff on Wednesday, directed the staff to stay at home.

The statement read: “The Joint Union Action Committee therefore directs as follows: That the strike continues as earlier declared by the JUAC. That staff are encouraged to stay at home to continuously participate in daily prayers for the success of the strike.”

However, Staff of FCTA and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) were seen doing their work and carrying out their duties on Thursday defying the directive in the process.

Visit to FCTA and FCDA offices showed that workers were at work, carrying out their duties.

Some of the workers, who spoke to our reporter under the condition of anonymity said they opted to come to work in obedience to the ruling of the court.

One of the FCTA said; “The court has said we should come to work and we have no option than to come to work. Also, this is the last week of the month of January and we are expecting salary to be paid. If we don’t come to work, how are we going to get our salary?”

The JUAC directive that the strike should continue came just a day after the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, granted an interlocutory injunction filed by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the FCT Administration, compelling workers under the aegis of the union to suspend their ongoing strike.

Delivering the ruling on Tuesday, Justice E.D. Subilim held that although the matter before the court amounted to a trade dispute and had met the required legal conditions, the defendants’ right to embark on industrial action was not absolute.

The judge ruled that workers were prohibited from participating in a strike once a dispute had been referred to the National Industrial Court, adding that where such a strike was already ongoing, it must cease pending the determination of the case.

“An order of interlocutory injunction is hereby granted, restraining the claimants and representatives… from further embarking on any industrial action against the claimant. The order shall remain in force, pending the determination of this suit,” Justice Subilim said.

Recall that the Acting Head of the Civil Service of the FCT, Mrs. Nancy Sabanti, had issued a circular directing all Secretariats, Departments and Agencies (SDAs) to open and strictly maintain staff attendance registers to ensure compliance with the court order.

The circular, dated January 27, 2026, instructed Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments, Parastatals and Agencies to enforce immediate resumption of duties by workers, reaffirming the administration’s commitment to staff welfare in the process.

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