By Godfrey AKON
Activists of socio cultural, political and economic rights of the original inhabitants of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, have called for constitutional amendment to create a second tier of government in Abuja.
Speaking at a one-day Roundtable on the Political Rights of Original Inhabitants in FCT, organised by the Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Development Awareness, CESDA, they maintained that for FCT inhabitants to feel the impact of democracy, they must have the right to function as other states.
A representative of FCT Youth Network, Barr. Daniel Zhidi, said if FCT has a second-tier government, it would hold opportunities for other establishments such as educational institutions.
Zhidi lamented that currently, there is no state university in FCT; as such, indigenous youths of FCT find it difficult to look for admission, adding that this alone, is a deprivation of the right to education of FCT natives.
He also called for the creation of another senatorial district in Abuja and two more House of Reps constituencies.
“So, the constitution needs to be amended to reflect this so that FCT indigenes will feel the impact of democracy properly like other Nigerians. We have only two. Other states have more than four and if you compare the population, we are more than some states in Nigeria,” he said.
The legal practitioner called on all relevant organisations to engage the National Assembly for FCT to have more federal constituencies, stating that with that, the indigenous people and residents would feel the impact of democracy like other Nigerians.
“In addition to that, we want more area councils to be added to the six. Section 299 has said FCT should be taken as if it were one of the states. So, the relevant agencies also should look at it and find a way to approach the National Assembly so that “as if” would be removed.
He lamented that because of the expensive nature of land in Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, indigenous youths are stranded as there is no place for them to expand and build their own houses.
Earlier, the Executive Director of Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Development Awareness, CESDA, Mr Olusola Babalola, said the project being implemented by the organisation seeks to address decade-old political socio cultural and socio-economic issues that have bedeviled the original inhabitants of Abuja.
Babalola decried the seizure of the ancestral land of the FCT inhabitants without adequate compensation, stating that their means of livelihood have been taken away and they are struggling.
He said “they are Nigerians just like every one of us. Do we say that it’s a course for they to have contributed their land for the wellbeing of the entire Nigeria?”
While noting that CESDA is working on the political rights of the original inhabitants of Abuja, he said the group has been engaged in a lot of advocacies with relevant stakeholders to ensure the political rights of the people are recognised.
Babalola recalled that President Bola Tinubu recently appointed an FCT indigene, Zephaniah Jisalo, as minister for the first time in the history of Nigeria, adding that it was as a result of different cohorts pushing for these rights to be recognised.
According to him, CESDA is asking that even if the ancestral land of FCT indigenes is taken from them, they should be given adequate compensation in such a way that another chaos will not be created in Nigeria.
Also speaking, the Programmes 2 Communications Manager of Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education, CHRICED, Mr. Armsfree Ajanaku, called for the protection of the social, economic and political rights of FCT indigenes.
Ajanaku said CESDA and other organisations have been working as cohorts to advance the social and political rights of original inhabitants of Abuja.
He commended the historic nomination, screening and confirmation of an FCT indigene, as minister, adding that groups like CESDA that are mobilising people at the grassroots for the next phase of the struggle deserve everyone’s support.
“Considering the decade-long marginalisation and political relegation endured by the original inhabitant of the FCT who gave up their ancestral land for which they cannot be adequately compensated by the Nigerian state, there is a need to make it clear that the ministerial slot should not be seen as an end in itself.
“The political environment of FCT original inhabitants will not be completely achieved if all initiatives and advocacies do not translate into good governance. A such, representation must translate into concrete and practical improvement in the lives of the ordinary people of the FCT,” he said.
Ajanaku also called on the FCT administration to consult widely with original inhabitants of the FCT to understand their needs and aspiration as it proceeds to implement governance reforms in the FCT.