“Baba Tinubu, It Is Our Turn To Be FCT Minister”, Abuja Indigenes Groan
- President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been urged to nominate an indigene of Abuja as the minister of FCT
- Alhaji Mohammed Yamawo, a local monarch in Dei-Dei, a suburb of Abuja, made this appeal
- Since the position's inception, 16 people have held the ministerial seat, and no single one is an indigene
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FCT, Abuja - The indigenes of Abuja have begun to raise a campaign for the ministerial seat of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to be ceded to them instead of bringing an outsider to administrate over them.
Since the position's inception in 1976, the indigenes of Abuja are yet to hold the post that has since been rotated among 16 civil servants from the southwest, northeast, northwest, and northcentral.
Source: Twitter
In a recent interview conducted by Legit.ng, some indigenes, educationists, monarchs, public office holders, and humanitarians gave their position on this agitation and what President Bola Tinubu should do to make their agitations a reality.
Speaking to Legit.ng at the commissioning of a borehole at the LEA Primary School Saburi 1, Dei-Dei Abuja, the District Monarch of the community, Alhaji Mohammed Yamawo, said it was high time the federal government listened to their agony.
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He noted that bringing an outsider with no background knowledge of the FCT further causes underdevelopment for the indigenous people of Abuja.
Yamawo said it would be difficult for outsiders to understand their plight because he is not one of them.
His words:
"We're praying to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Baba Tinubu) to look at it and help us and do something about this and God will give him health, power, and many years to govern our country."
There's no better time for us to minister - Danladi
Similarly, the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) chairman of LEA Primary School Saburi 1, Idris Danladi, told Legit.ng that there's no better time for President Tinubu to appoint an indigene of Abuja as the FCT minister.
He said:
"This is the right time for us to be in the seat of FCT minister because our people have been cheated for a long time and honestly, enough is enough.
"We're appealing to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to look at this as a development to we the FCT natives. It's not fair to bring somebody from outside that does not know what is happening in the FCT."
When asked if steps are in play to make their agitation a reality, Danladi said community leaders and political stakeholders had begun the push for it.
Ambassador Eva Erokoro, a serial humanitarian and CEO of Askevena Foundation, said it would be a good development if the indigenes of Abuja were considered for the seat of the FCT minister.
She said:
"It is important that they have access to leadership and they know the things that they're suffering. They know the grassroots of what their pains are. To me, they are the best people to lead Abuja."
The indigenes of Abuja are predominantly the Gbagyi (Gwari) people, with the Gbagyi language formerly being the region's primary language.
Other groups in the area include the Bassa, Gwandara, Gade, Dibo, Egburra, Nupe, and Koro. They all can be found in neighbouring States like Kaduna, Nasarawa, Niger, and Kogi.
"I’ll release all entitlements of FCT", Atiku tells Abuja, indigenes,
Meanwhile, in the build-up to the 2023 polls Atiku Abubakar, PDP presidential candidate, has vowed to ensure FCT indigenes get all their entitlements as Nigerians.
The former vice president made the promise while addressing PDP supporters in the FCT at Eagles Square, Abuja.
The PDP presidential candidate also took a swipe at the ruling APC, saying the party has failed Nigerians.
Source: Legit.ng
