By Linus Aleke, Abuja
An advocate for the protection of the rights of original inhabitants of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Bobai Mathew Francis, has said that it will amount to injustice for a non indigene to be assigned the portfolio of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

To this end, he appealed to President Tinubu to assign, Minister of FCT to the FCT ministerial nominee, Hon. Zaphania Jisalo.

The Estate Developer, who said this in a statement in Abuja,
said the FCT should not be denied the benefits of producing the next FCT Minister.

He said: “Zaphania is a huge national asset and a blessing to our nation , if appointed as FCT minister, I know his ability and capacity, he will definitely deliver, we were in University of Jos, Plateau State together and we graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Education. I worked closely with him when he was elected Chairman Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) in 2004, as a result of his excellence, he was re-elected in 2007. He served in that capacity in 2010”.

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He recalled that the All Progressives Congress (APC), during the 2023 presidential election, said, the FCT is a state, citing Section 132 (1) (b) and (2) (b), with emphasis on “two-thirds of all the states in the federation and the FCT”.

“For fairness, justice and equity, the APC-led government of President Bola Tinubu should not deny the FCT of a ministerial slot just as each of the 36 states get at least one ministerial slot,” he said.

This, he noted, is in line with Section 318 of the 1999 Constitution on federal character principle to promote national unity, foster national loyalty and give every citizen of Nigeria a sense of belonging.

According to him, “The APC-led administration should give a sense of belonging to the aboriginal people of Abuja and give a ministerial slot to an indigene of the FCT, just as each of the 36 states produce indigenes as members of the federal executive Council”.

In January 2018, the court of appeal in Abuja ruled that indigenous people of the FCT are entitled to ministerial slots as provided by the combined provisions of sections 147 (3), 299, 14 (3) & 42 of the 1999 constitution.

The court also declared that the refusal to appoint an indigene of FCT as minister constitutes a gross violation of the provisions of the constitution on fundamental human rights.