FCT Natives begs Wike for inclusion in political appointments

By Stanley Onyekwere

Some natives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have appealed to the minister, Nyesom Wike to include them in his political appointments, so as to give them a sense of belonging in the FCT administration.

They also appealed to the FCT minister to encourage the area councils chairmen, by increasing their allocations for them to be able to impact on the lives of people at the grassroots.

An elder statesman, Danjuma Tanko, who made this call in a press briefing yesterday in Abuja, said that they have observed that the appointments made so far by the minister have not carried the natives along, especially members of the APC.

Tanko, who is a chieftain of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and  noted that it was expected that as minister of the FCT, members of the APC who are Abuja natives should be given some priority in political appointments in the administration, saying that there are qualified indigenes of the FCT who can head some key agencies in the territory.

He added that the FCT natives under the platform of the APC laboured for the party against all odds, when the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was in power, and they never gave up until the APC took over, so it was expected that they would be carried along in the scheme of things.

“We are not happy with the way the FCT natives, mostly members of the APC, are been sidelined by this FCT administration. We were the ones that fought for the ruling party in the FCT, and we expected that by now, we will be benefiting from the government that we fought for.

“We are calling on the minister to consider the natives in subsequent appointments, because we have noticed that the natives are not appointed in any positions to head any agency in the territory.

“We have educated and qualified FCT natives in the APC that can head any government agency in the territory. So, we should be given the opportunity to be part of the government that we laboured for and not be treated as if we are second class citizens when it has to do with governance,” he said.

He  continued: “We have noticed that the developmental stride of the minister is concentrated on the urban areas, while the rural areas are left for the council chairman to attend to and ensure that they make it livable for communal residents.

“So, we are also appealing to the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike to support the council chairman by increasing their monthly allocations, so that they can impact positively on the lives of people at the grassroots, because they are closer to the grassroots than the minister of FCT.

‘The idea by the minister to cut short revenue generation for the Area councils amount to abuse of democratic principles. This single dichotomy and autocratic decision to appoint a minister to oversee the affairs of elected officials is absolutely undemocratic and therefore,  the people of Abuja desire a complete democratic structure, where any Nigerian can contest.

“The minister should also know that he was appointed, and not elected. So, he should rather galvanised area councils chairmen,  since the constitution place them high.”