Abuja Masterplan: Natives seek Jisalo’s intervention in integrating communities

By Stanley Onyekwere

Natives of Kpaduma Community have appealed to the minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Hon. Zaphanial Jisalo to intervene in the interest of natives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), by ensuring that major communities in the FCT are integrated into the Abuja Master Plan.
Secretary Kpaduma 1 community, Hon. Joseph Madaki Shekwolo, who made this known in a press briefing yesterday said that this can be possible since the natives now have a representative in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) who is abreast with the challenges of Abuja natives.
Shekwolo, who applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for finding one of the indigenes Hon. Zaphaniah Bitrus Jisalo worthy of being appointed as minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, said the appointment has renewed the hope of indigenous people and residents of the territory.
The natives said with the appointment, they can boast of having a representative in the federal government who would ensure that their rights and dignity are protected and not abused because of the previous marginalisation from past governments.
According to Shekwolo, appointing Hon. Jisalo as a minister was the right thing President Tinubu did for the natives because he is a leader who has the quality to make FCT natives and residents proud and ensure that their rights are protected.
He said they are equally grateful to President Bola Tinubu for counting an indigene worthy to be Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs for the first in the history of Nigeria’s democracy.
Shekwolo said that the action of President Tinubu has proven that he is a leader who has the best interest of all Nigerians, urging Nigerians to always pray and support the present administration to succeed in all areas of endeavour.
“So, we want to congratulate our father and a son of the soil of Gbagyi extraction, Hon. Zephaniah Bitrus Jisalo, on his deserving appointment as Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs.
“As Gbagyi, we are excited that Jisalo broke the jinx of an FCT indigene not being nominated or appointed Minister since the return of democracy in 1999, which shows that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has the interest of the people of the FCT at heart.
“We are appealing to him to perform as Minister more than he did when he sat on this seat as Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) where he excelled beyond expectations in the delivery of dividends of democracy to the good people of AMAC, before going to represent AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives for eight remarkable years.
He opined that all natives of Abuja know that Jisalo is capable of tackling challenging tasks and driving positive changes for the good people of Gbagyi, AMAC, and FCT and that they are delighted and confident that he will excel in his new role as Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs.