‘Abuja natives have been short-changed’

The indigenous people of Abuja, under the aegis of the FCT Stakeholders Assembly (FSA), have stated that they have been short-changed as Abuja, the nation’s capital, has evolved over the years. Spokesperson of the assembly, Ezekiel Musa Dalhatu, made this assertion during a paper presentation at the zonal public hearing on constitution amendments, organized by […]

The indigenous people of Abuja, under the aegis of the FCT Stakeholders Assembly (FSA), have stated that they have been short-changed as Abuja, the nation’s capital, has evolved over the years.

Spokesperson of the assembly, Ezekiel Musa Dalhatu, made this assertion during a paper presentation at the zonal public hearing on constitution amendments, organized by the Senate in Jos, Plateau State.

He highlighted that over 80 percent of Abuja’s lands remain uncompensated, and the original inhabitants are still not resettled, noting that the natives have continually lived helplessly without basic rights or privileges.

He added that despite provisions for compensation and resettlement in the law that created Abuja as the nation’s capital, as recommended by Justice Akinola Aguda’s panel in 1975, such provisions have not been followed.

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According to Dalhatu, the committee recommended that the federal capital of Nigeria be moved out of Lagos to a ‘virgin land’ pursuant to the terms of reference, and also recommended that the capital be moved to the center of Nigeria, with Abuja found suitable.