UPGRADE FCT TO A FULL FLEDGED STATE STRUCTURE

Hon Zakari Angulu Dobi is the current lawmaker representing Abuja South Federal Constituency of the Federal Capital Territory in the House of Representatives. He is a first timer in the hallowed chambers elected on the platform of the All Progressive Congress during last general elections.

In this exclusive interview with the paper, the outspoken member of the lower chambers of the National Assembly decried the marginalization the Federal Capital Territory in the Scheme of things over the years. He insisted that the area deserved to be upgraded to the status of a state in the Federation so as to enjoy all the privileges accruing to the Federating unit’s whole sale.

His words “we just came out from a general election, we in the Federal Capital Territory could only cast our votes for the presidential election, Senate and House of Representatives members. But we were disfranchised during the election segment for state governors and their state House of Assembly members in the Country simply because we don’t have a state structure in place. This is an injustice. We should be upgraded to a full component as the Federating states”.

The lawmaker also queried the sidelining of the Federal Capital Territory even in the area of the ministerial slots as enjoyed by the states in the Federation, but which had continued to elude his constituency due to the disadvantageous position foisted on the area by the current political arrangement in the Country.

Hon Zakari an apostle of Federal Character Principles also spoke on the crisis that engulfed the House of Representatives during the controversy over the search for principal officers to fill leadership positions in the house, adding why he had at the time threw his weight behind the speaker during the hues and cries over the matter.

The crisis that is said to be currently rocking his party’s leadership in Gwagwalada Area council over who becomes the councils chairmanship candidate come the fast approaching FCT area council elections was among other issues, the politician also responded to during this encounter with our correspondent, Emmanuel Ologun.

Ques: Hon sir, you are by now settling down as the lawmaker representing Abuja South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. What are we expecting from you to take the constituency to the next level?

Ans: Before now my predecessors in office had in the course of their representation of the people in the house articulated the problems confronting the constituency. I appreciated what they had done. But I want to particularly add my voice by drawing the attention of the authorities to areas that needed to be addressed as it concerns the neglect of my constituency over the years. I make bold to say that we have been neglected in terms of government appointments at the Federal levels amongst others. We are therefore calling on the Central Government to bring about the Wind of Change promised the country to touch the Federal Capital Territory as well.

Ques: How?

Ans: As at now there are many things going to the states in the Federation which are not coming to the Federal Capital Territory because we are yet to be upgraded and treated as a full fledged state.

Ques: How are you as a representative of the FCT going to ensure that the Federal capital Territory gets ministerial slots?

Ans: We have made our position known to our party and Mr. President to ensure that this largesse also gets to the Abuja people as well. What we are saying is that, we want an indigene of the Federal Capital Territory to also be considered as a minister and posted to any of the ministries and not necessary an appointment as minister of the Federal Capital Territory. Currently, the political structure on ground shows that the states have their governors, lawmakers in both Federal and state Houses of assembly while still enjoying ministerial slots, of which the FCT had been denied for reasons of not having the equivalent status as the states. Remember, we have just come out from elections that returned the president, House of Representatives members, senators, governors and states House of Assembly members to office. But in our case in the FCT, we only went to the polls to elect the president, our senate / house of Reps members’ only. Sadly when the voters in the states were going out to cast their votes to elect their governors and house of assembly members, we in the Federal Capital Territory did not and went about our normal businesses because we don’t have such elective structures on ground. This is an injustice. The question then is, can we now say the people of Abuja are Nigerians? If the answer is in the affirmative, we should have also exercise that voting rights during those governorship and states house of assembly elections that took place in the Federation.

Ques: What do you now suggest as a way out of this logjam?

Ans: The authorities should start thinking of creating structures for the FCT that would be equivalent to what obtains in states. For example, they should approve a mayoral status for the FCT that would be equivalent to the post of a state governor and which must be contested for during the general elections. A semblance of such structures that would look like the states house of assembly should also be put in place in the Federal Capital Territory, so that would be legislators at that level from the six area councils that make up the FCT would equally be elected to form the FCT House of Assembly as the states. With this arrangement in place, it would then be a cheering news for the Abuja people that while other Nigerians would be going out to cast their votes to elect their governors and state house of assembly members, they too would participate in the polls by electing their own Mayor who should be an equivalent to a governor and house of Assembly members instead of idling away at home during such important National assignments.

 If this arrangement is to come to reality, one important thing we would want to canvass for is that, the race for the mayor ship position of the FCT should be open to all provided they are Nigerians through and through. The candidates must not necessarily be indigenes of the FCT as to be suitable to contest this position. The rule should be once you are a resident in FCT; you should be eligible to vote and be voted for. That is my humble position to correct the current political marginalization facing the people of the Federal Capital Territory over the years.

Ques: Have you gotten the expressed mandate of your people to fight for this new political arrangement you are canvassing for the FCT?

Ans: We have diligently conferred with our leaders and youths over this issue of marginalization and they had all agreed that we must follow the right constitutional ways to right the injustice. It is therefore my submission that government should address this unfair treatment foisted on the Federal Capital Territory for equality sake. The issue should be addressed as quickly as possible. Even though we don’t have issues of youth restiveness in the FCT and which must be ruled out, a stitch in time is the best way out. Government should do the needful so as to address these agitations for better treatment of the FCT people as quickly as possible.

Ques: What are your reasons?

Ans: Our people need jobs. Their lands have been taken away from them without proper compensation. And the authorities have not been doing anything to make them happy by creating jobs for them. If you now create a state structure for the FCT, I think those who would come on board as elected politicians or appointees would have the capacity to create jobs for the people.

Ques: You are one of the founding fathers of the All Progressive party in the Federal capital Territory, were you not worried about the recent crisis that engulfed members in the National Assembly over appointment of principal officers. As at now even your party hierarchy in Gwagwalada, your home council area, is in turmoil. What is your reaction?

Ans: In politics you cannot run away from crisis. It deepens democracy. The party leaders would at the end of the day find solutions that would give all aggrieved persons safe landing and then move ahead as one united party. What actually happened in the House of Representatives over the choice of leadership positions is not a new thing. The truth is that, it is not a crime for anyone to contest an election. The issue is that anytime one is in a race his best bet is either to emerge winner or be defeated. If you cannot make it, the best advice is that you go back to the drawing board and prepare for another challenge as elections should not be seen as a do or die affairs.

The crisis in the House of Representatives came about because my party which has majority of elected members in the house drew the names of those they wanted to occupy principal positions for the leadership of the house. They had also zoned the positions to respective areas as per the six geopolitical zones of the country. But for the outright naming of those to occupy these principal positions by the party leadership was not in the best interest of the party. It is my candid opinion that our party was right in her zoning thinking cap in the distribution of the appointments but for coming up with names attached to these positions was not absolutely right.

Mark you, by the time the party came up with the nominees we had already elected the speaker who is from the North East Zone. And for the party to insist that the chief whip of the house should also come from the North East meant the zone had already had two principal officers in its kitty which was not good enough in line with the principles of Federal character.

Secondly, the position of the deputy speaker ship of the house had already gone to the Southwest zone and again the party also wanted another key position to go to the Southwest which however scaled through on the long run after a lot of horse trading, I think that was the genesis of the crisis. The party would have however taken the six geopolitical zones along in ensuring that each zone gets the position of a principal officer in the house without unwittingly editing any zone out. We thank God all is now over and the house is now united to face its legislative duties.

Ques: So you were in support of that earlier stand of the leadership of the house that each of the six geopolitical zones must be treated equally so as to go home with a principal officer.

Ans: Yes. This is because the leadership of the House of Representatives had at the time made it clear that each zone should be accommodated from the sharing formula of principal office position in the house.

Ques: Lets come back home. It seems there is crisis also in your party heir achy in your home Gwagwalada area council. How do you intend to solve it and chart a new way forward?

Ans: The party leaders in the council area visited me and I advised them not to allow the disagreements to deepen. If it goes that way, resolving it might be a problem. I told them to keep the peace particularly appealing to the party executives and the party faithful at the council level including the aspirants eyeing the council’s chairmanship position in the fast approaching area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory to work as brothers and sisters. The party leadership in Gwagwadala must stand firm so as to ward off the crisis and for peace to reign before the council polls I had advised.

Ques: If this crisis persists, don’t you think the PDP in the council area would have a field day during the council polls?

Ans: They cannot. The PDP has no structure in Gwagwadala. They are aware of this. The crisis rocking our party at the council level is not a permanent thing. It cannot generate to a level that would pave the way for another party to take the chairmanship seat of the council. Our party would definitely resolve whatever differences that is there and then catch up with the game geared towards capturing the chairmanship position and other councillorships seats as has been the case in previous elections.

Ques: You were the immediate past chairman of Gwagwadala area council, our investigations however show that the multimillion naira gigantic town hall project you started during your tenure sited at Gwagwadala town had not been completed. It remains abandoned as we speak. Are you not worried?

Ans: I am not happy that the project which would have benefited the people of the area council is still lying there not completed. I think it is unfortunate that it should happen that way. My appeal is that our people should be calm and bear with the situation. We shall see how we are going to get the listening ears of the current chairman to complete the project. Government is all about continuity. I once confronted the chairman and advised him to speed up the completion of the project because of its numerous commercial advantages. This edifice is multi-dimensional apart from being a town hall complex. It has many commercial outlays attached to it. And when functional it would generate millions of naira yearly for the council as internal revenue.

The truth of the matter is that the primary goal of any politician is supposed to be built on the platform of rendering services to the people so as to bring about dividends of democracy to their doorsteps. I had that in mind when I started the town hall project. My passionate appeal once more is that, the council chairman should have a rethink and complete the project, for the gigantic edifice is first of its kind to have been embarked upon by any Area Council Chairman in the Federal Capital Territory. Thank you.