[size=14pt]Abuja should have a Mayor and not a minister. The way the federal capital is run is wrong and illegal, what we have at the moment is an inheritance from the military regime. The administration of Abuja should be democratizes like every other facet of the polity. It is the only administrative anomaly in democratic Nigeria today.

What Abuja needs is a Executive Mayor who would run for office every 4 years like Governors, the administrator for Abuja should not be appointed by the FG.

Abuja should also have a legislative council and executive council and still maintain its LG Government structure. Just like London and Washington which are national capitals, Abuja should embrace this kind of government which is the accepted norms all over the world and stop henceforth the illegality that has been left to go on for too long.

It is common knowledge appointments especially of people who are foreign to the city stalls growths as those appointed are only there to line their pockets instead of having the pains and agony of the city dwellers at heart. In most cases those appointed are not even resident in the city, it is only the real and proper city dwellers that will know the problems of a city at first hand.

This artificial contraption must be corrected without much ado.[/size]

I would have prefered you back your arguement with historical facts and inadequacy of the current system rather than just giving examples from other cities. Every society have its own heritage and it is not copying America or UK that will make Abuja or Nigeria great, rather implementing the right policies. It is worthy to note that the Boris Johnson is the second mayor Londo. London never had a mayor until recently.

Abuja was previously thought to be only an enclave of the Federal Government serving as a unity centre of other federating structure and therefore all its activities will be legislated and over seen by the national assembly.

The current system is not illegal. It is backed by Nigerian law. If you have problem with the system just say so, but I think it is higly propestorous to pronounce it as illegal.

would have prefered you back your arguement with historical facts and inadequacy of the current system rather than just giving examples from other cities. Every society have its own heritage and it is not copying America or UK that will make Abuja or Nigeria great, rather implementing the right policies. It is worthy to note that the Boris Johnson is the second mayor Londo. London never had a mayor until recently.

Abuja was previously thought to be only an enclave of the Federal Government serving as a unity centre of other federating structure and therefore all its activities will be legislated and over seen by the national assembly.

The current system is not illegal. It is backed by Nigerian law. If you have problem with the system just say so, but I think it is higly propestorous to pronounce it as illegal.

[size=14pt]The reason why the office of the Mayor of London was established was because London b4 the advent of this office was a directionless, purposeless, and often a city engaged in one boundary clash or the other amongst other things

Since the Mayor came on board, with his introduction of the oyster card system, by the vision and forthright brought by this purposeful executive officer the transportation sector has being revolutionalized into a world class transportation hub worthy of replicating.

Kenneth Livingstone the last Mayor has comprehensively integrated the transportation system into one big unison of what one can be ascribed as a transportation paradise thanks to having a strong executive power at the heart of the affairs of the city.

There are 800,000 people living in Abuja although they get to vote for
their councillors and chairmen into the various LG that is not good enough as the LG budgets is noting to write home about.

What Abujans lacks and needs is a focal point officer with real executive powers someone who would speak for both the poor and the rich for the benefit of the City.

The present system of appointing political jobbers is not the way forward, it has serve its time which was when we were ushering in democracy, those who drew the constitution overlooked certain things which should now be revisited and corrected.

We have all seen and all witness to the hollowness and shabbiness
of our constitution especially during the Yaradua debacle, it is time we correct these anomaly and enfranchise the 800,000 people living in Abuja with a proper executive officer who would hold sway in the FCT.

Just because London chose to go the Mayoral road a bit late does not
make it right for us to continue to dwell and wallow in our silly and undemocratic ways, London has since seen the advantages of having a powerful executive officer at the helms of its affair, the Olympic games amongst other things is coming to London in 2012.

. We cannot continue to have a Minister of the FCT who at the whim of the Presidency can be sacked without recourse to the 800,000 citizens of Abuja. I can remember the Mayor of Washington caught snorting cocaine in a hotel with a prostitute, he was incarcerated for the offence, the following year he ran again for the Mayorship of the city and won, let the 800,000 people living in Abuja have a voice that is what democracy is all about.[/size]

KnowAll:



[size=14pt]The reason why the office of the Mayor of London was established was because London b4 the advent of this office was a directionless, purposeless, and often a city engaged in one boundary clash or the other amongst other things

Since the Mayor came on board, with his introduction of the oyster card system, by the vision and forthright brought by this purposeful executive officer the transportation sector has being revolutionalized into a world class transportation hub worthy of replicating.

Kenneth Livingstone the last Mayor has comprehensively integrated the transportation system into one big unison of what one can be ascribed as a transportation paradise thanks to having a strong executive power at the heart of the affairs of the city.

There are 800,000 people living in Abuja although they get to vote for
their councillors and chairmen into the various LG that is not good enough as the LG budgets is noting to write home about.

What Abujans lacks and needs is a focal point officer with real executive powers someone who would speak for both the poor and the rich for the benefit of the City.

The present system of appointing political jobbers is not the way forward, it has serve its time which was when we were ushering in democracy, those who drew the constitution overlooked certain things which should now be revisited and corrected.

We have all seen and all witness to the hollowness and shabbiness
of our constitution especially during the Yaradua debacle, it is time we correct these anomaly and enfranchise the 800,000 people living in Abuja with a proper executive officer who would hold sway in the FCT.

Just because London chose to go the Mayoral road a bit late does not
make it right for us to continue to dwell and wallow in our silly and undemocratic ways, London has since seen the advantages of having a powerful executive officer at the helms of its affair, the Olympic games amongst other things is coming to London in 2012.

. We cannot continue to have a Minister of the FCT who at the whim of the Presidency can be sacked without recourse to the 800,000 citizens of Abuja. I can remember the Mayor of Washington caught snorting cocaine in a hotel with a love-peddler, he was incarcerated for the offence, the following year he ran again for the Mayorship of the city and won, let the 800,000 people living in Abuja have a voice that is what democracy is all about.[/size]

In whatever sense, your arguement boils down to lack of good governance. Other than Lagos state that have recently introduced the Bus services which of the 36 states that have state governors have a proper transport scheme,road, housing scheme, hospitals and anything to name a few. Most of what you are saying can all be done by the Minister. After all, the power to execute project, disburse funds and plan and implement a budget are also vested in the office of the minister. Hence, the term executive power is just a nomencleture to confuse people. As far as we know good leadership is all we want.

Moreover, the peculiar nature of Nigerian political system necissitate for a Minister. Once they introduce an Elected officer, unless a new Law is created to include the non-indegine, the political system will be hijacked by tribal sentiments. Where only a native of Abuja can be allowed to contest any political office.

A compitent minister can perform all the functions you have underlined. An elected mayor may not do anything. Do not confuse bureacracy with good governance.

Abuja is a city purposely built to provide a base for the federal government. Most of the natives were resettle in Niger and Nassarawa state. The only problem is the Federal Government that changes Ministers every 1 or 2 years. And this did not affect Abuja alone, it affect all sectors, from petroleum industry to sport

In whatever sense, your arguement boils down to lack of good governance. Other than Lagos state that have recently introduced the Bus services which of the 36 states that have state governors have a proper transport scheme,road, housing scheme, hospitals and anything to name a few. Most of what you are saying can all be done by the Minister. After all, the power to execute project, disburse funds and plan and implement a budget are also vested in the office of the minister. Hence, the term executive power is just a nomencleture to confuse people. As far as we know good leadership is all we want.

Moreover, the peculiar nature of Nigerian political system necissitate for a Minister. Once they introduce an Elected officer, unless a new Law is created to include the non-indegine, the political system will be hijacked by tribal sentiments. Where only a native of Abuja can be allowed to contest any political office.

A compitent minister can perform all the functions you have underlined. An elected mayor may not do anything. Do not confuse bureacracy with good governance.

Abuja is a city purposely built to provide a base for the federal government. Most of the natives were resettle in Niger and Nassarawa state. The only problem is the Federal Government that changes Ministers every 1 or 2 years. And this did not affect Abuja alone, it affect all sectors, from petroleum industry to sport

[size=14pt]Abuja is the Federal Capital of Nigeria, Nigerians from every state, and every tribe should be allowed to run for office provided they can prove they have being resident in the city for more than 5 years. The Minister of Abuja just Like the Minister for Lagos in the 1960’s is only interested in where the core FG activities are happening that is places like  maitama, wuse, asokoro and garki.

Same thing happened when Lagos was the Federal Capital, the FG was only interested in Lagos Island, VI and Ikoyi that is why they built 1004 flats for the House of Assembly members at  VI and they had their hotel, the Federal Palace Hotel also at  VI. They did a few things on the mainland that is because of the scarcity of land on the island.

The only reason why the present contraption continues till this day is
the North has albeit subtlely and  informally are laying claim on a city which is suppose to be the most neutral and home to every Nigerian.

If the 800,000 inhabitants of the city want an Igbo or Hausa or Yoruba man as their Mayor so let it be so but this anomaly as it is, should be discontinued.

I doubt thus, if the status quo would be rectified or changed in the nearest future as unconfirmed and  unreliable source says Igbo’s are the majority in Abuja, and most likely in  any free and fair election in the city, the result  would probably go the Igbo way hence reluctance to change this abnormal contraption where 800,000 people have being be dis-enfranchised.

What is the big deal, If it goes the Igbo way at least we would be proud the city is run democratically and not undemocratically.

. Just like Washington DC, a city with a 75% black population, when their beloved mayor was setup by the FBI in a sting operation to discredit the mayor, what did the blacks do, they voted him back to office the following year.

It is a 1000’s times better when u have someone who the people love and
vote for than have someone impose on them.

The question of whether the other Governors are performing in their various states is irrelevant, as the sins of the father should not be revisited on the son, the Mayor of Abuja might perform even better than Fashola.

What is worth doing well is worth doing right if we have a democracy a city with a population of 800,000 should not be excluded in this experience.[/size]

[size=14pt]Indigenes of the Federal Capital Territory yesterday sought a formal agreement with the Federal Government over its possession of the Federal Capital Territory. It said the pact had become imperative in view of the systematic marginalisation of the indigenes in the running of the territory.

This was coming just after it alleged there were attempts by the National Assembly to enact a law barring the position of a mayor for the territory on elective basis. It said the federal legislature would opt for an appointive mayor which may not take the interest of the indigenes at heart.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja at a forum tagged "Abuja Indigenes and the 1999 Constitution," organised by the Citizens' Forum for Constitutional Reform (CFCR), the Nigerian Ambassador to Gambia and two-time chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council, Mr Ayuba Jacob Ngbako, who spoke on behalf of the indegenes, said both parties must sign an agreement formally handing "their land to the Federal Government or otherwise.

"We have to come into an agreement to formally inform the government that we have agreed to give them land or not. There was no agreement before the Federal Government took over our land", he posited.

Advocating the need for a political structure in the form of mayoralty in the territory to check the trend of the marginalisation of the area, he alleged that there were attempts to influence the National Assembly to enact a law banning a democratically elected mayor from presiding over the territory. Instead, he said, plans were afoot to make a law for the appointment of a mayor which he said would not favour the indegenes.

"The grand plan now is to have the National Assembly pass a law barring the election of a mayor and opting instead for an appointed mayor", he said.

In a related vein, he called for the creation of two more senatorial districts which he referred to as Abuja North Senatorial District comprising Abuja Municipal, Bwari, Kuje and Karshi while Abuja South Senatorial District would comprise Gwagwalada, Kwali, Abaji and Rubochi.

On Federal Constitutuencies, he proposed the creation of four new constitutuencies from the existing two in view of the rising influx of people into the Federal Capital Territory. The proposed ones include Abuja Municipal/Bwari federal constitutuency, Gwagwalada/Kwali, Abuja/Rubochi/Yaba and Karshi/Kuje federal constitutuencies.

The political structure of the territory according to him, would entail a territorial mayoralty with a mayor to administer the territory with a territorial government and area councils which should have a corresponding status as in other world cities.

"There shall be a mayoral assembly to exercise the same powers as a state house of assembly" comprised of elected council chairmen and two members from each area council elected by political parties.  [/size]

Abuja Light Railway might be scrapped because they do not have a Mayor to bid for her

The recent threat by Special Duties Minister, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd), that the Federal Government may revoke the Abuja light rail project calls for concern by all stakeholders. The Nigerian government had signed a deal worth $840 million (about N133 billion today) in 2007 with the China Civil Engineering Construction Company for an intra-city rail system to solve the rising problem of traffic congestion in the federal capital and ease transportation between the city, its suburbs and satellite towns.



Funded jointly by the Federal Government and the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory, the rail project is planned to connect the city centre, the districts and satellite towns with high-speed light trains ferrying thousands of commuters to and from their places of work, business or recreation. It is expected that, when fully in operation, about 1,000 persons will be moved by the rail coaches every few minutes.



The project, despite being dogged by the usual controversy over costs, processes and delays, is a worthwhile venture and should not be abandoned. Abuja certainly needs it to tackle the chaos that has crept into its transportation system. The existing facilities have proved inadequate to handle the population influx as road transport in the territory is gradually replicating the nightmare in Lagos, the former federal capital. A large and still growing urban conurbation needs a diversity of transportation modes and careful planning. Instructively, the original master plan for the FCT had envisaged a light rail project in anticipation of massive population growth.



Begun in 1976 and located in the central area of the nation, Abuja was carefully planned to be a well-laid-out urban centre. Abuja’s population grew from a few thousands in 1980 to reach about 403,000 in 2003 according to the United Nations while the 2006 national census put the population at 778,562. Experts even say more rapid migrations to the city have brought the figure to well over one million persons. Rapid population growth and increased commercial activities have since put tremendous pressure on the city’s buses, taxis and commercial motorcycles.



The Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology, Zaria, reckons that thousands of vehicles and one million passengers commute to Abuja daily from the satellite towns, suburbs and other states of the federation. Official sources say the real figures could be much higher. To tackle the problem, the FCT administration under a former minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, in 2005, banned commercial motorbikes (okada) from the city, restricting them to the satellite towns and suburbs; brought in over 600 buses in partnership with the private sector and launched a taxi cab system, while laying out plans for trams and the light rail system. But poor maintenance and funding have reduced the fleets. Traffic gridlocks are now common and residents commuting to and from the outlying areas face considerable hardship.



The ostensible reason for Olubolade’s threat to review the contract is that Nigerian engineers are allegedly not being employed by the contractor, CCECC. Head of a committee assessing federal projects, Alhaji Ibrahim Bunu, complained that the company had 1,500 persons on its payroll of which 100 were foreigners. Bunu and the minister were however irked that no Nigerian engineers were involved in the project. The 10 Nigerians described by CCECC as “engineers” were found to be artisans.



But was this clause built into the contract? While it is desirable, indeed, officials should insist, that Nigerian professionals be allowed on-the-job experience, it does not constitute sufficient ground to delay the LRT project. The government had already spent N27 billion on it by February this year and the money should not be allowed to go down the drain. Any issues or grey area in the execution should be decisively resolved with the contractor. The appropriate agencies should supervise and monitor the project to ensure that CCECC adheres strictly to the terms of the agreement.



The government should avoid repeating the grievous error it made with the Lagos Metroline project in 1984/85. Conceived in 1980 by Lagos State government under Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the $700 million Lagos Metroline contract was awarded to a French consortium and was planned to drastically ameliorate the Lagos traffic problems.



It was planned to carry up to 40,000 persons per hour to and from the suburbs and Lagos Island. But in a fit of arrogance, the Buhari-Idiagbon military junta that sacked the civilian government in 1984 finally terminated the contract in 1985. That avoidable policy somersault cost the Lagos tax payer $78 million in judgment debt and three more decades of prolonged traffic pains in the metropolis.



The Abuja LRT project must not go the way of the Lagos Metroline project which now requires $3 billion to complete what $700 million would have accomplished in the mid-1980s.



The Federal Government must insist on using the project to expose competent Nigerian professionals to rail technology but it must not derail this project nor countenance cost overruns and delays.

[size=18pt]Abuja May Get Elected Mayor in 2003, Bill for National Assembly Soon
Bature Umar
17 January 2001[/size]________________________________________

Abuja — Following sustained clamour for the institution of the second tier administration in the Federal Capital Territory, the National Assembly is set to legislate a Mayoral status for Abuja.
The mayoralty which will be created by the National Assembly through a bill to be presented early next month by the House committee on the federal capital territory will pave the way for establishment of a second tier administration for the people of the territory like other states of the federation.

What happen to this bill. I bet it has been forgotten in the dustbin of history. Our house of Assembly men and women promise heaven and earth but delivers nothing.

How many Nigerian cities have 'mayors'? The title sounds quite grand I must admit but what happened to good old 'Governor of FCT'? if we must democratise it like you insist

How many Nigerian cities have 'mayors'? The title sounds quite grand I must admit but what happened to good old 'Governor of FCT'? if we must democratise it like you insist

This city was built from the scratch, that is why you cannot compare it with any other city SECONDLY IT HAS NOT GOT A TRADITIONAL RULER. There are suppose to be no indigenious people IN Abuja because they are suppose to have all been re-located to Niger State hence why it should have a mayor. It cannot have a Governor because it is not a state, it is a federal capital territory.

I agree with your initial post KnowAll.

Abuja should have a mayor.

@poster
You're correct in your position.
Abuja is a city was built from the "scratch", so it's better to start off with a record of good governance, vis people's choice will run the people living there.
It also shows you that the federal goverment is crazy with appointments, into every office in the land.
Soon also, we will begin to hear about the Emir of Abuja
The people should be allowed to elect who leads them in the form of a mayor!

ABUJA HEARTBEAT: The return of the FCT Mayor

By Agoma Awaritoma


T
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I was attending secondary school in Benin City, Edo State, when I heard about this famous Federal Capital Territory from my church choir master. He was a business mogul and one of the major owners of Agura Hotel. He drove in and out of church with cars and buses heavily branded with ‘Agura Golden Tulip Hotel’.

He advertised the hotel so much in Benin that it was like Abuja was somewhere in Edo State, and almost all of us in that church looked forward to staying in the hotel for at least one night. His love and passion for everything Agura was captured in the lines of a television jingle which says “…don’t say you are going to Abuja, say you are going to Agura”.

He succeeded in mobilising a good number of young men and women from my church, but I was not one of them because I was still in school and, to be candid, I did not know God had planted my wife and, therefore, my life and destiny in Abuja, for lo and behold, I was called up for national youth service to Agura, sorry, Abuja.

It was not just the passion for the hotel that my choir master exuded. As I was to discover later, he had plans to run for the prestigious post of Mayor of the Federal Capital Territory. He painted Abuja like paradise to us, and as they built the hotel in Abuja, you could tell the excitement and joy that radiated from my choir master’s face.

He was doing something he was obviously proud of. I believe he wanted to do more, but the military and that particular cabal did not allow that dream to come to fruition, as they selfishly and wickedly changed our constitution and put a minister in charge of the FCT.

And now, for those of us who have taken Abuja as our home, we cannot hold anyone responsible for the over development or underdevelopment of the city. With all the funds released since IBB moved in here, things seem to be falling apart and now, it looks like the centre cannot hold because of too much concentration at the centre: Wuse, Wuse 2, Garki, Maitama, Asokoro, and the central area where the three arms zone is located.

To leave a legacy, you must have some kind of passion; part of you must be in and believe in that dream, whether physical or psychological. Today, I have not seen any sign of my famous choir master in and around Agura Hotel, but the structure is still standing tall and competing favourably with other hotels within its class and above.

I have not, and believe I will not, see any minister that will exude that passion to genuinely develop Abuja the way it was planned, without first satisfying his own personal or cabalistic greed because as we all have noticed, nobody goes to any school to study to become a minister, at least not yet in Nigeria where a lawyer can be made Minister of Health.

So it seems no individual has been trained or packaged to handle the FCT. But if it was a Mayor, there would be some kind of plan and so no minister of the FCT has genuinely gone out of his way to improve the lot of Abuja people.

Did I hear somebody say El-Rufai? How much development did he bring to Kuje, Kubwa, Nyanya, Gwagwalada, Abaji, Bwari, or Kwali? Well, to be fair to him, he looks the best yet of all the men that have been appointed to administer the FCT. The situation today would have been worse, but for the timely intervention of the dare devil El-Rufai who reclaimed Abuja from slum titans. But he too is guilty of not developing beyond the city centre or what has been called ‘Phase 1’ in the master plan.

The only way to decongest the centre is to deliberately ensure that there is constant light, good drinking water, and mesmerizing road network in all the Area Council’s headquarters and the satellite towns.

In fact, the grapevine says that the FCT’s minister’s office was originally to be located in Gwagwalada, where the University of Abuja is. It was only Maman Kontagora (former FCT minister) that tried to do anything reasonable about Gwagwalada.

Until the Uniabuja students and the entire Abuja people decide to Mubarak one FCT Minister, this matter will not be taken seriously and no House Member or Senator representing the FCT has thought it necessary to take up this issue vigorously.

Sincerely, it is time for a return of the Mayor. Perhaps, we would then have an accountable government of the FCT and a House of Assembly of our own where the Mayor will be and can be held responsible for his actions or inactions, where there will be a serious contest for the National Assembly seats, and hollow headed individuals who are completely bereft of ideas will not find themselves in those offices.

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Reader Comments (1)


Posted by Rasputin on Mar 15 2011

I need enlightening please - why is it that since the city of Abuja took off, all the ministers administering the city (I think 17 of them since 1990?) have always originated from the north? And why is a city supposed to be the centre of unity have area names that stem from that area? It appears everything is skewed towards the north to the detriment of other ethnic groups in Nigeria. I am surprised no one has ever deemed it fit to come forward and challenge this injustice.

[size=18pt]Inflation of contract for Vice President’s residence, other alleged fraud: NUJ Gives FCT Minister 7 Days' Ultimatum [/size]



The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Abuja Council has stated that it has become necessary for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to begin investigation into of fresh revelations of alleged massive corrupt practices in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), headed by Senator Bala Mohammed. Chairman of Council, Mr. Jacob Edi in a statement Monday, said at a time when government was considering cutting cost and imposing harsh economic policies on the people, the FCT minister and his management team have continued to waste tax payers’ money on non-existent projects as recently discovered by the Senator Smart Adeyemi Senate Committee on the FCT.

Edi continued that even when such projects exist, they were usually over-inflated .He cited examples such as the Kubwa expressway as well as the Vice president’s residence. The NUJ chairman observed that unless the EFCC moves in and begins a thorough investigation into the award of contracts in the FCTA by Mohammed since his re-appointment, the fight against corruption will be viewed as dead.

Only recently, the Senate Committee on FCT discovered that the official residences of the Senate President, his deputy, Speaker of the House of Representatives and his deputy which were awarded for over N3billion could not be located when the committee went for oversight functions. It was further discovered that there was 120 percent increase in the cost of the contract of the official residence of the vice president which was originally awarded in October 2009 at N7 billion but unilaterally reviewed upward to N16 billion.

According to the NUJ chairman, the FCTA had awarded a road in Kuje Area Council since March this year and paid the full contract sum of N880 million with less than 5 percent of the job done though the road is scheduled for completion in about 3weeks.

Edi hinted that the NUJ would not shirk its responsibility of holding the FCTA accountable to the people of the territory and reiterated the determination of the Council to use the Freedom of Information Act to get the minister accountable. He disclosed that the NUJ Abuja has written the minister and would wait for the mandatory seven days and if the minister fails to furnish the Council with details of all roads and infrastructure contracts awards then the NUJ would be left with no alternative but to seek legal redress.

The NUJ chairman charged Nigerians to give support to the Senate Committee on FCT as it works to ensure that the FCT administration was accountable.

[size=18pt]Kuje Chairman Denies N3b Contract Inflation Allegation[/size]



The Chairman of Kuje area council, Mr. Danladi Etsu Zhin, has debunked an allegation levelled against him by the immediate past Senator representing the FCT at the National Assembly, Mr. Adamu Sidi- Ali, over corrupt practices and inflation of contracts to the tune of N3bn.

Zhin described the allegation as baseless and untrue and said there was no time he was on the run from officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as reported in the national dailies, (not LEADERSHIP).

He affirmed that the EFCC had sent some of its men to the area council to investigate the said corrupt practices and contract inflation but they discovered that the allegations were not true. He said “This is a ploy by Sidi Ali to rubbish my career and administration, because I never inflated any contract.”

The council, boss who made the clarification in a chat with LEADERSHIP yesterday, explained that Sidi-Ali cooked up the allegations based on documents he had submitted to the Senate Committee on FCT, during his tenure as Senator, adding that the documents contained a list of contracts awarded and executed by the area council.

“What Sidi-Ali did was that he cooked up the allegations based on the documents that I submitted to the Senate Committee on FCT when he was in the senate. Why did he not ask the committee to investigate me then?

“I started my career in politics as a councillor and since then, I have carried out my duties with the fear of God. That was why the people of Kuje re-elected me for a second tenure. I live with my people, Kuje is my community and I cannot afford to shortchange my people. The reality is that the area councils’ chairmen in collaboration with the FCT administration have been occupied with developmental projects which they have executed and are still carrying out more projects in their respective councils,” he added.

If I remember correctly, the law setting up Abuja states that there should be an elected Mayor of Abuja (wish I could find and cite it). There were plans to elect a mayor during Babangda's endless transition to civil rule, but I think the military preferred to have a minister that they could control directly.

That will b corrected in another political dispensatn, not this. Uncle Jonah wl appoint 5 FCT Ministers if allowd.

MAYOR OR MINISTER, SOLDIER GO SOLDIER COME, USELESS COUNTRY, 52 YEARS NOTHING TANGIBLE TO SHOW FOR IT, WELL, EXCEPT OUR GREATEST EXPORT, IBORI

GEJ made an attempt but the NASS was not cooperating then.

Who cares?? Whoever rules in Abuja is not going to put food in my plate,

Mayor is not African, stop this western mentality here.

Hahahahahahahahahaha! "President" is "African"? "Prime-Minister" is "African"? "Minister" is "African"?

Why don't we have an Oba or Emir of Nigeria, so that we'll be more "African".

highland:

Mayor is not African, stop this western mentality here.

So President and Governor is African?

KnowAll:

[size=14pt]Abuja should have a Mayor and not a minister. The way the federal capital is run is wrong and illegal, what we have at the moment is an inheritance from the military regime. The administration of Abuja should be democratizes like every other facet of the polity. It is the only administrative anomaly in democratic Nigeria today.

What Abuja needs is a Executive Mayor who would run for office every 4 years like Governors, the administrator for Abuja should not be appointed by the FG.

Abuja should also have a legislative council and executive council and still maintain its LG Government structure. Just like London and Washington which are national capitals, Abuja should embrace this kind of government which is the accepted norms all over the world and stop henceforth the illegality that has been left to go on for too long.

It is common knowledge appointments especially of people who are foreign to the city stalls growths as those appointed are only there to line their pockets instead of having the pains and agony of the city dwellers at heart. In most cases those appointed are not even resident in the city, it is only the real and proper city dwellers that will know the problems of a city at first hand.

This artificial contraption must be corrected without much ado.[/size]

You are absolutely right there.Abuja needs someone that will be accountable to the people.Right now,the ministers are only accountable to their pockets and the President.The sad thing with these appointments is that no Abuja indigene has ever been appointed Minister of F.C.T

Guy u are absolutely right. Abuja should be run by a mayor and not these politically appointed ministers.

guys don,t worry we are already working towards that WATCHOUT FOR MAYOR PHILIP TANIMU ADUDA WHO IS CURRENTLY IN THE SENATE

abuja should have a governor and should be a state on its own

@Arkison: thank u! Pls keep educating dm.
@OP: ds' wot constitutional amendment is all about. However, for now, ds' wot d constitution allows.

KnowAll:


This city was built from the scratch, that is why you cannot compare it with any other city SECONDLY IT HAS NOT GOT A TRADITIONAL RULER. There are suppose to be no indigenious people IN Abuja because they are suppose to have all been re-located to Niger State hence why it should have a mayor. It cannot have a Governor because it is not a state, it is a federal capital territory.

At least for this once, you don't know all. There are traditional rulers not just a ruler in FCT. Ever heard of Ona of Abaji, etsu of bwari, etsu of kuje and that of gwagwalada etc. all these are first class rulers having government funded palaces and fleet of cars with special number plates.

As for relocation to other states, the policy had been stopped since early eighties on account of cost. The current policy is to relocate the indigenes that are in federal city centre (amac) to virgin areas (area councils) with the FCT. FG has been building houses for them in Apo, sherratti, and neighbouring districts.

For all practical purposes, Abuja is the 20th northern state. It is not a no mans land it was planned to be. It is not by accident that all FCT ministers are from the north. Over 90% of the Directors and heads of agencies of FCT come from the north.

i've often wondered why the fct is denied the opportunity to elect it's leader. i strongly believe the city will be more dynamic and make better progress than it is.making if the mayor is democratically elected. my reasons: the people in abj are enlightened -the chances that they will be more objective in casting their vote is higher. secondly, an elected leader's loyalty will be to the people that elected him, whereas an appointed minister will be loyal to the government that appointed him. A leader that does well, if he is elected will have the chance of being elected for a 2nd term. The constitution governing abuja needs to be changed so that there is a democratically elected mayor in the fct

Talk about putting the cart before the horse. This is frivolous to be terse in my wordings. A country that rinks of corruption, Uncivilized people, bad governance and complete negligence and hatred for anything remotely organized and progressive, should not be arguing about mere titles! Please don't take this as a personal attack, but your passion could be put to use in better ways.

If I understand the op correctly, it's not about the title, but rather, about the right to elect our leaders. Ministers are appointed, while Mayors are elected.