August 17, (THEWILL) – Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association Of Nigeria (HURIWA), has applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister.
The rights group also commended Tinubu for the wisdom exercised in not capitulating, surrendering or being overwhelmed by the well-oiled groundswell of political propaganda by reactionary elements that vigorously canvassed for what they erroneously termed the appointment of Abuja indigenes as the Minister for Federal Capital Territory.
HURIWA said the decision of the President not to accede to the propaganda of appointing an “Abuja indigene” as FCT Minister has saved, conserved and preserved the heritage of Abuja as the City of national unity devoid of ethnic or religious sentiments.
This was made known through a statement by the National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko.
HURIWA cited historical records to state emphatically that, according to the findings and recommendations of the Justice Aguda panel report on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it emphasised the principle that Abuja should be a city for all residents, irrespective of their backgrounds, socioeconomic status or cultural affiliations.
The report highlighted the importance of inclusivity and ensuring equal access to opportunities, amenities, and services for everyone residing in the FCT. The vision of Abuja as a city for all aims to foster a sense of community, promote social cohesion, and uphold the principles of justice and fairness in urban planning and development.
According to other recommendations in the Aguda Panel report, and the Government policy in the enacted Decree No.6 of 1976, the original inhabitants in the entire 8,000 square km area covering the new FCT are to be evacuated from the site to their parent States. Obviously, this was meant to actualise the acquisition of virgin land, at the same time, avoid rendering any community “stateless”.
HURIWA observed with regret that certain powerful forces within and outside the government circles circulated propaganda media materials on a regular basis in major mainstream media filled with a half-baked and jaundiced line of thoughts that seemed to have been targeted at reversing the original intent of the nation’s past leaders, who established the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja at the centre of the geographical map of Nigeria as a legal entity and a national symbol of unity devoid of those political shenanigans of concepts of indigenes or non-indigenes that characterise politics in the other 36 States of the Federation.
The group said these destructive and disuniting forces wanted to undermine the legal framework setting up the FCT as a home for all bonafide Nigerians irrespective of ethnicities or religious affiliation but the decision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to assign the immediate past Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, to man the ministry of the FCT Administration has preserved the law and practice that gave birth to the Federal Capital Territory started by the Generals Murtala Mohammed/Olusegun Obasanjo military junta in the late 80s and actualised by the benevolent military dictator known as General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida in the early year 2000s.
HURIWA, therefore, charged the new FCT Minister, Mr. Nyesom Wike, a lawyer, to be sworn in by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu alongside his other Cabinet colleagues on Monday, to ensure that his actions as the official caretaker of the FCT, with President Tinubu as Landlord, are guided by the principle of rule of law, accountability, transparency, an open government.
The Rights group urged Wike to carry through with the original idea to completely resettle the original natives of areas that make up the FCT so that the real legal template setting up the nation’s Capital as the home for all is not continuously distorted, undermined and sabotaged by reactionary forces benefitting from the contrived propaganda that Abuja belongs to certain categories of Nigerians, whereas the original concept is to set up a federal capital whereby all Nigerians will be the real owners.
HURIWA commends the foresight of Mr. President in staying above the fray of political machinations of those who planned to destroy the real concept of FCT, just as HURIWA commended President Tinubu for breaking the erroneous malpractice by all previous Governments that deliberately denied Southern Nigeria from producing a full-fledged Minister for the FCT.
HURIWA is hereby tasking Wike to put politics aside and be devoted to building some infrastructures started by successive administrators that are ongoing and also respect the fundamental human rights of all citizens residing in the FCT.
HURIWA particularly asked the incoming FCT Minister to build on the templates already in place to implement a seamless transportation system in the nation’s capital, including the plan to start a metro-line rail system.
The group said, the Minister of FCT, when inaugurated, should clean up Abuja of filth and corruption of the bureaucrats, who engage in land racketeering and the Minister must coordinate effective crime prevention and combating strategies for the FCT which is almost overwhelmed by terrorists, hoodlums, bandits and kidnappers, including armed gangs engaging in 1-chance violent attacks of unsuspecting members of the public.
HURIWA has also asked President Bola Tinubu to mandate his Ministers to sign performance assessment mechanisms so the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) can always, on a bimonthly basis, send to the President, the scorecard of each of the Ministers, just as the National Assembly should also focus on the performance of the cabinet-level appointees and the other top-level government officials to ensure effective service delivery, respect for human rights, and adherence to the principle of rule of law and zero tolerance to procurement corruption and economic crimes.
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