Indigenous Inhabitants Association of Abuja (OIDA) has commended President Bola Tinubu for picking an Abuja indigene, Zaphaniah Jisalo, as a ministerial nominee under the democratic dispensation.
OIDA, which is the umbrella body of campaigners for the rights of Abuja natives, demanded the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) ministry portfolio. The last time a ministerial nominee was appointed from Abuja was under the military government of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), who appointed Maj-Gen. Abdullahi Mamman as Minister of Internal Affairs between 1990 and 1991, it noted.
President of OIDA, Danladi Jeji, stated, yesterday, that the feat would put Tinubu’s name in the annals of Nigeria’s politics as a true and undiluted progressive, a man of justice and fair play.
“Tinubu has, by this action, shown that he is a man who obeys the rule of law,” he said.
The statement, which was signed by the Media Adviser of the organisation, Sumner Sambo, urged Tinubu to continue being courageous in taking the right steps to heal the wounds of the nation by ensuring that historical injustices were corrected.
“Having solved one of the major injustices against our people and opened the door for future generations, the next step is for Tinubu to make Jisalo the FCT Minister or it should be rotated to other geopolitical zones this time around, in case it is not feasible by the President’s calculation. We should have the right of first refusal on the FCT Minister portfolio,” Jeji pleaded.
The group lamented how FCT natives had suffered in the hands of past ministers, who hardly took into cognisance the peculiarities of the people in policy formulation and overall governance.
“FCT natives have suffered enough in the hands of previous ministers, who brought nothing but inconsistent policies that ended up further marginalising our people, grabbing our lands, shortchanging us politically and leaving the vast majority of our people to feed from hand to mouth in a land flowing with milk and honey, where other Nigerians come in to become billionaires overnight due to corrupt land allocation processes, with the aid of corrupt officials in the FCT bureaucracy.
“Only a handful of (FCT) ministers performed well and the records are there for all to see. We need a tested and performing FCT minister this time around, and Jisalo fits the bill due to his previous performance in government,” he added.
Jeji, who is also the Secretary of OIDA Board of Trustees (BoT), said the association would continue to fight for the rights of FCT natives, while assuring other residents of their continued collaboration and security to ensure a conducive capital city for all Nigerians to realise their dreams.
