Reps Call For Inclusion Of FCT Aborigines In Ministerial Appointments

A MEMBER of the Federal House of Representatives, Zaphaniah Bitrus Jisalo, has made a passionate call to President Mohammadu Buhari to include the aborigines of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in his cabinet for the interest of justice and fair play.

Coming under a motion of urgent national importance, Jisalo, who drew the attention of the chamber to the non-inclusion of the original inhabitants of the territory in the ongoing ministerial, screening by the Senate, decried what he described as marginalisation of the aborigines by successive governments.

The lawmaker, who represents Abuja Municipal/ Bwari Federal Constituency of the FCT, said the original inhabitants have also contributed immensely to the growth and development of the country in different spheres, and therefore deserve to be accommodated in the scheme of things.

Citing provisions of Sections 299 and 147 of the 1999 Constitution to back his argument, Jisalo urged his colleagues to support the urgent consideration of at least one Abuja indigene for appointment as a minister of the Federal Republic.

Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, who backed the motion on the floor, said the continuous omission of the original inhabitants of the FCT in the scheme of things by successive administrations, despite clear constitutional provisions that Abuja be treated as if it were a state, was an error that should be addressed by the parliament.

Ruling on the motion, the Speaker Yakubu Dogara, who presided over the session prayed for restraint by the lawmakers?