By TPL Umar Shuaibu
The provision of Section 18 of the FCT Act (a) to (c) empowered the President of Nigeria to delegate to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory any function or power conferred on the Chairman of the Federal Capital Development Authority; any executive power of the Federal Government vested in the President pursuant to section 263 (a) or any other section of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and exercisable within the Federal Capital Territory; any function or power of a Governor of a State, and any other power the President may confer on the Minister.
By this provision of the FCT Act, the President is de facto Governor of the FCT, but his responsibility is ceded to the FCT Minister. It implies that whatever befalls the FCT today, good or bad, is the handiwork of President Tinubu, by virtue of the provision of the FCT Act. Just as any law in the country, the Act is also guided by other laws according to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Land Use Act, the URP Law, and the Building Code, among others, are very relevant in the land administration of the FCT.
Various regimes came and went before the Tinubu Administration. All keen observers in the affairs of the FCT today know that the maturity, decorum, and sanctity in handling matters in the FCT Administration, specifically on land administration and city management, have decayed relative to all the previous governments.
The capital city of any country has tremendous importance in the country’s life and development. Perhaps nowhere is it truer than in developing countries, especially those in Africa. Not only is the capital city usually the culminating point of cultural evolution of the new nations seeking a new and positive image, but it also represents the highest embodiment of all pervasive processes of cultural contact. It must be understood that as the capital city of the nation, Abuja’s image in the eyes of the world is Nigeria’s image.
It is thus mandatory for the President to ensure due diligence while making appointments for his Ministers, most especially that of the FCT, in order to safeguard Nigeria’s image if we are to be considered a serious and important nation by our international friends.
Constitutionally, Mr. President is not bound by any law to pick his Ministers from his political party only, or the FCT Minister from a particular section of the country, so long as the nominee satisfies the basic requirements. However, he need not be told that he should go the extra mile to ensure that the sanctity of the Federal Capital City is never threatened by whoever he appoints as the FCT Minister. Who and what is the antecedent of the FCT Minister is very important in this regard. Maturity, decency, records, attitude, and mentality of whoever should be appointed matter a lot. To jettison national interest in favor of second term political stratagem is ominous and a great disservice to the nation.
All the past Presidents applied their wisdom in choosing who to saddle with the FCT responsibility. Starting from 1998, General Abdulsalami Abubakar picked late Gen Kontagora, an Army Engineer, with an exceptional record of discipline and dedication to duty as a former Minister of Works, before the FCT assignment. Gen Kontagora of blessed memory kept to his expectation up to the end of his tenure.
By his wisdom, former President Obasanjo concentrated on professionalism in the built industry. Hence, in his first tenure, he appointed Arc. Ibrahim Bunu, with a previous record of active participation in the Abuja development. His architectural firm designed the NNPC Towers. Arc. Bunu was Minister of State for Housing and Environment in 1982. He was dropped in 2001 to pave the way for the appointment of Muhammad Abba Gana, a seasoned Engineer and a Commissioner in the old Borno State from 1979 to 1983. Just last year, Engr. Abba Gana disclosed that he doesn’t even have a house in Abuja.
Throughout his second tenure, Obasanjo had only one appointee as the FCT Minister, Malam Nasir el-Rufa’i, a Quantity Surveyor. Obasanjo is well-known as blunt and down-to-earth; nobody can dictate to him on who to appoint. Despite being Yoruba and a Southerner, in his wisdom, all his FCT Ministers were from the North.
Late President Umaru Yar’adua appointed Aliyu Modibbo, a seasoned journalist and university lecturer, before he moved to civil service. He held Ministerial portfolios twice before his FCT appointment: first as Minister for State for Power and Steel in Obasanjo’s first tenure, and the second as Minister of Commerce in Obasanjo’s second tenure.
President Goodluck Jonathan had Senator Bala Mohammed as his FCT Minister, who is presently the Bauchi State Governor. He was also a seasoned journalist, a reporter, and editor. He later switched to the civil service and advanced up to the rank of Director of Administration at the Nigerian Railway Corporation and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency before voluntary retirement and venturing into politics.
Bala Mohammed contested and became a Senator before being appointed by President Jonathan as the FCT Minister from 2010 to 2015, when Jonathan’s tenure expired. President Jonathan, also a Southerner, and without any pressure from anywhere, maintained a Northerner as the FCT Minister. All these are exceptional spirits of national unity and harmony.
To be continued.
