‘Pastor Danladi Jeji, President of the Organization for the Improvement of the Development of Abuja (OIDA), has expressed deep appreciation to the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) for speaking out against the long-standing political marginalization of FCT natives and Nigerians living in the Federal Capital Territory.
In a statement, Pastor Jeji commended ACF for recognizing the issue of statelessness affecting FCT residents and for lending its voice to the call for equity, justice, peace, development, and unity in the Nigerian federation.
He described the ACF’s position as a significant step in the decades-long struggle of FCT natives to be fully recognized as equal citizens in Nigeria’s democratic system.
While thanking the forum, Pastor Jeji urged ACF to continue standing with the FCT people by pushing for concrete political reforms.
He called for the democratization of the FCT, including the right to elect a governor by 2027—just as Lagos State became Nigeria’s commercial capital in 1976, FCT should be fully recognized as the political capital with equal democratic privileges.
He also appealed to the National Assembly and INEC to make provisions for the election of a governor for the FCT, the allocation of four senatorial seats—one for the city center and three for the wider territory—and eight seats in the House of Representatives.
Pastor Jeji further called for the expansion of FCT’s local government areas from six to 17, and the establishment of an FCT Development Commission to address the needs of more than 858 communities, as identified in the 2008 MDGs report.
In his words, the renewed advocacy is giving FCT natives a sense of hope and belonging, allowing them to proudly declare:
“Nigeria, we hail thee,
Our own dear native land, (FCT LAND)
Though tribe and tongue may differ,
In brotherhood we stand
Nigerians all, are proud to serve
Our sovereign Motherland.”;
He reaffirmed the readiness of FCT natives and residents to participate fully in Nigeria’s democratic process, describing the 2027 elections as a crucial opportunity for justice, inclusion, and equal representation.
