Abuja Indigenes Seek Upgrade Of Traditional Rulers, 5% Budget

Indigenes of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have called on the minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to initiate an urgent review of the territory’s traditional institution system and grant it a five per cent statutory budget allocation.

The president of Abuja Original Inhabitants Youth Empowerment Organisation (AOIYEO), Commandant Isaac David, at a press briefing yesterday, described the current chieftaincy framework as a 45-year static system that has left traditional rulers as ceremonial figures.

David appealed to the minister to correct what the group terms a historical anomaly, aligning the FCT with practices in Nigeria’s 36 states.

He traced the stagnation to the 1979 Land Use Act and the relocation of the capital to Abuja. It argued that while the nation has evolved, the traditional structure for the original nine ethnic groups remains archaic.

“Since 1979 the traditional and cultural governance structure of the Original Inhabitants has been frozen in time. The chieftaincy system currently in operation is a relic of the pre-FCT era, designed for a collection of agrarian communities, not for the dynamic, cosmopolitan megacity that has grown around and within them,” he said.

The group highlighted the disparity between FCT traditional rulers and their state counterparts.

“Unlike their counterparts in the 36 states who have seen their roles defined, upgraded, and integrated into modern governance the FCT traditional rulers are often reduced to ceremonial figures,” AOIYEO stated.

The core of AOIYEO’s appeal is the demand for a 5 percent statutory allocation from the FCTA’s annual budget to be dedicated to the traditional institution. They framed this not as a request for a handout but as a demand for equity, justice, and pragmatic governance.

“Every state in the federation operates a system where a portion of its statutory allocation is dedicated to its traditional councils,” he said.

David also emphasised the practical benefits, saying that granting this 5 percent allocation would empower grassroots development, enhance security, preserve their heritage, and promote inclusive governance.

He argued that with over two million original inhabitants facing infrastructural deficits and unemployment, traditional rulers are best positioned to address these needs but are crippled by a lack of financial autonomy.

“Without a secure and predictable financial base, their hands are tied,” David said.

Linking the appeal to the President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda, AOIYEO urged Wike to extend his noted focus on physical infrastructure to the human and cultural infrastructure of the FCT.

“Upgrading the traditional institution and granting it a statutory allocation is a low-cost, high-impact policy that would cement your legacy as the Minister who finally corrected a 45-year-old anomaly,” he said.

The group concluded that the move would be a profound gesture of ‘Renewed Hope’ for the original inhabitants, demonstrating that their custodians are valued in the city built on their ancestral land.