The traditional leadership of the Federal Capital Territory has made an appeal for constitutional reform that will create room for the expansion of the territory’s representation in the Senate from one to three senatorial seats.
While the FCT currently operates with a single senatorial district, the Council of Chiefs argued that the territory’s skyrocketing population, estimated at over six million, justifies a structure equal to that of the 36 states.
The Ona of Abaji and Chairman of the FCT Council of Chiefs, Dr. Adamu Yunusa, requested on Thursday during a high-level appreciation visit by the Abuja FCT Stakeholders Assembly to the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike.
"Considering the population of the FCT, we think that FCT deserves more than one senatorial district," Dr. Yunusa stated.
The monarchs also called for the creation of additional federal constituencies and the establishment of more area councils to decentralize governance and bring development closer to the grassroots.
Yunusa urged the minister to facilitate a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to enable them to present these constitutional aspirations directly.
The council also sought the minister's intervention to rectify the FCT's lack of representation on the Board of Trustees of the North Central Development Commission (NCDC), asserting its right as a key stakeholder state within the commission.
Responding to their request, the FCT minister asked the FCT traditional institution to support Senator Philip Aduda for the Senate while warning against electing "inexperienced" leaders.
He argued that the Senate is a place for "eyeball to eyeball" negotiations where ranking and experience are the primary currencies of power.
"I will tell you where I stand because I mean well for you. I will support Senator Philip Tanimu Aduda,” he said.
“If he goes back, he carries experience, and he’s ranking. When he’s talking, his colleagues will listen to him," Wike declared.
Aduda was the senator representing the FCT until the Labour Party’s Ireti Bakare defeated him in the 2023 General Election.
