Sen. Philip Aduda, has called for peaceful coexistence and unity among the nine indigenous tribes in the territory for the actualisation of a State status for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Aduda, who is representing the FCT, made the call during the World Indigenous Day celebration in Abuja, said that peace and unity among the indigenous tribes in the territory was the best way to achieve their struggles.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme for the World Indigenous Day is: “Leaving No One Behind”.
The day was first marked by the UN General Assembly in December 1994.
NAN also reports that the nine indigenous tribes in the FCT are Amwamwa, Gbari, Ganagana, Gade, Gwandara, Egbira, Bassa, and Koro with Gbagyi, (Gwari) as the major ethnic group with 858 communities.
According to him, the struggles and agitations for ministerial appointment, State status and issues of land ownership cannot be achieved without peace and unity among the nine indigenous tribes in the FCT.
He said that there was need for the government to consider the ancestral owners of land in FCT to make the indigenes have a sense of belonging and equal representation in the country.
He however assured democratic dividends through youths and women empowerment, adding that he had been lobbying at the National Assembly with other lawmakers to ensure that the plights of the indigenes were addressed.
“We will take the struggle to the highest level. In 2019, I talked to all the Area Council Chairmen to see the President so that the issues of ministerial slots for FCT will be achieved.
“Our yearnings cannot be achieved through protests alone but through lobbying at the National Assembly and proper dialogue and togetherness among all the nine indigenous tribes in FCT.
“We need a state status to increase our franchise beyond local government elections to enable us have an executive governing structure, independent governing body and to expand our representation at the National Assembly,” he said.
On his part, Mr Dalhatu Ezekiel, the Commissioner, Public Complaints Commission, recommended that based on the recent decision of the Court of Appeal, there was need to approve an indigene of FCT as a minister.
Ezekiel also stressed the need for FCT indigenes to be given their right to land ownership and the creation of more tertiary institutions in the FCT to enable indigenous youths to have easy access to quality education in the area.
Also, Mr Abdullahi Candido, the Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), said there was need to take a position on the constitutional legitimacy of land administration in the FCT to help address some challenges of the indigenes. (NAN)