President apologizes to indigenes of FCT over exclusion from appointments

The Federal Govern­ment has apologized to indigenes of the Fed­eral Capital Territory (FCT) for excluding them from the appointments it has so far made.The apology was tendered on Monday by the Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).In a statement signed by the Director of Press, Bo­laji Adebiyi, on behalf of the SGF, Mr. Babachir David La­wal, the government prom­ised to address the situation.Lawal spoke when the Ona of Abaji and Chairman of the FCT Council of Chiefs, Alh Adamu Baba Yunusa, visited him in his office.The SGF assured his guests that the omission was not de­liberate and that the situation will be corrected in future appointments.He explained that he will bring the omission to the at­tention of President Muham­madu Buhari.Earlier, the monarch com­plained about the exclusion of FCT indigenes in the re­constitution of the Govern­ing Councils of Federal Uni­versities, the composition of the Federal Executive Coun­cil and more recently, the nomination of non-career ambassadorial nominees.“The royal father urged that the anomaly should be corrected since it contra­venes certain provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Federal Character Com­mission that specifies that the FCT should be treated as if it were one of the states of Nigeria.“The Ona appealed to the SGF to use his good offices to carry the FCT along when political appointments are made,” the statement added.