FCTA PRESS RELEASE
FCT
MINISTER CALLS FOR SHIFT FROM POLITICS OF ENTITLEMENT TO POLITICS OF
RESPONSIBILITY
…AS HE IS
INDUCTED INTO THE IDOMA HALL OF FAME
The Minister
of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), His Excellency, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has
challenged Nigerian political leaders and citizens to move beyond the cyclical
politics of grievance, entitlement, and sectional agitation, advocating instead
for a governance model anchored on responsibility, institutional strength, and
service delivery.
Delivering
the keynote address during his induction into the First Idoma Hall of Fame, a
ceremony designed to honour sons and daughters whose extraordinary contributions
have enriched community heritage and national development on Thursday, October
15, 2026, Wike spoke on the theme: "People, Politics and Power Play in
Nigeria: The Agitation for Equity and Fairness".
Addressing
a distinguished audience of traditional rulers, federal lawmakers, diplomats,
academics, and civil society leaders, Wike interrogated the core meaning of
equity and fairness in Nigeria’s multi-ethnic federation, cautioning against
reducing justice to a mere zero-sum contest over ethnic rotation or public
appointments.
True
fairness, he noted, means ensuring every Nigerian has a genuine opportunity to
participate in national life, benefit from public institutions, and live with
the confidence that the state does not belong more to one group than another.
"It
is easy to speak passionately about equity when one's community is excluded. It
is far more difficult to defend the same principle when one's community enjoys
disproportionate access to power", the Minister stated, stressing that
justice ceases to be a slogan when defended, even when it does not benefit
oneself.
While
acknowledging constitutional provisions like the federal character principle
(Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution) as vital mechanisms for mitigating
horizontal inequalities, the Minister warned against treating representation as
an end in itself.
He said
that representation should not be considered over and above performance, adding
that changing the identities of those who gain access to public office without
changing how power is exercised amounts merely to a redistribution of
privilege.
In a
passionate call to action, the Minister urged a fundamental shift in Nigeria's
political orientation: "Our Turn asks: when will our people get power? How
much of the national cake belongs to us? Our Responsibility asks: What will we
do with power when it comes? How do we make the cake larger and distribute it
fairly?
He said
equity must do more than determining who sits at the table but also help to
determine whether the table is fair. “Equity cannot mean merely changing the
identity of those who benefit from power. If one group replaces another at the
table while the benefits remain fundamentally exclusionary, the occupants have
changed, but the injustice has not. This is where the Nigerian conversation
about fairness becomes morally demanding. If we complain about marginalisation
only when our own people are excluded, but become silent when others are
marginalised after our people gain power, we are not opposing injustice; we are
seeking access to its privileges. If we demand fairness when we are
disadvantaged but celebrate exclusion when it favours us, then what we call
equity is merely self-interest wearing the language of justice”, the Minister
further stated.
Defending
his record and the current administration’s approach to governance, the FCT
Minister urged critics to judge leaders by tangible infrastructure and service
delivery rather than superficial political theater or emotional appeals.
He pointed
to visible transformations within Abuja’s city center and satellite towns as
proof of focused administration. Furthermore, he noted that unprecedented
financial allocations currently reaching sub-national governments mean that
citizens should direct their demands for accountability to local leaders and
governors rather than shifting all responsibilities exclusively to the central
government.
Concluding
his address, Wike called on Nigerians to look past religious, ethnic, and
partisan biases. He urged the nation to transition permanently away from toxic
zero-sum competition and the politics of entitlement, moving instead toward a
culture where political authority is treated as a sacred public trust dedicated
entirely to serving the people.
