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.
