The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is a federal territory in central

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

, the

capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

of Nigeria, is located in this territory. The FCT was formed in 1976 from parts of the states of old Kaduna,

Kwara Kwara () is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger State, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the international border with Benin. Its capi ...

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

, and

Plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

states, with the bulk of land mass carved out of Niger state. The Federal Capital Territory is within the North Central region of the country. Unlike other

states of Nigeria Nigeria is a federation of 36 states, each of which is a semi-autonomous political unit that shares power with the federal government as enumerated under the Constitution of Nigeria, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In additi ...

, which are headed by elected Governors, it is administered by the

Federal Capital Territory Administration The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is a Nigerian ministry that administers the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. It is headed by a minister, who is appointed by the president, and assisted by a permanent secretary, who is a car ...

, headed by a minister, who is appointed by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

History

The Federal Capital Territory was created upon the promulgation of decree number 6 of 1976. It came into existence due to a need to find a replacement for the capital city of Lagos, which had become congested and had little space for expansion. The area chosen as the new capital was principally Gwari Land (the home of the tribes referred to as the Gbagyis, their language is referred to as

Gwari The Gbagyi or Gbari (plural - Agbagyi/Agbari) are an ethnic group found predominantly in Central Nigeria with an estimated population of 12 million spread in four states, including Abuja, and located in thirty local government areas. It is also t ...

) with high concentrations of Muslims and Christians and a high degree of neutrality from the dominant ethnic groups. Decree 6 of 1976, gave the federal government rights over land within the

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

. The population density prior to the takeover by the government was sparse with a population of 120,000 residents living in 840 villages and mostly of

heritage. Inhabitants were relocated to nearby towns like

Suleja Suleja is a city in Niger State, Nigeria, just north of Abuja, capital of the country. It is sometimes confused with the nearby city of Abuja, due to its proximity and the fact that it was originally named Abuja before the Nigerian government ad ...

in Niger state, and New Karshi in Nasarawa State on the outskirts of the territory.

Geography

The territory is located just north of the confluence of the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

and

Benue River Benue River (), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is a major tributary of the Niger River. The size of its catchment basin is 319,000 km2 (123,000 sq mi). Almost its entire length of Approximation, approximately is navigable dur ...

. It is bordered by the states of Niger to the west and north for 179 km, Kaduna to the northeast for 45 km, Nasarawa to the east and south for 156 km, and Kogi to the southwest for 17 km. Lying between latitudes 8.25 and 9.20 north of the equator and longitudes 6.45 and 7.39 east of Greenwich Meridian, The Federal Capital Territory is geographically located at the center of the country. The Federal Capital Territory has a landmass of approximately 7,315 km², and it is situated within the

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

region with moderate climatic conditions.

Natural resources

Minerals found in the FCT include marble, tin, clay,

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into fragile elastic plates. This characteristic is described as ''perfect basal cleavage''. Mica is co ...

, and

tantalite The mineral group tantalite manganese.html" ;"title="iron.html" ;"title="iron">Fe, manganese">Mn)Tantalum">Ta2oxygen">O6is the primary source of the chemical element tantalum, a corrosion (heat and acid) resistant metal. It is chemically simil ...

Wildlife

The hills of the FCT provide home to many

bushbuck Bushbuck is a common name that may refer to one of the following African antelopes: *Cape bushbuck The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus''), also known as imbabala is a common, medium-sized bushland-dwelling, and a widespread species of ant ...

, forest

Black duiker The black duiker (''Cephalophus niger''), also known as ''tuba'' in Dyula, is a forest-dwelling duiker found in the southern parts of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Benin, and Nigeria. Black duikers stand around tall at the shou ...

bush pig :''"Bush pig" may also refer to the red river hog.'' The bushpig (''Potamochoerus larvatus'') is a member of the pig family that inhabits forests, woodland, riverine vegetation and cultivated areas in East and Southern Africa. Probably introdu ...

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...

and

red-flanked duiker The red-flanked duiker (''Cephalophus rufilatus'') is a species of small antelope found in western and central Africa in countries as far apart as Senegal and Sudan. Red-flanked duikers grow to almost in height and weigh up to . They have russe ...

. Also found in FCT woodland are

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

, buffalo, roan antelope,

Western hartebeest The western hartebeest (''Alcelaphus buselaphus major'') is an antelope native to the medium to tall grassland plains of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger ...

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly cons ...

, grey duiker, dog-faced baboon,

patas monkey The common patas monkey (''Erythrocebus patas''), also known as the hussar monkey, is a ground-dwelling monkey distributed over semi-arid areas of West Africa, and into East Africa. Taxonomy There is some confusion surrounding if there are v ...

and

green monkey The green monkey (''Chlorocebus sabaeus''), also known as the sabaeus monkey, is an Old World monkey with golden-green fur and pale hands and feet. The tip of the tail is golden yellow as are the backs of the thighs and cheek whiskers. It does n ...

Climate

Like some northern states in Nigeria, the Federal Capital Territory is relatively mild. The Federal Capital Territory is usually very hot between the months of January and April. The average daily maximum temperature of the city is above , with the month of March being the hottest month. The rainy season in the territory lasts between July and October of every year but the coolest month is December, during the

harmattan The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into th ...

season. During the harmattan, there is high relative

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

, coupled with windy and

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...

gy atmosphere.

Administration

Federal Capital Territory Ministers

The Federal Capital Territory is headed by the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Barr.

Nyesom Wike Ezenwo Nyesom Wike (born 13 December 1964) is a Nigerian politician and lawyer who has served as the minister of the Federal Capital Territory since 2023. He previously served as the governor of Rivers State from 2015 to 2023. He is an Ikw ...

, who is appointed by the Federal government. The Federal Capital Territory Minister appoints members to the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council.

Subdivisions

While the Federal Capital Territory minister administers the whole of the Federal Capital Territory, the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) specifically manages the construction and infrastructure development of the region. The territory is currently made up of six

local government areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The ph ...

, namely: *

Abaji Abaji is a Local government areas of Nigeria, local government area in the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, Abuja. The Abaji Area Council is the area council farthest from the city center and occupies app ...

Abuja Municipal Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal Government of Nigeria, it hosts key na ...

Bwari Bwari is a Local government areas of Nigeria, local government area in the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria. The original inhabitants of the town are the Gbagyi speaking people. The paramount ruler is the ...

* Gwagwalada *

Kuje Kuje is a Local government areas of Nigeria, local government area in the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria. It has an area of 1,644 km2 and a population of 97,367 at the ct 2006 census. The postal c ...

Kwali Kwali is a Local government areas of Nigeria, local government area in the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria. It has an area of 1,206 km and a population of 85,837 at the 2006 census. The postal code ...

Languages

Languages of the Federal Capital Territory listed by local government area (LGA) are presented in tabular format as follows:

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

language is widely spoken at the Federal Capital Territory.

Religion

Sheikh Ibrahim Ahmad Maqari is the Chief Imam of the

Abuja National Mosque The Abuja National Mosque (), also known as the Nigerian National Mosque, is the national mosque of Nigeria. The mosque was built in 1984 and is open to the non-Muslim public, except during congregational prayers. Board and Management After the ...

(2017). 21% Roman Catholic with 908,744 followers in the Archdiocese of Abuja (1981) with 137 parishes under Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama (2019). The Anglican Province of Abuja, led by Archbishop Henry Ndukuba, Primate of Nigeria (2020), also Bishop of the Diocese of Abuja (1989), also includes the Diocese of Gwagwalada led by Bishop Moses Bukpe Tabwaye (2015).

Politics

The council was elected in the 2022 Federal Capital Territory local elections. Ireti Kingibe is the current representative of FCT senatorial district.

References

External links

Government of the Federal Capital Territory
{{Authority control *Federal Capital Territory Capital districts and territories States and territories established in 1976