2027: We’ll Reward Tinubu for His Achievements in FCT, Etsu Kwali Declares

The Etsu of Kwali, His Royal Highness Luka Ayedoo Nizassan III, has declared that residents of Kwali Area Council and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are prepared to give President Bola Tinubu substantial political support in the 2027 general election in recognition of his administration’s achievements in the territory.

The monarch said the Tinubu administration had delivered improvements in infrastructure, traditional institutions, civil service reforms and revenue allocation to the FCT Area Councils.

Nizassan made the declaration on Monday while speaking on behalf of the Kwali Area Council Council of Chiefs at a Rainbow Coalition stakeholders’ meeting in Kwali. He pledged the support of traditional rulers and their communities for the President’s re-election.

Addressing the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and other dignitaries, the monarch said four greater chiefs, 15 district heads and representatives of communities across Kwali had been mobilised to demonstrate their commitment to the political movement.

He recalled that Kwali supported Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election but argued that the President had subsequently extended opportunities to the area that previous administrations had not provided.

Nizassan said the appointment of Honourable Disalo to a national board represented an important step towards recognising the people of the FCT, whom he described as having experienced decades of exclusion because the territory is not a state.

The traditional ruler also praised Wike for driving the implementation of the legal framework that established a full-fledged civil service in the FCT. He said the reform had created opportunities for indigenous residents to rise to senior positions in the administration.

He cited the appointment of Florence Okonkwo as Permanent Secretary in the Transportation Secretariat and the appointment of a Kwali indigene as Acting Director of Works as examples of the opportunities created by the reforms.

“Today, we have a civil service with promising career opportunities, a civil service that allows our people to rise to the highest levels of the career structure. For this, we are grateful,” he said.

Nizassan also commended the Tinubu administration’s tax reforms, claiming they had helped increase the FCT’s internally generated revenue from about N9 billion to more than N40 billion.

According to him, the improved revenue position had strengthened the financial capacity of the Area Councils, allowing them to settle outstanding salary obligations, construct roads and implement development projects.

On infrastructure, the monarch listed the Dr Ladi Kwali Road, Sukuku-Yangoji Road, A2-Pai, Pai-Gwagwalada, Gwagwalada-Dafa and Dafa-Yangoji roads among projects that had improved connectivity across the area.

He said the projects, alongside ongoing road construction, were expected to connect all 10 political wards in Kwali Area Council to the central ward and the FCT city when completed.

Nizassan noted that some of the projects had already connected four to five political wards, while completion of the Kwali-Yangoji Road would link two additional wards to the central ward.

He said the administration had achieved within three years what previous governments had been unable to deliver for the community.

The monarch further disclosed that his appointment had received presidential approval after facing delays, describing himself as one of the beneficiaries of the current administration.

He particularly praised Tinubu and Wike for upgrading traditional rulers in the FCT, saying his elevation to first-class status had restored the dignity of traditional institutions and strengthened their recognition across the country.

According to him, the promotion had enabled FCT traditional rulers to participate in national committees and contribute to discussions on the legal and institutional frameworks governing traditional institutions.

Nizassan said he had personally served on more than six committees of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria following the elevation.

He also described politics as a game of demand and supply, arguing that the government had responded to requests made by residents during town hall meetings, project commissioning ceremonies and groundbreaking events.

He said the community was now prepared to reciprocate the administration’s efforts with political support.

“Politics is a game of demand and supply. It was in this town hall that we made demands. At commissioning grounds and groundbreaking events, we made demands, and those demands have been met. It is our turn to supply,” he said.

The monarch pledged that Kwali residents would support Tinubu in 2027, adding that the President had fulfilled his part of the relationship and that the community was ready to do its own.

He also defended the President’s economic reforms, describing them as difficult but courageous decisions intended to support national recovery and long-term development.

Nizassan said the policies had initially attracted criticism but maintained that Tinubu had demonstrated the political will to take decisions aimed at repositioning the country.

He concluded by commending Tinubu and Wike for bringing traditional rulers and communities across the FCT together under a common platform, saying the initiative had strengthened unity and collective engagement among residents.