By Okoi Obono-Obla
The Impossibility of Relocating Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory
Recently, Timi Frank accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of attempting to relocate the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, to Lagos. This claim is both uninformed and constitutionally baseless.
Nobody can relocate the Federal Capital Territory to another part of the country because it is a territory expressly created by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. Section 3 and the First Schedule of the Constitution firmly establish Abuja as the Federal Capital Territory, while Section 299 provides that the provisions applicable to a State apply to the FCT. The President has no powers whatsoever to alter this arrangement.
Only the National Assembly, through the rigorous process of constitutional amendment under Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, can effect such a change. Even then, it requires not just a two‑thirds majority in both Houses of the National Assembly but also approval by at least 24 State Houses of Assembly. This makes the prospect of relocating the FCT nearly impossible.
The individual making such a claim is being mischievous and merely attempting to dramatize an issue, knowing that many Nigerians are often drawn to utopian ideas and political theatrics.
Conclusion
The Federal Capital Territory is a constitutional creation, not a political convenience. Any suggestion of its relocation is not only impractical but legally untenable. Nigerians should therefore dismiss such claims as mere political drama rather than constitutional reality.
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