The Federal Capital Territory, commonly known as the FCT, is a

federal territory A federal territory is an administrative division under the direct and usually exclusive jurisdiction of a federation's national government. A federal territory is a part of a federation, but not a part of any federated state. The states constit ...

in central

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

, the

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

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

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...

Kwara Kwara State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Kwárà), 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 internation ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesPlateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), 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. Often one or more sides ha ...

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 and 1 federal capital territory. Each of the 36 states is a semi-autonomous political unit that shares powers with the federal government as enumerated under the Constitution of Nigeria, Constitution of the F ...

, 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 appointed by the President, assisted by a Permanent Secretary, who is a career civil ser ...

, 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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

History

The Federal Capital Territory, also known as the FCT, 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 Gbagyi or Gbari (plural - Agbagyi/Agbari) is the name and the language of Gbagyi/Gbari ethnic group who are predominantly found in Central Nigeria, with a population of about 1 million people. Members of the ethnic group speak two dialects. While ...

) with high concentrations of Muslims and Christians and high degree of neutrality from the dominant ethnic groups. It is the least populated state in Nigeria. Decree 6 of 1976, gave the federal government rights over land within the

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

. 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, pop. (2016) local government area, 260,240, just north of Abuja, capital of the Suleja Emirate. It is sometimes confused with the nearby city of Abuja, due to its proximity, and the fact that it was origi ...

in Niger state, and

New Karshi New Karshi is a town in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Nigeria, founded in the 1980s by Muhammadu Bako II. It is a semi-autonomous local government created out of Karu LGA as Karshi Development area with the administrative secreta ...

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 ...

and

Benue River The Benue River (french: la Bénoué), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months. The size of its bas ...

. It is bordered by the states of Niger to the West and North,

to the northeast,

Nasarawa Nasarawa is a Local Government Area in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Nasarawa, located at 8°32'N 7°42'E, with a population of 30,949 (as of 2016). The local government area has an area of 5,704 km and a populat ...

to the east and south, and

Kogi Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to the s ...

to the southwest. Lying between latitudes 8.25 and 9.20 north of the equator and longitudes 6.45 and 7.39 east of Greenwich Meridian, Abuja 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) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

region with moderate climatic conditions.

Natural resources in FCT

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 extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...

, and

tantalite The mineral group tantalite Fe,_manganese.html"_;"title="iron.html"_;"title="iron">Fe,_manganese">Mn)Tantalum">Ta2oxygen.html" ;"title="manganese">Mn)Tantalum.html" ;"title="iron">Fe,_manganese.html" ;"title="iron.html" ;"title="iron">Fe, manga ...

Wildlife

The hills of the FCT provide home to many

bushbuck The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus'') is a common and a widespread species of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa.Wronski T, Moodley Y. (2009)Bushbuck, harnessed antelope or both? ''Gnusletter'', 28(1):18-19. Bushbuck are found in a wide ra ...

, 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 s ...

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

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...

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 15 in (35 cm) in height and weigh up to ...

. Also found in FCT woodland are

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, 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 existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

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 The common duiker (''Sylvicapra grimmia''), also known as the grey or bush duiker, is a small antelope and the only member of the genus ''Sylvicapra''. This species is found everywhere in Africa south of the Sahara, excluding the Horn of Afric ...

, dog-faced baboon,

patas monkey The common patas monkey (''Erythrocebus patas''), also known as the wadi monkey or 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 ...

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 cold. The nation capital city,

, is usually very hot between three to four months annually, that is, between the months of January and April. The average daily temperature of the city is above 90⁰C, with the month of March being the hottest month. The rainy season in the state lasts between July and October of every year but the coldest 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 the ...

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, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

, coupled with windy and foggy atmosphere.

Divisions

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 phrase i ...

, namely: *

Abaji Abaji is a local government area in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, Abuja. The city is the land of the Gbagyi, Bassa, Egbira, Ganagana, and Hausa people. The majorities were Bassa, Gbagyi, Egbira and Ganagana. The first settlement in ...

Municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Bwari Bwari is a local government area in the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria. The original inhabitants of the town are the Gbagyi speaking people. The paramount ruler is the Esu who is otherwise known as Sa-bwaya. However, with the establishment of ...

Gwagwalada Gwagwalada is a local government area in the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria. Gwagwalada has an area of 1,043 km2 and a population of 157,770 at the 2006 census. It is projected to have a 6.26% growth between 2020 and 2025, the large ...

Kuje Kuje is a local government area in the 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 code of the area is 905. Attractions Kuje is a busy market city with a r ...

Kwali Kwali is a local government area in the 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 of the area is 904105. History Kwali was created on October 1, 1996 b ...

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.

Politics

The council was elected in the

2022 Federal Capital Territory local elections Local elections in the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria were held on 12 February 2022. The three-year tenure of the Six Chairmen and 62 Councillors is set to expire in May 2022. The FCT is the only part of t ...

References

External links

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