The Slogan

Center of Unity

Date Of Creation

3 February 1976

See Also: About The 36 States Of Nigeria

About Ebonyi State, Nigeria

About Lagos State, Nigeria

Geography

The territory is located just north of the confluence of the Niger River and Benue River. It is bordered by the states of Niger to the West and North, Kaduna to the northeast, Nasarawa to the east and south and Kogi to the southwest.

Lying between latitude 8.25 and 9.20 north of the equator and longitude 6.45 and 7.39 east of Greenwich Meridian, Abuja is geographically located in the center of the country.

The Federal Capital Territory has a landmass of approximately 7,315 km2, and it is situated within the savannah region with moderate climatic conditions

Brief History

The Federal Capital Territory also known as 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 Gwariland 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. 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 Gwari heritage. Inhabitants were relocated to nearby towns like Suleja in Niger state and New Karshi in Nasarawa State on the outskirts of the territory.

The Local Government area

The territory is currently made up of six area councils, namely:

Abaji
Abuja
Bwari
Gwagwalada
Kuje
Kwali

The Governor

The Deputy governor

The Senators

Philips Tanimu Aduda (PDP)

Representatives

Representative	Hassan Sokodabo Usman	PDP	Kuje/Abaji/Gwagwalada/Kwali	2019–2023
Representative	Micah Yohanna Jiba	PDP	Abuja Municipal /Bwari	2019–2023

The Website

fcta.gov.ng

Major Cities

Abuja

Prominent Places

Mineral Resources

Minerals found in the FCT include marble, tin, clay, mica, and tantalite

The population

Population (2006 Census)
• Total 1,406,239

Postal Code

900211

Culture and tourism

The hills of the FCT provide home to many bushbuck, forest Black duiker, bush pig, chimpanzee and red-flanked duiker. Also found in FCT woodland are leopard, buffalo, roan antelope, Western hartebeest, elephant, warthog, grey duiker, dog-faced baboon, patas monkey and green monkey

Notable People

Languages

LGA	Languages
Abaji	Dibo; Gupa-Abawa, Egbira, Ganagana
Abuja Municipal Area Council	Gade; Gbagyi, Nupe, Hausa
Bwari	Gwandara; Ashe; Gbagyi
Gwagwalada	Gbari, Egibra, Hausa
Kuje	Gade; Gbagyi
Kwali	Gwandara; Gbagyi;Egbira, Kami, Ganagana, Nupe, Haus

Institutions