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Nigerian President Bola Tinubu granted financial autonomy to the capital, Abuja, allowing it to operate similarly to the nation’s 36 states, Bloomberg is reporting.
While the measure stops short of making the city a fully fledged state, it allows Abuja to have control of finances currently managed by the national government, said the people who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.
Tony Ogunleye, spokesman for the minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, confirmed the decision and said a statement would be issued later.
Tinubu has also removed the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration from the Treasury Single Account (TSA), effectively giving the FCTA more control over its finances.
The President also approved the establishment of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in the FCT Administration.
The Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, who made this known on Friday during a media briefing in Abuja, also disclosed that Tinubu has approved mandate secretariat for women affairs.
Abuja is expected to establish its own civil service and judicial service commissions, as well as internal revenue and tax agencies. It won’t have legislative arms, but will be fully detached from the federal bureaucracy, the officials said.
Designated in 1991 as the national capital, Abuja is situated in the geographic center of the West African country and is home to almost 4 million people. It’s located in what is known as a Federal Capital Territory that was formed in 1976, and is administered by a minister appointed by the president.