Obika’s Bill Seeks to Expand Educational Opportunities for FCT Indigenes, Residents

By Ekuson Nw’Ogbunka
Abuja

A Bill seeking to enhance access to education for indigenes and residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sponsored by Hon. Joshua Chinedu Obika, representing the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency, has advanced after successfully passing its second reading in the House of Representatives.

The proposed legislation aims to establish the Federal Capital Territory Scholarship Board as a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, with the legal capacity to sue and be sued in its name. The Board is designed to reward, promote, and encourage academic excellence, develop human resources to meet national manpower needs, and make education more accessible to residents of the FCT.

Among the key provisions of the Bill are measures to reduce the number of out-of-school children by addressing financial constraints, create a conducive, peaceful, and friendly learning environment, provide accommodation for scholars in higher institutions, and ensure effective monitoring and evaluation of scholarship programmes. The Bill also stipulates that 25 per cent of scholarships be reserved for original inhabitants of the FCT, 10 per cent allocated to each geo-political zone, and five per cent set aside for discretionary awards by the Board.

Speaking on the objectives of the proposed Board, Hon. Obika stressed that it would “reward, promote and encourage academic excellence” while also helping to “develop human resources for the nation’s manpower needs,” noting its significance in reducing out-of-school rates within the FCT.

The Bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Establish Federal Capital Territory Scholarship Board to Facilitate Provision of Scholarship to Pupils and Students who are Original Inhabitants and Residents of the Federal Capital Territory to Promote Sustainable Educational Development in the FCT and for Related Matters, 2025,” is expected to progress to subsequent legislative stages ahead of possible enactment.