Group advocate on cultural rights to FCT monarchs, women

Favour Ishember, Abuja

A Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Helpline Foundation For The Needy, Abuja has launched an official advocacy on an initiative geard towards promoting the political, socio-economic, and cultural rights of the Original Inhabitants of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Helpline Foundation for the Needy, assembled  traditional rulers, women, youth, politicians and other major stakeholders across the six FCT Area Councils Thursday, at a Town Hall Meeting inside Cyprian Ekwesi Art AND Culture Center, Abuja, to thoroughly  brief them on the Project, which is fully funded by MacArthur Foundation through the instrumentality of the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED).

 President of the Foundation, Dr. Jumai Ahmadu, said the advocacy marks  the beginning of the project of promoting the rights of the original inhabitants of the FCT.

Dr. Ahmadu explained that the project became necessary as the original inhabitants have been undergoing several forms of marginalization in the FCT.

She  noted that the project would not succeed without the moral support of Royal Fathers of the Six Area Councils who were  in person and ably represented at the town hall meeting.

She added that as major stakeholders to the project, it is very clear that the outcome of the project, if successful must have an undertone of their inputs.

In her words:” In line with the overall objective of the CHRICED Project, we have titled our sub-granted project Revamping The Cultural Heritage Of The Original Inhabitants (OIS) Through The Empowerment Of Vulnerable Women And Marginalized Youths Of The OIs And Cultural Preservation.

“This, we believe will help alleviate poverty and improve livelihood on the line of preserving the cultural repositories of the OIs in FCT among other project activities embedded in the project as you can see in the handy Project Profile,” Ahmadu reaffirmed.

She thanked funding organisation; the CHRICED and Macarthur Foundation for taking this initiative to enjoin all the original inhabitants to collaborate in other to make  their voices heard again in their own land.