Murtala's broadcast proclaiming Abuja as federal capital - February 3, 1976.

FELLOW Nigerians,

A joint meeting of the Supreme Military Council and the National council of States has just concluded sitting.

The meeting has declared on reports submitted by the following panels 

(a) assets investigation of some former public officers; (b) abandoned properties in the three Eastern States which comprised the former Eastern
Region: (c) location of the Federal Capital and (d) creation of more states.

Those panels, as you will no doubt recall, were set-up by this administration at its inception. They were all given adequate terms of reference and sufficient time in which to deliberate and submit their reports and recommendation to the FMG.

I will like to seize this opportunity to thank each and everyone of them for the excellent work they have done. They deserve the nations gratitude.

In deliberation on these reports, I will like to emphasise that the joint meeting was guided solely by national interest and consideration for
justice, peace and stability.

THE PANEL ON THE LOCATION OF FEDERAL CAPITAL

The panel on the location of the Federal Capital has recommended that the nations capital should move out of Lagos to a federal territory of about
8,000 square kilometres to the central part of the country. The Supreme Military Council has accepted this recommendation. The site recommended the satisfied the panels criteria of centrality good and tolerable climate, land availability, and use, inadequate water supply, low population density,
physical planning convenience, security and multi-access possibility. The area is not within the control of any of the major ethnic groups in the
country. We believe that the new capital created on such virgin lands as suggested will be for all Nigerians a symbol of their onesness and unity.
The Federal Territory will belong to all Nigerians.

The few local inhabitants in the area who need to be moved out of the territory for planning purposes will be resettled outside the area in places
of their choice at government expense.

In order to avoid land speculation in the area, a decree is being promulgated immediately to vest all land in the Federal Territory in the
Federal Government. A Federal Capital Development Authority is to be established to plan and administer the territory. An administrator for the
Federal territory will soon be appointed to provide municipal services in the area.

The chairman of the Federal Government Authority of nine members will be of cabinet rank. The authority is expected to start work at once but the
movement of the seat of the Federal Government out of Lagos is expected take some ten to fifteen years. The present administration is firmly committed to ensuring that the necessary ground work is completed and construction work started within the next four years.

Lagos will, in the foreseeable future, remain the nations commercial capital and one of its nerve centres. But in terms of servicing the present
infrastructure alone the committed amount of money and effort required will be such that Lagos State will not be ready to cope. It will even be unfair
to expect the state to bear this heavy burden on it sown. It is therefore necessary for the Federal Government to continue to sustain the substantial
investment in the area. The port facilities and other economic activities in the Lagos area have to be expanded. There is need in the circumstances for
the Federal Government to maintain a special defence and security arrangement in Lagos which will henceforth be designated a special area.
These arrangements will be carefully worked out and written into the new constitution. Kaduna and Port Harcourt are to be accorded similar status and
designated..........................................