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 Gwari Land (the home of the tribes referred to as the Gbagyis, their language is referred to as Gwari) with high concentrations of Muslims and Christians and a high degree of neutrality from the dominant ethnic groups.

Lying between latitudes 8.25 and 9.20 north of the equator and longitudes 6.45 and 7.39 east of Greenwich Meridian, The Federal Capital Territory is geographically located at 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.

The Federal Capital Territory Minister appoints members to the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council.

[citation needed] 21% Roman Catholic with 908,744 followers in the Archdiocese of Abuja (1981) with 137 parishes under Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama (2019).