As the 2027 elections approach, Dr. (Mrs) Juliet Okibayi Hassan Muoneme, the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Senatorial Candidate for the FCT, is pitching a governance model built around four pillars. She calls it “Core Values for a New FCT.” The question now is whether her promises on youth, women, MSMEs and agriculture can address Abuja’s growing inequality, unemployment and cost-of-living crisis, asks Ekuson Nw’Ogbunka, our Managing Editor, in this piece.
Muoneme’s platform centers on human capital. Her first promise is “Inclusive Human Capital & Youth Empowerment” through skills development, employment pathways, innovation and youth participation in governance.
This speaks directly to Abuja’s youth bulge. With thousands of graduates and artisans in satellite towns like Kubwa, Gwagwalada and Bwari struggling with jobs, the promise of structured pathways could resonate.
Her second pillar is “Women Empowerment and Social Inclusion.” She promises to advance women’s leadership, economic independence and equal participation across all sectors.
In the FCT, women dominate informal trade and SMEs but remain underrepresented in political appointments and large contracts. A focused agenda here could mobilize a key voting bloc.
The third promise targets the economy directly: “Indigenous Industry, MSMEs and Economic Value Creation.” Muoneme wants to strengthen local production, artisan clusters, markets, traders and transport operators.
This is significant because the FCT economy is driven by micro businesses. From Wuse Market to Area 1, traders and transport unions have long complained of harassment, multiple taxation and lack of support.
Her fourth pillar is “Agricultural Transformation and Market Access.” She proposes empowering farmers with modern tools, financing, grants and reliable access to markets.
Agriculture in the FCT is mostly subsistence in communities like Kwali, Abaji and Kuje. With food inflation high, improving productivity and market linkage could impact both rural livelihoods and urban food prices.
What makes the PRP platform different is its emphasis on “core values” rather than big infrastructure. Muoneme is not promising roads or flyovers, but systems for people.
Political analysts say this aligns with PRP’s historical ideology of welfarism and mass empowerment, first championed by the late Mallam Aminu Kano.
The challenge will be funding and implementation. The FCT Senator has limited direct control over budget. Much depends on oversight, advocacy and partnership with the FCT Administration.
Muoneme will also have to contend with the dominance of APC and PDP in Abuja politics. Voters will ask how PRP plans to deliver without executive power
Her background as “Dr. (Mrs)” suggests an academic and professional profile that PRP may use to appeal to middle-class voters and women in the city center.
If elected, her success will be measured not by projects commissioned, but by jobs created, businesses supported and inclusion achieved.
The “Core Values for a New FCT” framing is deliberate. It positions her as an alternative to politics of patronage and promises a value-based representation.
Ultimately, Muoneme’s agenda tests whether FCT voters are ready to shift from party loyalty to issue-based voting. In a territory with a diverse and young population, that may be her biggest opportunity.
