Abuja

Abuja, city, central Nigeria, capital of the country, in the Federal Capital Territory. Abuja officially replaced Lagos as capital in December 1991, after 15 years of planning and construction. The city is located in a scenic valley of rolling grasslands in a relatively undeveloped, ethnically neutral area. Thus, planners hoped to create a national city where none of Nigeria's social and religious groups would be dominant. Government agencies began moving into the new capital in the early 1980s, as residential neighbourhoods were being developed in outlying areas. Abuja has an international airport and is accessible to other cities in Nigeria by a network of roads. Projections called for a population of more than 1 million early in the 21st century. Population 403,000 (1999 estimate).