Protests Rock Abuja over Suspension of Inauguration of FCT Area Council Chairmen

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

Aggrieved supporters of some of the elected Federal Capital Territory Area Council chairmen yesterday protested in many parts of Abuja against the suspension of the swearing-in ceremony of new area council chairmen earlier scheduled for yesterday.

The protest was sequel to the decision of the FCT Minister, Mohammed Musa Bello to comply with a court judgment on the recently signed Electoral Act of 2022, which stipulated that the tenure of office of the chairmen of the Area Councils in FCT would now be four years instead of three years.

The protesters, bearing various placards, barricaded the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) office in Area 10 asking AMAC chairman, Abdulahi Adamu Candido, who benefited from the extended tenure to step down.

They later stormed the FCTA Secretariat at Area 11 and tried to force their way to the minister’s office, but met stiff resistance from the security personnel who cordoned off the premises.

The protest at the FCTA Secretariat for several hours grounded activities at the secretariat as workers and visitors could not enter or exit the premises.

The FCT Minister had on Thursday suspended the inauguration of the six Area Council chairmen after the expiration of the tenure of the existing chairmen on Wednesday.

In a statement to rationalise the action, the minister said that the existing chairmen who were elected under the 2010 Electoral Act and whose tenure was meant to expire or end on May 19, 2022 now have another one year to continue, based on the new law.

He said the administration was very conscious of the need to abide by the rule of law, even though it was dissatisfied with the judgment of the court.