We’re not responsible for suspension of council chairmen’s inauguration – FCTA

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has distanced the administration from the suspension of the inauguration of the six newly-elected area council chairmen and councillors earlier scheduled for May 20 this year. He spoke on Thursday while featuring at the weekly ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communication Team […]

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has distanced the administration from the suspension of the inauguration of the six newly-elected area council chairmen and councillors earlier scheduled for May 20 this year.

He spoke on Thursday while featuring at the weekly ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communication Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The minister again said the postponement was due to a court judgment, directing the administration to suspend the inauguration of the new chairmen.

He said the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is waiting for the outcome of the ongoing cases and would respect the court’s position on the matter.  

When asked for an update on the fate of the new council chairmen, considering speculation that the election outcome favoured the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he said: “With regards to the area council elections that took place and the court cases, I want to emphatically say that obviously, for those of you who know me, I follow the rule of law. And this government is a government of rule of law. 

“So, you can be rest assured that the FCTA has nothing to do with the court case at all.

“And like any election, there are those who feel aggrieved. So, they went to court, and the court gave a judgement and as a law-abiding government, we honoured the court judgment and that’s a natural thing to do.

“I think it is unthinkable for me as a sitting minister of the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2022 to flout a court judgment. It doesn’t make sense.”

The tenure of the outgoing chairmen expired on Thursday, May 19 but Justice Ibrahim Mohammed of FCT High Court ordered that their tenure should be extended by one year in line with the Electoral Act 2022.

The act stipulates that the tenure of the chairman of FCT Area Councils would now be four years instead of three.