‘We Have Good Working Relationship With FCTA,’ Says Council Chairmen
The Area Council Services Secretariat and the six Area Council Chairmen in the Federal Capital Territory have denied media reports that the councils’ authorities were making decisions and enforcing policies without contacting higher authorities.
According to the reports, area council chairmen make decisions without consulting the Minister of State’s office, which oversees the councils’ activities and other auxiliary concerns, or FCT lawmakers in the National Assembly, who oversee the FCT Administration.
However, in a fast response, both the area council and the FCT Area Council Services Secretariat condemned the claims as malicious and a deliberate attempt to pit area council chairs against the FCT Minister of State’s office and National Assembly deputies.
Mischief makers and political adversaries are set on sowing seeds of conflict between the office of the Minister of State and the council chairmen, according to a joint press statement issued by the six area council chairmen and the FCT Area Council Services Secretariat.
Abdullahi Adamu Candido, the chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council, who signed on behalf of the council chairmen said; “our attention has been drawn to a news item trending in both traditional and social media platforms orchestrated by some disgruntled characters. Ordinarily, the authorities of the area councils would have ignored the entire report and remain taciturn, but silent is consent.
The statement read in bits; “The publication is a desperate attempt to plant seed of discord between Her Excellency and the council chairmen and must not be allowed to stay. We will not take her motherly love for granted. We are very loyal to her and have never had it so good till her coming. Therefore, nobody should disturb this peace.
“If reporters or media organisations have personal issue with any chairman, they should go and settle their matters, and not drag other council’s chairmen into it by discrediting the entire body. We should be rational on issues and not be laced with emotions or ignorance on matters that often times we know nothing about.
“We are therefore, calling on our people to disregard the malicious publication aimed at overheating the system. We will not be deter in carrying out our constitutional mandates of providing welfare and security to our people”.
The council authorities also pledged their loyalty to representatives of the National Assembly who oversight the activities and workings of the FCT Administration, stressing that no amount of cheap blackmail would deter them from working for the common good of rural communities.
According to him, “we are not just loyal to Her Excellency, the FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, but also to our esteemed representatives at the National Assembly. As area council heads, we cannot work in silos if we must deliver dividends of democracy to our residents.
On her part, the Ag. Secretary FCT Area Council Services Secretariat, Mrs. Omolola Olanipekun, also discredited the report, affirming that both the Area Council and the secretariat are having a harmonious relationship in driving the policies of the administration.
“To state the obvious, the secretariat is amazed at the immeasurable phew of the reporters and its sponsors in conjuring events and hallucinating conversations that are not related to the subject matter. They could be best described as an indefatigable genius in dishing out tissues of lies.
“And to set the records straight, let me state categorically here that, we enjoy harmonious relationship with the six area councils in the territory. We advice them to please carryout their individual background checks on the activities of these revered bodies with the able supervision of the Honourable Minister of State”, she added.
