By Daniel Tyokua
Few hours to the official swearing – in of the newly elected chairmen and councilors of the Six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory, the minister has suspended the inauguration following a court ruling.
The chairmen whose tenures elapse today (May 19, 2022) based on the 2010 Electoral Act that stipulates three years tenure for elected council chairmen and ward councils.
However, a ruling by a High court in the FCT had directed the administration to suspend the inauguration based on the recently signed Electoral Act of 2022, which stated that the tenure of office of the chairmen of the area councils in FCT would now be four years instead of three
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The Minister of the FCT Malam Muhammad Bello, in a statement on Thursday, said though not satisfied with the judgment, the administration will honour the court ruling as a “law-abiding government.”
The statement which was signed by the minister himself reads in part, ” A few days ago, we received communication of a judgment by a court in the Federal Capital Territory directing us to suspend the inauguration of the new chairmen, based on the fact that the current chairmen’s tenure would end today, 19th May 2022.
“According to the judgment, based on the recently signed Electoral Act of 2022, which stipulates that the tenure of office of the chairmen of the area councils in FCT would now be four years instead of three years, the existing chairmen whose tenure were meant to expire or end today, have another one year to continue, based on the new law.”
The minister further added that, “As a law-abiding government, the FCT Administration has no option than to suspend the planned inauguration of the six area council chairmen of the Federal Capital Territory who were duly elected some weeks ago as a result of this injunction of the court.
While complying to the judgment, the minister said the administration is also making efforts to vacate the judgment, “and if need arises, to appeal the judgment, so that the correct position of the law will be determined by the legal processes.”
The minister appealed to residents of the territory to remain calm and law abiding and to await the outcome of the legal processes.
“FCT is a creation of law. The FCT has always been known to be a place of unity, peace and good governance and populated by law abiding residents. Please let us continue the way we are and await the court processes. At the end of the court processes, the clear direction of what needs to be done would be clearly stated and then as an administration, we will do the needful,” he stressed.
