By Baba Yusuf
Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) and its stakeholders have called on the National Assembly and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to expedite action on the processes that would enable the Council to continue its right of collecting tenement rates and other revenues.
Chairman of the Council, Hon. Abdullahi Adamu Candido, and other stakeholders made the call at the weekend during a Town Hall meeting to mark his one-year anniversary in office.
He said: “We believe in the rule of law and shall continue to defend the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, especially as it relates to collection of revenue as stipulated by the constitution.
“Despite the mega allocation given to me administration, we introduced some vital structural reforms to boost our revenue generation and to ensure proper channels of monies being generated by the Council.
“In this administration, we floated two companies, Abuja Municipal Area Council Investment and Property Development Company Limited and AMAC Marshal Guards Limited.”
Speaking in the same vein, a stakeholder, Senator Jibrin Wowa, said: “In spite of the mega allocation that the area councils have been receiving, it is our duty to do our best as members representing them in NASS to make sure they give them enabling laws that would generate revenue to the area councils so that they can work effectively for the people.”
Also speaking, an APC Chieftain, Tanko Abari, called on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to give bailout to area councils’ chairmen to enable them to pay salaries just President Muhammadu Buhari had done for the states.
In his remarks, a member of the House of Representatives, representing AMAC/Bwari federal constituency and former chairman of AMAC, Hon. Zephaniah Jisalo, commended the AMAC chairman for “his development strides within one year in office,” adding that he would continue to support the chairman in his quest for success.
