Youths Protest Over Swearing-in Of Elected FCT Area Council Chairmen

There was confusion yesterday as youths organised a protest at the entrance gate of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) over the failure of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to swear-in the newly elected six area council chairmen of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

LEADERSHIP gathered that following the vacation of tenure extension for the outgoing chairmen of the area councils by an FCT High Court sitting in Kubwa yesterday, the elected chairmen and their supporters had converged at the FCDA, Area 11 for their swearing-in ceremony.

However, the minister of state for the FCT, Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, who was supposed to perform the ceremony was not seen.

This infuriated the entourage of the six area council chairmen, mostly Abuja natives, who insisted that the swearing-in ceremony of the chairmen must hold in line with the court order.

The protesters barricaded the entrance gate into the FCDA and prevented official activities in the area for several hours.

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Addressing newsmen during the protest, coordinator of the group, Yunusa Yusuf, warned that the youths would continue to protest pending when the newly elected chairmen of the six area councils are sworn-in in accordance to the court ruling.

Yusuf pleaded with the FCT minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello to immediately swear-in the chairmen as ordered by the FCT High Court to avoid more protest.

He said tension was growing among residents and indigenes of the FCT because of the failure to swear-in the chairmen.

It would be recalled that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Kubwa district under Justice Mohammed Ibrahim yesterday set aside the judgment given in favour of tenure elongation for the six FCT Area Council chairmen and their councilors elected in 2019 for a three-year tenure.

The court also ordered the immediate swearing-in of the newly elected chairmen and their councilors.