FCT Area Council Chairmen To Appeal Judgement Against Tenure Elongation

The lawyer representing the outgoing chairmen and councillors of the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Kalu Agu, said he is heading to the Appeal Court to challenge the judgement of an FCT High Court, which nullified a one-year tenure extension granted the chairmen and councilors, due to lack of jurisdiction.

Agu, who briefed newsmen in Abuja yesterday, noted that there are discrepancies and inconsistencies in the high court judgement that requires interpretation by an appeal court.

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Kubwa district and headed by Justice Mohammed Ibrahim had last Thursday set aside the judgement 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 FCT minister to immediately swear-in the newly elected chairmen and their councillors.

However, Agu called on the FCT minister not go ahead with the swearing-in ceremony until all legal issues have been concluded.

He said d: “As far as the FCT minister wants to rely on the court order to swear-in the new chairmen and councillors, I call on him to tread with caution and wait for proper legal interpretations on the matter. For instance, in the suit, the parties in the judgement which extended the tenure of the outgoing chairmen and councillors are different from the parties that are on ruling that set aside the judgement.

“So, the minister should stay action on the inauguration, pending when the matter is properly investigated, because it will be dangerous to go ahead and swear-in the new chairmen and councillors when the matter is still in court.”