The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has cautioned the 17 graded chiefs and other district heads to stay away from partisan politics as the country moves towards the 2023 general elections.
The warning was given by the mandate secretary, area councils services secretariat, Hon. Ibrahim Abubakar Dantsoho, during a meeting with all graded chiefs held in his office.
Dantsoho, who said the meeting was on the directive of the FCT minister of state, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, said the warning had become imperative because of alleged comments from some traditional rulers.
He stated that the traditional rulers should be fathers to all candidates aspiring for political offices, stressing that as custodians of traditional values and norms, they should stay away from partisan politics.
“I know many politicians will be coming to your palaces to seek royal blessings and there is nothing wrong with such visits. However, you should not use your God-given position to overtly or covertly campaign for any political party. You should also guide against certain utterances that can overheat the polity.
“I know as humans, you have the constitutional right to support any party of your choice, but you are not expected to show it openly because of your fatherly role in society. The FCT Administration is doing its best, and we should all work together so that we can all be on the same page,” he said.
He also used the occasion to task traditional rulers to beef up security in their respective domains, just as he acknowledged pockets of security challenges in some selected chiefdoms.
The mandate secretary assured the traditional rulers that the Administration was doing everything possible to upgrade those who deserved to be upgraded, adding that plans are on top gear to provide utility vehicles to some of the graded chiefs in hard-to-reach communities.
In their separate responses, the traditional rulers pledged to support the FCT Administration towards a successful and peaceful election come 2023.
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