FCT Minister, Muhammad Musa Bello, has suspended the inauguration of the newly elected six Area Council Chairmen of the Federal Capital Territory.

Bello said the suspension of the inauguration became necessary following the court judgment in Abuja which directed the FCT Administration to suspend the chairmen’s inauguration.

The minister made this known via a statement he personally issued and made available to The Star on Thursday.

The chairmen were earlier scheduled to be inaugurated on Friday, May 20, 2022, as the tenure of the current chairmen ends on Thursday (today).

Bello stated: “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.

“So, 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.

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“Also, as an administration that is very conscious of the need to abide by the rule of law, even though we are not satisfied with the judgment of the court, we have no option but to comply.

“While complying, we are 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.

“In the interim, therefore, we are very conscious of the fact that the stand of the court has raised a lot of concerns within certain sections of the Federal Capital Territory residents. I wish to appeal to everyone to be calm, to be law-abiding, and to await the outcome of the legal processes,” the minister stated.

He noted at the end of the court processes, the clear direction of what needs to be done would be clearly stated, saying the FCT Administration, would do the needful.

The Star