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Akinjide charges FCT chairmen, Councilors on good governance, accountability

By on July 16, 2013

Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide1

The Honourable Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, on Tuesday, charged the chairmen and councillors of the six Area Councils in the territory to embrace good governance and accountability.

She gave the advice in Minna, Niger State while declaring open a three-day re-orientation retreat organised by the FCT Administration for the chairmen and senior officials of the area councils on good governance and imperatives of compliance with extant rules and regulations on the operations of public service.

Residents of the FCT had on March 16, 2013 gone to the polls to elect or revalidate chairmen of Area Councils. The chairmen, who were sworn in on May 20, 2013, include: Hon. Yohanna Peter Ushafa of Bwari Area Council, who was elected under the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Hon. Micah Jiba of Abuja Municipal Area Council (PDP) and Hon. Yahaya Garba Gawu of Abaji Area Council (PDP).

Others are: Hon. Abubakar Jibrin Giri of Gwagwalada Area Council (ANPP); Hon. Ishyaku Tete Shaban of Kuje Area Council (PDP) and Hon. Daniel Ibrahim of Kwali Area Council (PDP).

The FCT Minister of State, who was represented by her Special Assistant on Legal, Mr. Richmond Akpalanta, urged the chairmen and councillors to see their victory at the polls as a beginning but not an end.

“The electorate is very hopeful that your emergence will bring about positive impacts in their lives. They want to see roads built to enable them bring their crops to the markets; health centres constructed, to heal them when they are sick; and their environment cleaned, to stem epidemics and make their communities livable, among others.

“All these can only be achieved when we embrace the principles of good governance which entails accountability, transparency and participation. It underscores the basic fact that governance is not a secret business, the rules of engagement must be clear and that the people must be taken along all the way,” said Akinjide, who oversees the Area Councils and Satellite Towns in the FCT.

She urged the elected officials at the third-tier level of government to acquaint themselves with the relevant extant rules and regulations governing the conduct of government business.

“The necessity for the observance of the Procurement Act as well as other Fiscal Responsibility measures, are not choices but imperatives. These, of course, will determine how you will return to the people at the end of the day to present your score cards in the next round of elections,” she added.

Signed:

Oluyinka Akintunde
Special Assistant (Media & Publicity) to the Hon. Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory
16th July, 2013