The new chairmen and councillors of the six area council of Abuja who were elected on February 12, will now been sworn in on June 14.
The FCT High Court has set aside its earlier judgement barring the Federal Capital Territory minister, Mohammed Bello, from inaugurating the newly elected council chairmen and councils.
In its May 13 judgement, the court had granted a one year extension to the outgoing chairmen and councillors of the six FCT Area Councils, thereby leading to the suspension of the May 19 inauguration ceremony of the newly elected council chairmen.
In protest to the FCT Minister’s compliance with the ruling, supporters of the six chairmen and 62 councillors on February 12 took to the streets and highways within Abuja to express their grievances.
PREMIUM TIMES reported Mr Bello’s defence and how he said his decision not to inaugurate the elected executives were backed by the court order.
Admitting to his mistake vacated his first judgment, Justice Ibrahim Mohammed, on Thursday, ordered that newly directed that the new area council chairmen who were elected and issued certificates of return be sworn-in with immediate effect.
In compliance with the new judgement, the minister, in a statement issued on Friday after obtaining a copy of the verdict, slated the inauguration for June 14.
“We want to reiterate that as a law-abiding organisation, the FCTA will equally obey this new judgement just as it had complied with the earlier judgement. The Chairmen shall accordingly be inaugurated at 10:00hrs prompt on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Further details will be provided in due course.
“Residents are once again reminded that the FCT is a creation of law and all actions of the FCT Administration are guided by the rule of law and this case will not be an exception,” the ministry’s spokesperson, Anthony Ogunleye, said the statement.