“To my opponents- I call them my friends- I will forever love them because I have been together with them. I am not that type that will just forget. I will surely carry everyone along. So, I am pleading with them to come forward with whatever policy they have so that we can marry them and make sure that AMAC is great.”- Chairman-elect, Honourable Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, February 13, 2022.
Politically speaking, February 13 to June 14, 2022, when Honourable Christopher Zakka Maikalangu was sworn-in as the Chairman of Abuja Municipal Council (AMAC), may be regarded as the most hectic in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in general and AMAC in particular. Elections took place in the six area councils of FCT on February 12, 2022. Expectedly, the contest was between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), APGA and others. APC won three of the six area councils of Kwali, Gwagwalada and Abaji, while PDP won in AMAC, Bwari and Kuje; leaving other parties with nothing.
The event leading to the election was characterised by a lot of drama in the ruling party. Two factions squared up to themselves in APC. The faction led by the then chairman, Hon. Adamu Candido, and the other belonging to Yakubu Karshi were on each other’s throat till the last minute when the Supreme Court ruled that Muritala Karshi was the authentic APC candidate. Suleiman Gwagwa, aka, Bigi, had emerged as the candidate of Candido in the primary of APC, and Karshi challenged Bigi’s victory in court. He got judgment at lower court. With that court victory, APC had two chairmanship candidates in Gwagwa and Karshi. Meanwhile, both men were campaigning for the same post under APC. Gwagwa appealed Karshi’s victory at the lower court and won. Karshi approached the Supreme Court. The apex court toed the line of high court and pronounced Muritala Karshi the authentic candidate of APC, effectively shutting Gwagwa out.
While APC was in turmoil on the issue of who was the authentic candidate, PDP, in a rancour free primary, produced Hon Christopher Zakka Maikalangu as its candidate. He ran an issue based campaign and won the hearts of the people of AMAC. It was not surprising to political pundits when Maikalangu, by a landslide, defeated Karshi to become the chairman-elect in the council on February 13, 2022. Two factors made Zakka Maikalangu’s victory possible. The first was the popularity he enjoyed. The second was the sharp division in APC. Political analysts believed the contest would have been fierce were it not for the crisis in APC.
They are of the view that power of incumbency would have worked for them if there were no factions in the party. They believe that PDP would have still won even with the power of incumbency.
Before Zakka Maikalangu and PDP could say Jack Robbinson, a storm emanated from nowhere. The outgoing chairmen and councilors in the six area councils went to court and on May 18, 2022, stopped the swearing-in of the newly elected chairmen and councilors on the ground that their tenure was still on, in line with 2022 Electoral Act. They argued that the Electoral Act harmonised the tenure of chairmen and councilors in FCT with that of president, governors and national/state assemblies tenure; and so they are entitled to one more year in office.
The court of first instance actually stopped the swearing-in of Zakka Maikalangu and other elected chairmen in FCT. The court order almost threw FCT into crisis, as protests took over. The FCT minister was even accused of working to truncate orderly transfer of power in FCT, but events later proved that the minister was not against power transfer. He merely obeyed court order and took steps to vacate it. So, on June 10, 2022, the same court vacated the order, paving the way for the swearing-in of Zakka Maikalangu and other chairmen in FCT on June 14, 2022.
Now that distraction is over in AMAC, Zakka Maikalangu should be magnanimous in victory. He should run inclusive government, this will enable him consolidate his hold on power in the area council. It will win him more converts from opposition parties in AMAC. Good enough, the chairman has set a tall agenda for himself in the council. It is notable that on July 4, 2022, Zakka Maikalangu disclosed that his administration will be anchored on integrity, transparency and accountability.
For avoidance of doubt, here is vintage Maikalangu: “As a divine leader who has come to lead my great people of AMAC to greatness, I do have it at the back of my mindset that I will be a council chairman that will serve the common interest of my people and act above board at all times. My office and that of my entire cabinet members must not be deficient in matters of transparency and integrity.
“The media office will always present the quintessential of this administration’s scorecard without ambiguity – no deceits; no embellishments to make small things look big, and no deliberate misapplication of credits. Rest assured that each project will be proofed by picture and proper captions indicating its location, circumstances and/or event.
“That way, those who may wish to verify are availed, on face value, basic information that will assist and make their verification quest easy. We do this because we are conversant with the fact that the easiest way to cover-up deliberate lies is to put out things that never be as if it is there to the reading public”.
Although, it is too early in the day, to assign any milestone to Zakka Maikalangu in AMAC, but the steps he has taken so far are encouraging and reassuring. This writer is particularly pleased to see genuine inclusiveness in the appointment made by the chairman. On August 31, 2022, history was made when Maikalangu appointed one Mr. Kaurs Wakili Joseph as the Special Assistant on Disability Matters in AMAC. The appointment shows that the chairman is, indeed, a leader for all!
Following the August 10, 2022 dissolution of the revenue board, aimed at addressing the dwindling fortunes of the council administration; and to mobilise resources to ensure speedy execution of projects in the council, the council doubled down on its warning to taxpayers against payment into private accounts on November 9, 2022.
The chairman said: “Recall that on 5th October 2022, I announced the dissolution of technical partners hired by past administrations as a result of poor service delivery and other issues connected thereto. Today, I wish to further announce to the general public, especially, our clients and citizens that the area council will, from this moment, resume revenue collection in line with the provisions of the 4th schedule of the Nigerian constitution.
“Therefore, it is my pleasure to formally instruct the revenue department to get to work immediately. This is to say that our agents will soon be issuing demand notices to our clients in line with our renewed efforts to redeem all legitimate outstanding fees and rates due to AMAC. To avoid the pitfalls of the past, I want to enjoin the general public never to contemplate or yield to the temptation of making cash payments whatsoever. I wish to warn that anyone that falls into the trap of criminal elements by making cash payments or, making any payment in an account that is not officially opened by AMAC, must be ready to pay twice.” With the reassuring massage from the chairman, it appears the era of revenue leakage in the council is gone for good.
All said and done, Zakka Maikalangu must put his ears on ground in terms finding out the problems the good people of AMAC are going through at any point in time. Very important! One good way of doing this is to appoint a special assistant to the chairman on Human Rights Radio matters (Brekete Family). The SA in question may be made to be a member of Brekete Family. His job may include gathering information on AMAC from the radio station, and forwarding it to the chairman via the special duty councilor for action. This type of feedback is very necessary in the council. The last administration in AMAC was accused of being insensitive to the plight of taxi drivers and other vehicle owners in the council, as all kinds of people were allowed to harass motorists, in the name of collecting daily revenue, etc.
With the bold steps taken by Zakka Maikalangu, it is hoped that the tempo will be sustained and tangibly transformed to the benefit of all in AMAC. The chairman, on his honour, is duty bound to always bear in mind, the comment he made when he was declared chairman-elect of AMAC on February 13, 2022.
Oraetoka, information management consultant and researcher, writes from Abuja via [email protected], 08056031187 09039094636
