Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Some indigenous people of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, and a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Civil Society for Human Right and Rehabilitation, have dragged the Chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Abdullahi Adamu Candido, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) respectively, over alleged financial misappropriation.
Recall that last week, aggrieved indigenes of FCT shut down AMAC headquarters at Garki, Area 10, Abuja, in protest. Armed with placards bearing different inscriptions, the protesters accused Candido of misappropriating over N19 billion Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and federal allocation to AMAC and other maladministration.
Spokesperson of the NGO, Yunusa Yusuf, who submitted the petition to EFCC and ICPC, told journalists at a press conference in Abuja, on Thursday, that their actions was necessitated by the need for accountability and good governance that would herald greater socioeconomic growth and development of the people.
The Group, in the petition accused him of abuse of office, breach of trust and shoddy financial dealings amongst others.
They alleged that AMAC Chairman allegedly engaged in financial misappropriation using his wife’s company, which has greatly affected transparency and accountability in Council activities.
The Group spokeman said: “The amount of money accrued to AMAC as a Council in past few years is more than what some states have received, but the Council could not account for it, hence our decision to invite EFCC and ICPC into the matter.
“We, the FCT indigenes, have also petitioned the AMAC Council Legislature for urgent action. We are happy that they have summoned the Chairman to appear before it for questioning. We demand that he explain what he has done with the revenue collected so far.”
Meanwhile, the Council Chairman, Candido, who addressed journalists on the matter, described as tissues of lies and imaginary fabrication, the allegation that AMAC received N19 billion, N13 billion from Federal allocation and N6 billion from IGR.
He rather explained that the Council earned N9 billion, within the period under review which according to him, N6.1 billion was committed to staff salaries and entitlements, and the balance was channeled to developmental projects.
He said: “While some of the projects have attain 100 percent completions and awaiting commissioning, others are at different levels of completion.”
He commended the members of the civil society organisation for the peaceful manner they conducted themselves during the protest. He berated them for not being in possession of facts and figures, while describing their efforts a futile voyage into oblivion.