Bill introduced in the legislature to extend the term of the chairmen of the FCT council to four years

A bill has been introduced in the legislature to extend the term of the chairmen of the FCT council to four years.

A plan that would extend the term of area council chairmen in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from three to four years could become law before the February 2022 council elections.

Alhaji AlHassan Sokodabo, a member of the House of Representatives representing the FCT’s Abaji/Kwali/Gwagwalada/Kuje Federal Constituency, indicated that the project was developed to give third-tier government workers ample time to execute services.

He also stated that the bill aims to align the period for electing political leaders at the local level with that of the National Assembly elections in order to relieve the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] of the burden of planning and conducting area council elections following federal elections.

“At the National Assembly, we are trying to extend the tenure of area council chairmen from three to four years, so that they do not continue to moan about a lack of time to deliver democratic dividends to our people.

“Even the election schedule for the elections that follow other federal elections will be harmonised to coincide with our own election date,” the parliamentarian revealed.
During the recently concluded Eid-el-Kabir holidays, Alhaji AlHassan Sokodabo made the disclosure while chatting with newsmen in Abaji.

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He also praised the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] parliamentarians’ stance on the contentious electoral bill modification, particularly as it relates to the electronic transmission of results, noting that the party’s position on the issue was adopted by every PDP delegate in the National Assembly.

Sokodabo urged the three levels of government to review the country’s outdated environmental legislation to ensure that culverts are cleared of debris and sand, which prevents water from flowing freely, and that the materials are removed to prevent them from re-entering the gutters.
“Only in Nigeria will people be paid to clean waste matter from culverts, and the materials taken will be left at the mouth or edge of the gutters, where the waste stuff will quickly return to the gutter that was cleared,” he stated.