The chairman of Bwari Area Council, John Shekwogaza Gabaya, said that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration under the leadership of Minister Nyesom Wike does not interfere with the distribution of allocations among the six council areas in the FCT.
Gabaya made this known while responding to questions from journalists on the sidelines of the People’s Assembly launch organised by Yiaga Africa and sponsored by the Open Society Foundation in Abuja yesterday.
The People’s Assembly is a platform where local government citizens and executives gather to discuss issues affecting the community.
The chairman, represented by the council’s secretary, Kadanya Eli Peter, stated, “Since the current administration took office, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory has not interfered with any funding to the local government and has also extended rural infrastructure to the area councils.”
He added, “The synergy between the FCT administration, the area councils, and the people of Bwari council is increasing daily. Just this year, we’ve had about three to four engagements with our people.”
“The reason we can implement policies that directly benefit the people is because local governments are independent. We receive our funds directly, and there’s no interference with our funding.
“In some states, common drainage, culverts, and other infrastructure cannot be handled by local governments.
However, here in Abuja, you can see local government chairmen embarking on road construction and other development projects that directly impact the people,” he said.
Yiaga Africa’s senior programmes officer on citizen engagement, Anthonia Onda, explained that deliberative democracy is one initiative the organisation is driving across local governments in different states in Nigeria.
She sees it as an opportunity for citizens to come together to discuss pressing issues and engage with their executives.
“These projects or issues can be addressed for the betterment of the citizens and everyone in the community,” she said.
Regarding the outcome of the meeting, Onda stated that “Participants will learn how to hold deliberative meetings in their various communities with their executives and develop resolutions.
“These resolutions will be presented to the executives and followed up on to ensure implementation.
“Yiaga Africa has established People’s Assemblies in different local governments, including Sokoto, Lagos, and Ekiti. The organisation is currently establishing them in 12 states, with Bwari area council being the third.’’
Regarding monitoring and evaluation, Onda explained that Yiaga Africa supports the assemblies in the various local governments they work with to host their own meetings and ensures they follow the necessary steps to achieve their goals.