Tenement
By Bukola Adewumi
Abuja, May 17, 2018 (NAN) Residents of Abuja Municipal Area Council ( AMAC) have accused authorities of the council of violating court order over payment of tenement rates.
Some of the residents who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja berated the council over the development.
Mr Abdullahi Musa, a landlord at the Maitama area, told NAN that instead of collecting the rates, AMAC should heed the court order restraining it from going ahead with the collection.
NAN recalls that an Abuja High Court had on April 17, passed a judgment that it was illegal for the six area councils, to collect tenement rates.
Musa called on the appropriate authority to caution the management of AMAC to henceforth stop collecting the rates.
He noted that since the court was the last hope of the commonman, the council should be magnanimous enough to accept the verdict of the court, or appeal the judgment.
Similarly, Mrs Judith Eze, a resident within the AMAC said that since the court had made pronouncements against collection of the rates, AMAC should toe the path of honour by obeying the law.
Another resident, Mrs Alice Atinuke, also a resident within the AMAC, cautioned the council on the act, adding that the council should explore possible means to resolve the issue.
She said that the collection of tenement rates would have additional burden on the residents and called on the management of AMAC to look for other channels of generating revenue.
Meanwhile, Mr Abdullahi Adamu Candido, AMAC Chairman, told NAN that there was an earlier judgment by the Court of Appeal, Abuja in May 2014, in favour of area councils on the matter.
“Any other judgment delivered by the High Court in FCT on tenement rate collection contrary to the position of the Court of Appeal, in the above case will not operate.
“We hereby state categorically that we are a council that is law abiding and will at all times respect constituted and judicial authorities in their order.
“We hereby, appeal to the general public, especially property owners within the council to continue in the exercise of their civic responsibilities by paying their tenement rates to the council’s authority and also disregard any misleading court ruling,” he said. (NAN)
BOL/VOE/GY
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Edited by Vivian Emoni/Grace Yussuf