Recalled staff: I’m not under political pressure, AMAC boss tells critics

Contrary to popular insinuation, the Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Abdullahi Adamu Candido, says he was never under intense political pressure to recall sacked political appointees just three days after their sack.

The AMAC chairman stated this in a statement by his Media aide, Mr. Dayo Lawal, adding that the power to hire and fire lies with the executive chairman of the council.

The Abuja Times recalls that the seven politically appointed councilors to oversee different sectors in the AMAC were relieved of their duties but were reappointed three days back into their various designations.

According to political pundits, the decision to recall sacked workers three days after issuance of sack letters exposes the confidence of the Chairman as political pressures from different quarters had forced the AMAC Chairman to recall the exact number of councilors sacked three days earlier.

Analysts had predicted a wrong move by the AMAC chairman, who wanted to change a cabinet, thereby falling a victim of destroying a political structure formed to topple the PDP in grabbing the FCT senatorial sit occupied by Senator Philip Tenimu Aduda.

The AMAC chairman earlier vowed to work for the APC to reclaim the only senatorial slot for the FCT back to the ruling party, the APC.

The position being held by Senator Philip Tenimu Aduda of PDP is already under threat with the decamping of Honourable Lukeman Zaphania Jizalo, who recently cross-carpeted from the opposition party, the PDP, to the ruling party, APC, ahead of the 2019 general election.

The Minister of FCT, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello, also on the recent decamping of Honourable Jizalo, celebrated the pre-election of 2019 for the FCT, which many has seen as possible realigning of APC political strategy to win the senatorial sit.

Meanwhile, the Chief Press Secretary to the AMAC chairman, Dayo Lawal, has said that what happened is not far from usual cabinet shake-up, adding that their replacements was to be announced later only for the same councilors to hurriedly returned, with some of them redeployed to different fields.

Lawal however brushed aside claims of his boss being under pressure, saying: “He can hire and fire. It is a cabinet reshuffle and that is all. Some of them did not go back to their previous posts; only two went back to their former positions.

Furthermore, he said: “No, that is permutation, or insinuation that does not exist. Oga (Candido) doesn’t work under pressure. He did it to strengthen his administration for better service.

“As a good administrator, from time to time, you appraise your governance, performance, then you energise, re-energise and reposition. Where you think that someone can work better, you take him there. The whole idea is to render improved services to the people”.

The recalled councilors include Mr. Gabriel O. Bravo, Supervisory Councilor, Health and Muhammed Dan’Azumi, Supervisory Councilor, Agriculture.

Others are Murtala Usman Karshi, Supervisory Councilor, Environment; Adamu Abari Supervisory Councilor, Finance and Investment; Engr. Ndidi Nwagba, Supervisory Councilor, Special Duties;

Mrs. Ramat Abisola Abdullahi, Supervisory Councilor, Education, Social Development; Adamu Jagaba, Supervisory Councilor for Works and Hajia Rakia Ibrahim, Special Adviser on Empowerment and Mobilisation and Hon. Charles Iheh, former supervisory councilor for Investment who has been redeployed to AMAC-IPDC.