Abaji Area Council, the farthest area council to the city centre, occupies about 1,100 square kilometres. As a gateway to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), some residents say there is need for it to be developed to give a good impression of what to see in the territory.
The area council, made up of Abaji and Yaba Development Areas, was created in 1986 and from the 2006 population census has a population of over 46, 600 inhabitants.
With 10 wards, the council is bedeviled with many developmental challenges, ranging from lack of electricity, insufficient potable water and lack of good roads. The residents, on many occasions, have cited the distance to the city centre as contributory factor to their backwardness compared with other area councils.
“The council is not only far from the city in terms of distance but also in terms of development,” said Hussein Joseph, a resident. This also tells on the amount allocated to the area council by the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC). Of the six area councils in the territory, the area council has the least allocation.
From the documents obtained by Aso Chronicle between January and July 2014, FAAC allocated a total of N2, 017, 072, 585.15 to the area council. In January, it was N309, 907, 449.34; N275, 908, 425. 17 in February and in March it was N269, 084, 319.06.
In April, N299,609,474. 94 was allocated to the council N309,047,833.58 in May and N291,630,335. 05 in June.For the month of July, 2014 the area council was allocated N261, 884, 748.01.
The area council’s Information Officer, Alhaji Ismaila Suleiman, expatiated on the allocation, saying from the FAAC it goes directly to the Joint Accounts Allocation Committee (JAAC) which does the disbursement to the area council after making some statutory deductions.
He said part of the allocation goes to the Local Education Authority for teachers’ salary, “And there are other statutory deductions like the pension fund, one percent for staff training and things like that.” He then directed our reporter to JAAC for the actual amount received by the area council.
With the total allocation from FAAC, Abaji Area Council headed by Alhaji Yahaya Garba Gawu, has been at the forefront of developmental projects in tandem with the mission of the area council to open and develop it to be comparable to Abuja municipal area.
In 2014, the council said it distributed the sum of N9 million as scholarship awards to indigent students of the area council in various tertiary institutions across the country.
Alhaji Suleiman said the area council has been prudent in utilising what is allocated to it. “The chairman strives to ensure that he put one or two things in place,” he added.
The efforts show the commitment of the council to encouraging education and it is reflected in other sectors with the monarch and other dignitaries helping on many occasions.
Notable among these is the committee set up by the Ona of Abaji and Chairman, Council of Traditional Rulers in the Federal Capital Territory, Alhaji Adamu Baba Yunusa, on to alleviating poverty in the area council.
Also, Alhaji Suleiman said the council recently awarded contract for the construction of some roads and embarked on other projects to better the lives of the residents.
While the council has tried in responding to the needs of the residents from what it was allocated, more seems to be desired by the residents predominantly Egbira, Ganagana, Gbagyi and Bassa.
In Rimba Gwari, a community in the area council, Aso Chronicle learnt that the deplorable state of the road leading to the community has been affecting the economic activities of residents. The residents, majorly farmers, find it difficult to take their produce to markets.
Unlike Rimba residents, lack of potable water poses a threat to the health of Pandagi residents. They drink from streams, which they said is hygienic enough to drink.
They said they are left with no option, adding that potable water is a luxury in the community.
The residents of Ayaura, along Agyana road, another community in the council are on the brink of losing their houses barring intervention from the government.
A gully erosion ravaging the community has claimed lives and property with no assistance seems in view. With every rainy season, the residents draw closer to losing what they had garnered over the years. The erosion threatening the residents has been affecting the area for over 12 years. Already many houses have collapsed.
A resident, Ibrahim Attahiru, said the wall of his house has cracked while the soak away is about giving way because of the erosion, adding that if left to continue, the erosion could also affect the road leading to the Abaji University of Technology.
In Manderegi community in the area council, lack of power supply threatens health service delivery. A worker at the health centre in the community, Agnes Jeremiah, said the clinic has been without electricity since it was established.
Due to lack of electricity at the centre, workers said working at night was very difficult.
During emergencies, like child birth occurring at night, the workers said they have no option but use a lantern while usage of essential health facilities is also denied.
He said residents now go to Abaji town to buy prescribed drugs, adding that such trips worsen the health situation of sick residents.
