‘It’s wrong for AMAC natives to pay tenement rate’

The President of the Original Inhabitants Development Association (OIDA) of Abuja, Pastor Danladi Jeji, has berated Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) saying it is wrong for it to demand payment of tenement from indigenous people of the council.

Jeji stated this when he addressed newsmen in Abuja, on Wednesday, while reacting to the council’s bid to generate more revenue through the collection of tenement from property owners across the council.

“Besides, all the natives of AMAC are the land owners to which AMAC owes rent for the use of their land and AMAC and all FCT Municipal Area Councils should be paying a proportion of the rentals collected to the natives of the FCT,” he said.

He added that “AMAC is wrong to demand tenement rate from the original owners of AMAC land. Therefore, AMAC original inhabitants should not pay tenement rate. They/we are not tenants. We are the land owners,” he said.

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Pastor Danladi observed that the 2008 MDG’s communities studies have reported that AMAC had over 224 villages existing in 1913, before Nigerian amalgamation on 1st January, 1914.

He said since the over 224 AMAC villages are the original inhabitants of the territory, who are now referred to as the FCT, the natives become the autonomous owners of their land that the almighty creator gave them in perpetuity.

“And this truth is applicable to all Nigerian villages since 1st January 1914, before and after the Nigerian Amalgamation,” he said.

He said it was when any original inhabitant leaves the council to live in another 36 states of Nigeria, or anywhere in the world, that is when such a person would have to pay for a tenement rate.

“As we are living in our God-given native land” in AMAC council, we will not pay the tenement rate, hence, we demand that the council authorities should give our people taxes free certificates for all over 224 villages under AMAC,” the pastor added.

The OIDA, therefore, said the association had formally written to the AMAC authorities under the leadership of Hon Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, and also copied the FCT administration, FCT Mandate Secretary for Chieftaincy Affairs, President of the Middle Belt Forum, as well as the national coordinator of Conference of Autonomous Ethnic Nationalities Community Development Association over the matter.