Obstruction of FCT metropolitan officers to attract N.5m fine

This is contained in a bill currently under consideration by the House of Representatives Committee on FCT. At a public hearing on two bills and a motion in Abuja, the acting chairman of the committee, Sergius Ogun (PDP, Edo) said the metropolitan bill seeks to establish an agency that will ensure the functionality and aesthetic qualities of the FCT. On the second bill, which is on the establishment of the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), he said it seeks to create an agency that would coordinate activities related to disaster management, educate and inform the public on disaster prevention and control measures, among others. Declaring the hearing open, Speaker Yakubu Dogara said the FCT should have its structures and systems similar to those obtained in the 36 states of the federation as well as serve as a model for other states. A look at the metropolitan council bill showed that when established, the FCT Metropolitan Council shall be responsible for land use and control development in the FCT; design, control and provide parks, gardens and recreational facilities and their maintenance and control of advertisements. The council shall also perform other functions such as street naming and house numbering and general public facility management and maintenance. However, the bill provides that any person who willfully obstructs any authorized officer of the council in the discharge of the above powers or fails to comply with any lawful enquiry or requirements shall be guilty of an offence liable upon conviction to a fine not below N500,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two year or both. FCT Minister, Mohammed Musa Bello, and other stakeholders at the public hearing supported the two bills, saying they would go a long way in improving how things are done in the FCT.]]>