Emma Ugboaja
19th February, 2025.

Members of the 10th National Assembly elected across party lines today pledged to collaborate and support the Public Complaints Commission in the Federal Capital Territory towards achieving it’s mandate of enthronement of administrative justice and good governance in the Federal Capital Territory.

From Senator Ireti Kingibe representing the FCT to Hon Chinedu Obika and Hon. Andulrahman Turaki representing Bwari/Abuja Municipal Area Council and Abuja South Federal Constituency in the House of Representative respectively, the legislators were united in welcoming the opportunity provided by the Federal Capital Territory Ombudsman, Hon. Musa Dikko to collaborate and tackle the major challenges of social injustice affecting the FCT indigenous people, residents and communities.

Speaking during individual courtesy visits to the various offices of the legislators today, Hon. Musa Dikko advocated for support for the Public Complaints Commission in the Federal Capital Territory to enable it confront the challenges of fulfilling its mandate even as it is faced with challenges of poor funding, lack of working tools, low staff motivation and that of tackling the issues of curbing restivemess arising from inhabitants relocation and compensation in FCT.

The FCT Ombudsman accompanied by FCT State Director, Mrs Irene Chuka Ogbogu and other staff of the Commission also noted that the visit is to present his score card within the three months he has been in the saddle as FCT Commissioner of the Public Complaints Commission and disclosed that within the period, the Commission under him in FCT has received more than 8,000 complaints, resolved more than half of these cases while about 3, 500 cases mainly bothering on citizen’s rights to fair compensation, construction and electricity distribution companies activities are yet to be resolved.

To this end, Musa Dikko revealed that PCC is meeting and following up with construction companies operating in FCT, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, District Heads of communities and traditional institutions to see how dialogue other than strife and litigations can be used to settle issues and called on the legislators to engage the Commission in any challenge that arises within their constituencies.

Responding, while Senator Ireti Kingibe bemoaned the situation where while the population of Abuja has grown to about 5 million inhabitants, institutions and infrastructure that should make the city function like a modern city state are non existent, and noted that she understand why PCC is having so much complaints as “while people are continually challenged, PCC will have more complaints”.

On his part, Hon. Chinedu Obika noting that the Commission is so important to the people praised the National Assembly for appointing one close to the grassroot as Commissioner in the FCT to effectively tackle the major issues affecting the people..

While disclosing that issues bothering on the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and the treatment being meted out to its consumers are of interest to his office he wondered why AEDC will not fund it’s business but rather communities will continue to provide it’s own transformers thereby funding the electricity distribution company that also give them exorbitant bills.
He called for collaboration between his office and the PCC FCT to visit and checkmate crush rock companies operating in FCT who have refused to follow international best practices in their operations.

While Hon Turaki representing Abuja South Federal Constituency appreciated the challenges facing the Commission, he called on the leadership of PCC to think outside the box, act within it’s enabling laws to overcome it’s funding challenges.

He also appreciated the visit and expressed optimism that the synergy between the Commission in FCT and the members of the National Assembly is very important to birth a new dawn for the Commission and the people of Federal Capital Territory.

The visits saw the donation of a Solar Light generating set for the Commission in FCT by Hon. Chinedu Obika while both Senator Kingibe and Hon Turaki promised to assist the Commission in tackling their infrastructural and funding challenges.

The State Director Investigation’s FCT in her remarks, thanked the legislators for their support and commitments towards the issues confronting the Commission and their constituencies and, prayed for the success of the collaboration

The visits are in continuation of the FCT PCC engagements with relevant stakeholders towards creating awareness of it’s activities, building peoples and organizational trust and confidence in the Commission’s ability to effectively tackle the challenges of social injustice within the FCT.

Picture credit: Alex Akinyele