The Nation Newspaper

Category: Abuja Review

  • Bala urges prayers against insurgency

    Bala urges prayers against insurgency

    Prayer has come up again as one veritable weapon with which to defeat insurgents who have destabilised the Northeast of the country and continue to cause the nation’s leadership and the entire citizens much worry.

    Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed called on Nigerians, especially religious leaders, to offer prayers so that the nation will overcome the daunting challenges posed by insecurity in some parts of the country and ensure continued peace and stability.

    Senator Mohammed gave the advice while declaring open the National Executive Committee meeting of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Lugbe, Abuja.

    Insurgents have caused much havoc in many parts of the country, especially the North, including the FCT. Their bombs have killed  many, wrecked houses, worship centres and altered the economy of the North and the people’s lifestyle.

    The Minister who was represented at the occasion by the FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr. John Chukwu recognised the importance and inestimable contributions of the Christian Association of Nigeria to the development and growth of Nigerian state through fervent prayers, useful suggestions and constructive advice.

    His words: “It is against this backdrop that we expect CAN to, among other things, utilise the platform offered by this meeting for a sober reflection and mediation on the state of the sation”.

    He said, “Nigeria needs your prayers to overcome the daunting challenges posed by insecurity in some parts of the country so as to ensure continued peace and stability.”

    Mohammed reminded the religious leaders to also pray for Nigeria as the country is at the threshold of another political transition in a few months from now, adding that “your prayers and advice to ensure a peaceful electoral process are most needed at this moment”.

    While remarking that religious organisations remain one of the most potent channels of sensitisation and mobilisation, he admonished CAN and other religious bodies to help in the sensitization of their faithful on the need to eschew violence and maintain a culture of peaceful co-existence.

    The Minister assured that the FCT Administration on its part would continue to provide the required infrastructure and services to make Abuja a world-class city as envisaged by its founding fathers.

    Speaking earlier, the President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor said “what is happening in the North East is totally unacceptable to us”.

    Also speaking at the occasion, the Chairman of the FCT CAN, Rev. Israel Akanji appreciated the FCT Administration, particularly the FCT Minister for his uncommon effort to raise the standard of living of the residents of the Territory.

    The President of CAN, Vice President CAN, General Secretary, CAN, all directors of CAN, President of WOWICAN, President of YOWICAN as well as the Zonal Chairmen and Heads of various churches in the country attended the meeting.

     

  • Rendering Defence Chief homeless

    Many towns in the Northeast in the past few days have continued to fall to the violent Islamist sect, Boko Haram, including Adamawa State, the home state of the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh.

    Boko Haram has not only captured Mubi in Adamawa State as at last Tuesday, but renamed it Madinatul Islam daring the Federal Government and the security agencies.

    It even appealed to the fleeing residents to return home under its Islamic caliphate, promising to provide them with better security than the Federal Government.

    The situation in Mubi is an example of the new trend in many areas of Adamawa State in particular and the Northeast in general.

    One would have expected Badeh to immediately deploy from his  arsenal and uproot the insurgents from his home state, to at least stop it from scoring a cheap point against the Federal Government and the state.

    But he has declared that it was immaterial if he is homeless as long as he does not lose focus on securing Nigeria as a whole.

    Speaking with State House correspondents last Tuesday Badeh said: “How can Nigeria be helpless? If CDS loses his hometown, it is the same thing as losing Lagos. Any part of Nigeria that is lost, the CDS carries the weight.”

    “It is immaterial whether it is my hometown, whether it is my house that is burnt or it is Emeka’s house that is burnt. Whoever’s house is burnt in Nigeria, the CDS is pained.” He said

    On the taking over of Badeh’s hometown, Adamawa State governor, James Ngilari said: “We shouldn’t reduce this issue of the insurgency to simply the taking over of the house of the Defence Chief. I think it is more than that. We look up to God; God is there; there is nothing impossible for Him.”

    It is really hoped that every effort will be engaged now to stop the onslought of the insurgents once and for all.

     

    Promotion in midst of storm

     The acting Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba rushed into muddy waters a forthnight ago when he ordered the withdrawal of the security aides of the Speaker of House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal.

    The order from ‘above’ followed the defection of Tambuwal from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Many Nigerians have kicked against and faulted the action of Abba, who has occupied the position in acting capacity since the former IGP Mohammed Abubakar retired from service on 31st July 2014.

    Stressing that his action was against the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, they went ahead to call for the sack of Abba from office over the act.

    They felt that Abba will not be neutral in the affairs of state and may become a willing pawn in the hand of the Presidency, which they believed is a threat to democracy in Nigeria, especially as it moves towards 2015 general elections.

    But rather than heed the call, the Police Council headed by President Goodluck Jonathan last Tuesday confirmed Abba as substantive Inspector General of Police.

    Addressing State House correspondents at the end of the Police Council meeting, Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole said: “We reviewed his CV, his level of competence by those who have worked with him at one time or the order and the council was unanimous that the Acting IGP be confirmed as a substantive IG and the President was accordingly advised and the President accepted the advise and appointed Mallam Abba as the substantive IG of Police.”

    According to him, the issues surrounding the call for Abba’s sack was not discussed in Council since  the matter was already in court.

    He said: “Well, I think the issue is not about the person of Mr. Abba. I think the issue you are refering to is the decision of the IGP to withdraw the security details of the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal. I’m not aware before then that anybody had issues, it is the decision of police which shocked many of us myself inclusive that has led to those sentiments.”

    Abba on the issue, said: “Well, that is a matter before the court and it is prejudice for me to comment on it. I wouldn’t want to have any problem with the judiciary.”

     

    Actualising States’ one per cent fund to police

     Despite the huge annual budgetary allocation to security agencies, funding has been identified as one of the major hurdle working against making the Nigerian Police Force a truly pfofessional body.

    Training of its personnel and provision of equipment have been said to be grossly inadequate.

    To boost the fortune of the force, the National Economic Council (NEC), comprising of state governors, has long approved one percent to be deducted from states’ allocation for the police.

    This, however, has ran into a hitch due to lack of appropriate regulatory framework.

    Speaking on the issue at the end of the Police Council meeting last Tuesday, Kogi State governor, Idris Wada said: “A decision was made earlier by the National Economic Council that one percent of our statutory revenue allocations be reserved for the police. This started but has now been stopped because it was identified that certain regulatory steps need to be taken to formalise it for the funds to be properly appropriated.”

    “It was decided that state assemblies need to pass a resolution authorising the deduction of the fund from the Federation account. Every state will approve the fund and it will be used under the control of governor and the state’s Security Council to buy equipment and provide support.”

    The need to urgently put the necessary framework in place cannot be overemphasized to make the police a more professional body in the face of rising insecurity in the country.

  • Abuja residents reject mass relocation in 2015

    Indigenous people of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under the auspices of Greater Gbagyi Development Initiative (GG-DIN) have described the purported plan to relocate the original inhabitants of Abuja to a proposed permanent site in 2015 as unrealistic, unattainable and unacceptable.

    In a statement signed by the President of GG-DIN, Prince Gbaiza Gimba, they reject in totality any such relocation as historically it has not worked and tantamount to dislocation, further impoverishment and deprivation of their people and that it shows clear and shear shallowness in the approach developed by the government in recent years to solving the artificial problem of how to deal with the original inhabitants of Abuja.

    Gbaiza said they read with great shock the comment in the news by Senator Smart Adeyemi, Chairman, Senate Committee on FCT, that original inhabitants of Abuja are to be relocated to their permanent site in 2015.

    He said, “The purported plan to us is tantamount to further human rights abuses and does not in any way make provision for the livelihood of our people as it treats us as refugees and other unthinkable things. The plan to carry out wholesome or unwholesome relocation of the indigenous peoples of Abuja to the fictitious permanent site without any prior consultation or discussion on the matter is unacceptable and is genocidal.

    “We have met with Senator Smart several times and believe in his sincerity, feelings and wishes for the indigenous peoples of the FCT.  Our problem is with their praxis, with the poor intellectual and elitist solution for our predicament that was artificially imposed on us.

    “We find exception to Senator Adeyemi’s remark that our people sell houses given to them. The so-called houses are a dislocation from our homes. They take our homes and give us houses. They take our lands and give us nothing and compensate their bank accounts and those of their cronies.

    “Why would we not sell those houses when we are artificially turned into destitute and there are no economic activities and sustainable system attached to the houses given to some of us? How do we feed our families?  How do we send our children to schools and cater for their welfare. How do we cater for our children and women? Where do we farm to continue our existence? How do we maintain our culture and tradition? Where is the economy in the so called relocation centres?”

    Gbaiza said that the government should leave them alone where they are and provide them with development programmes that befits their status as original inhabitants and owners of the land FCT, saying that what is good for the Niger Deltans is good for the Abuja indigenes.

    “We are not homeless and there is no justification for relocating us away from the center of development at the Federal Capital. If the statement credited to President Goodluck Jonathan that he wants to make us happy is true and sincere, he should leave us where we are to enjoy the development of the Federal Capital, rather than sending us on exile.

    “We never asked for houses as we are not homeless neither are we destitute. We have homes, houses and accommodate others. We are asking for development. Relocation is not development but abuse of power and oppression as far as our people are concerned. We have cried for decades and government and political office holders have been deaf because they aggrandize for and covet our land.”

     

  • Monarch makes case for health insurance

    The ongoing community-based health insurance scheme in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has inspired a traditional ruler, the  Agora of Zuba, Alhaji Mohammed Umar, to call for the immediate implementation of the plan in his community.

    The monarch, who took it upon himself to invite the Director of FCT Area Councils Health Insurance Scheme (FAHIS), Dr. Grace Aganaba to his palace, said that there is the need for the scheme to be introduced in his community for the health benefit of his people.

    According to Umar, receiving the presence of the Dr. Grace Aganaba and her team in his palace, was an indication that the FCT Health Insurance Scheme would commence immediately in Zuba, because, the people are in need of health care assistance from the government.

    “Because, I have been hearing about this scheme from people and I have read about it in different newspapers, wandering when it will get to Zuba community. The last one I heard was on radio, when the team went for distribution of health insurance cards at Gwargwada community, that when I called the chief of Gwargwada to intimate me on how he got the scheme to his community.

    “He gave me the director’s number, which I called her. But, I am not happy that the scheme went round my chiefdom without getting to my domain up until now. As far the director of the scheme has come today, I am happy and I am willing to support it to the fullest for the benefit of my people.”

  • Musicians warned against harmful messages

    An Abuja-based artiste, Ojonogecha Obande-Haruna has urged Nigerian artistes to filter the content of their music, even as she regretted that artistes are ignorant of the power of music.

    Ogecha who prefers to be called an inspirational artiste said people have refused to associate themselves with gospel music because of the title “gospel.”

    According to her, the tag gospel restricts people from the song thereby hindering the growth of gospel music in Nigeria.

    Speaking with reporters in Abuja, Ogecha as she is fondly called said: “I feel there is need for artistes to filter their music regardless of how much money we want to make or how much fame we desire. We should be very careful of what we are telling people.

    “In terms of passing message through music, all musicians have a message they want to pass across, which depends on who you feel you want to pass the message to.

    “Music is a very powerful agent and some people don’t realise that. Some sing what they don’t even believe in, some sing what they would not teach their children to do or what they would not permit their children to do.

    Continuing, she said: “It is very dangerous because children are inspired by watching or listening to you and they quickly align their lives to yours maybe because what you sing about is similar to theirs. They follow what you sing without thinking. They may end up in places they don’t expect because of the kind of music that the industry churns out to the public.

    She noted that when Fela Anikulapo Kuti was alive, he influenced Nigerians and even beyond with his music because he had a message.

    “For me, whatever I will not do that will affect me negatively, I will not sing and whatever I feel would have adverse effect in the lives of the people, especially the young ones, I will not sing,” she said.

    On how gospel music is faring in Nigeria, she said: “I started with the tag: ‘gospel artiste’ but later on, I yanked it off. I have discovered that those who sing gospel music don’t live the kind of life expected of them. When you use the tag gospel, you put restriction to yourself and I feel that the message of the gospel is supposed to be delivered to everyone.

    She added: “How do I deliver the message to everyone if I wear the tag everywhere I go? Some people close their doors because of the tag, gospel. My message is for everybody. God does not discriminate and why should mankind discriminate?

    “I am an inspirational artiste because I sing inspirational music. I want my music to touch and give life, I’m not out to destroy people’s lives with my music. I want people to understand that they can enjoy life within certain limits, in such a way that you will not harm and have regrets later in life,” she said.

  • FCDA bulldozers pull down Kpaduma houses

    Bulldozers from the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) and Development Control have moved into Kpaduma communities, pulling down houses there.

    On hand as the bulldozers moved were personnel of the FCDA alongside armed Joint Task Force team.

    This was said to be in violation of a court injunction restraining the FCDA from demolishing houses in  Kpaduma communities in the  Asokoro district of Abuja.

    Witnesses were said to have been confused and did all they could to prevent the demolition.

    The residents were reportedly overpowered by the armed JTF who threatened to shoot them if they made any further move to prevent the sdemolition.

    The JTF which consisted of over 15 officers of the Nigeria Army and about 16 officers of the police, were careful to remove their tags and emblems in order to forestall any identification, before they entered the community to carry out the action.

    They positioned themselves in strategic areas to form a barricade against interference for the bulldozer demolishing the houses.

    Secretary to the communities, Mr. Simon Baba-Yerima, who could not keep his tears from flowing freely, lamented the pains that the residents were subjected to as a result of the demolition carried out by the officials of FCDA, Development Control and the JTF personnel.

    “This is really painful, provoking, disastrous and unacceptable; this is really an act of military cum civilian brutality against innocent Nigerians. Our people are thrown into unnecessary confusion because of this unannounced demolition exercise. This is really wicked and for the fact that our case is still in court.

    “The people who entered our community introduced themselves as officials of FCDA and Development Control, in company of well armed JTF as if they were going for war, just to demolish our houses. This is unacceptable. Our matter is in court and again, they are violating the law of the land. Is it a crime that we are poor? This is our village and we have the right to have a peaceful life, just like we were before the inception of the FCT.

    “I wonder why the FCDA officials are coming to demolish our houses, it is unfair. We do not have any more trust in the government, because, we are living in fear. The JTF had to beat up our youth and arrested over five of them, for no good reason, after they had carried out their assigned duties. This is a democratic government for God sake, not military, why are they treating us like animals?” Baba-Yerima lamented.

    One of the affected residents, Joseph Madaki, explained how the JTF sprayed tear-gas on them and shot in the air to scare them away. “They tied up our people and told them to face the sun, beating them up as if they were criminals. This is very painful, why is this government allowing its citizens to be maltreated this way? We are suffering.

    “The way they are treating us in this FCT is not fair, this is our land, where do they want us to go to? They want to push us out of our homeland, without making alternative provision for us. The worst part of this whole thing, is that the people doing all this things to us, have their villages in their various states and they want to remove us from our own. That is not fair,” he said.

    When newsmen visited the office of Development Control to find out their role in the demolition exercise, one of the senior Staff who preferred anonymity said that the information got to him, but, that he was not aware of any instruction from superior authorities to commence the demolition of the community, knowing that the case between Kpaduma communities and the FCTA is still in court.

    The youth of Kpaduma I, who were arrested by the JTF are Jerry Sarki, Yerima Fajemi, John Danlami, Kefas Tanko, Ishaya Danladi. At the time of filing this report, information about the whereabout of the youth was still unknown.

     

  • A community where idols haven’t gone out of fashion

    A community where idols haven’t gone out of fashion

    The jet age has done nothing to reduce the residents’ love for their gods. GBENGA OMOKHUNU visited Gaba community near Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and captures how the villagers treasure their traditional religion.

    It may well be the jet age, but it matters pretty little to the people of Gaba, a community near Bwari Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Speakers from churches and mosques may get louder by the  day; it makes no difference. The only thing that counts is the religion of their forebears, around which everything seems to revolve.

    The residents believe that their gods govern their community better than anyone can. For instance, they hold fast to the notion that no true Gaba native will steal because their god will deliver instant judgement. Nor is any of them complacent about adultery, which attracts a banishment for the man and death for the woman, if she fails to confess and appease the gods.

    Custom and tradition play an important role in the social life of any community. For the inhabitants of Ayenejeyi community and the entire Gaba village, on the outskirts of Bwari council, the traditional lifestyle of the people is regarded as an ancient honour code or an unwritten law for its people. Although, Ayenejeyi’s faith in their idols is believed to date back to pre-Christianity and Islamic period, they believe that their practice does not disobey basic Christianity and Islamic principles.

    Our correspondent’s visit to the community which is about 15km from Bwari town, revealed that to the natives of the community,  their custom and tradition govern, guide, shape their character, and discipline of their lifestyle, and they see it as an all-embracing social code which encompasses the laws, customs, traditions and ethos of their society.

    The village head of Ayenejeyi community, Chief Solomon Azabo, who is also the Chief of Gaba village, explained that they derive a lot of satisfaction from maintaining their custom and tradition, which, he added, have kept them alive since the village was founded in the late 1950s.

    His word: “For us to exist as one in this village, we depend solely on our custom and tradition which have different festivals associating with different sacrifices. For instance, before farming season every year, we have shrines that we make sacrifices to at every first week of April before we commence farming.

    “The truth is that we inherited this custom and tradition from our forefathers, because, when they were doing it, we saw the efficacy of the sacrifices they made and how it favoured the community during farming season and other things, that was why we vowed to stick to that practice up until today and it has been working for us.

    “For us that are pagans, we indulge in sacrifices, just like Muslims and Christians when they want to start fasting according to their teachings.  They go to church and mosque to pray when they need something from God; that is the same thing for us. We also make sacrifices at our shrines as our own traditional prayers, to appeal to God for progress in farming and other aspects of our lives.”

    On efforts to confirm the effectiveness of their traditional idol worship, Azabo, explained that for guidance and protection, the natives of the community rely on an idol called Zhiba, which he said protects the community whenever there is impending evil.

    “For example, if something bad is about to happen to anybody in this village, Zhiba would inform us and we would prepare or keep ourselves safe. We have different masquerades, but the masquerades in charge of purifying this village are known as Akaka and Momuan. If a witch comes to this community, whenever the masquerades appear, they will perceive the witch wherever she is and expose her.

    “If they catch the witch and she does not want to change, they would use their canes on her, and then she will die. These masquerades still exist till today and their power is still potent.  The period they usually come out to purify our village is during November and June every year.  There is another one known as Agorobe; this masquerade can only be seen by mature men.

    “If somebody steals something from the farm of another person, the spirit behind the masquerade will wipe off the entire family of the thief.  If it was only one person that stole, the entire family will use their heads to pay for it.  But, if the person comes out to confess that he stole, he would be told to bring 100 measures of Guenea corn, white hen and honey for sacrifice at the shrine of Agorobe.  The power of this masquerade is still potent till today,” Azabo said.

    The community head who expressed feelings of excitement when explaining the potency of the community idols, said that he was bold to say that no thief exist in the community, because, everybody knows that stealing will lead to the death of an entire family.

    He said: “But if somebody comes to the community to steal, that person will have himself or herself to blame for whatever happens to their family, he would have carried wahala from this village to his village or community. Also, we do not tolerate adultery in this village, if a woman commits adultery, the man would be banished from the community, while the woman would be told to make a sacrifice with a big dog for the entire community, so that the gods would forgive her.”

    Despite the firm belief in their idols as sources of survival and providence, the community is uncomfortable with its lack of some basic modern amenities.

    An indigene of the community, Mohamed Ody who appreciated the community head for providing them with electricity light and health care centre, said that they are in need of potable water in the community and that they only have one borehole that supplies water for over 3000 people in the community.

    “Also, the other water source we have is our stream which has grown unhygienic for domestic use. So, we are appealing for more water borehole because, since the stream water is bad, nobody wants to go there again.

    “In our health centre, we do not have enough drugs in the clinic; we also appeal that the council should assist our clinic with drugs, because, if we have sickness that they cannot get the drugs here, we would be asked to go to Bwari before we can get the drugs.

    “We are also appealing to the government to complete the road construction that stopped midway before getting to our community, because, during rainy season, our people suffer a lot before they can access the city centre,” he said.

    Other community habitants who spoke with Abuja Review are happy with the idol and are of the view that things are working well without any negative impact on them.

    Little children run around the community with excitement and joy not worried about the needed amenities.    Everyone in the community are pleading that government to extend the dividends of democracy to them.

     

  • Corps members’ NGO for indigent students

    To complement Federal Government’s efforts in containing illiteracy and school drop-outs, three members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Batch ‘C’, have set up a non-governmental organisation (NGO) known as Outside Schools Foundations (SOS) to provide grants for students who have financial difficulties in completing their education.

    The facilitators of the project, Ms Hauwa Ibrahim, Ms Halima Ibrahim Abba and Ms Amina Jibrin said: ‘The Bridge Project’ was a personal group community development project deployed by three Corps members and approved by the NYSC.

    They stated this at the Bridge Project Inter-School Competition organised for students of Government Secondary School Jabi, and Wuse Zone 3, with the theme: “Nigeria and Us, A Social Challenge, A possible Solution.”

    In her remarks, Abba said: “The Sponsor -A-Child Scheme is a programme under the SOS that provides funding for participants of the bridge project who require assistance to complete their secondary education or who are unable to further their education to tertiary institutions due to financial and social reasons.”

    She noted that the programme would provide an avenue for individuals and corporate entities to provide scholarships to brilliant students enrolled on the projects through the scheme.

    “We want the programme to continue. This informed our setting up a non-governmental organisation known as ‘The SOS Foundation’ to take over the programme because we will not want a situation whereby the programme dies when we leave the NYSC.”

    Meanwhile, Ibrahim stressed that the Bridge Project, which was the flagship of the foundation, is a skill-building and mentoring scheme for 20 bright and motivated senior secondary school students in Government Secondary School Jabi and Wuse Zone 3 in Abuja.

    The winners, Government Secondary School Wuse Zone 3, which was among the participants comprising four teams of five participants from two schools, received computer tablets and their education sponsored up to tertiary level; while the tuition fees of other participants would be paid by the foundation for a year.

  • Residents buy nomination form for lawmaker

    Indigenes of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have purchased a nomination form for the senator representing the FCT, Senator Philips Tanimu Aduda to run for a second term in 2015.

    The FCT Indigene and Geo-Political Leaders Forum, while presenting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nomination form to Aduda, said they did it because of his remarkable performance since assumption of office as FCT senator.

    The chairman of the forum, Ambassador Ayuba Ngbako, said they jointly took the decision after due consultation with different stakeholders on who will represent them effectively and they came up with a second tenure decision for Senator Aduda as the best among others.

    “This decision was not my own idea, but a collective one from all of us in the FCT. I have also seen what he has done for our people. In fact, he has made us proud, he has work with President Goodluck Jonathan for us and has brought the dividend of democracy to our door step,” Ngbako said.

    He also counselled the FCT PDP executives to be fair and provide a level playing field for all aspirants that will be going for primary under the party.

    However, Senator Aduda who has gotten approval from his people to run for second term in the Senate, expressed gratitude to residents of Abuja and the FCT political leaders for purchasing the nomination form for him.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Aduda said that such gesture will spur him  to improve on what he has been to doing for the FCT people, especially the rural dwellers, advising political leaders at all levels to know that power belongs God, that whoever is given the power to lead, should use it for the benefit of all.

     

  • ‘We’re committed to security of residents’

    ‘We’re committed to security of residents’

    The Chairman of Abaji Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hon. Yahaya Garba has reiterated his commitment to the protection of lives and property of residents of the council.

    Hon. Garba, who spoke through the council’s Head of Administration, Alhaji Isah Rubochi while addressing residents and stakeholders on the need to complete some dumped buildings which pose serious security challenges.

    According to the council chief, although the country is currently overcoming its security challenges, governments, especially at the local level, will not relent in its efforts to curb crime and criminality in the country.

    He further urged residents to trim overgrown trees around their houses to avoid their being used as hide outs for criminal.

    Garba also used the opportunity to appeal to residents to have faith in the present administration, as efforts are being made to address various challenges confronting every community in the council.