AS residents of Nigeria’s capital prepare for the next Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), there is growing public interest in what elected chairpersons at the grassroots level are exactly responsible for.
Local government elections, known as Area Council elections in the FCT, are conducted under the supervision of the Independent National Electoral Commission and play a crucial role in shaping everyday life in communities across the territory.
While national politics often dominates public attention, decisions taken at the area council level directly affect roads, markets, schools, healthcare centres, sanitation, and local services that citizens interact with daily.
Many residents, however, mistakenly blame the federal government or the FCT Administration for problems that legally fall under the authority of area council chairmen. This confusion has weakened accountability over the years, allowing service delivery failures to persist without consequences.
Area councils were created to bring governance closer to the people — ensuring that local needs are addressed faster and more efficiently than higher levels of government could manage. When properly run, they serve as the foundation of development, public health, education, and community welfare.
In the FCT, there are six area councils: Abuja Municipal Area Council, Bwari Area Council, Gwagwalada Area Council, Kuje Area Council, Kwali Area Council and Abaji Area Council. Each is headed by a chairman elected to manage local affairs and oversee community-level development.
This explainer outlines the core duties of area council chairpersons as provided in the 1999 constitution:
1. Construction and maintenance of local roads and drainage
Area councils are directly responsible for building and maintaining community roads, streets, street lighting, drains, parks and public open spaces.
When inner roads are damaged, flooded, poorly lit or abandoned, it is primarily the duty of the area council leadership to intervene.
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Management of primary and adult education
Local governments participate in the provision and maintenance of primary schools, adult literacy centres and vocational education facilities. This includes school infrastructure, basic learning environments and community education programmes. Poor classrooms, collapsed buildings and neglected schools reflect a failure of grassroots governance.
3. Primary healthcare services
Area councils are tasked with maintaining health centres, dispensaries, maternity clinics and preventive health services in their communities. When clinics lack basic equipment, sanitation or staff support, responsibility largely lies at the local government level.
4. Environmental sanitation and refuse disposal
Waste collection, sewage management, gutter clearing and sanitary inspections fall within the area councils’ authority. Persistent refuse heaps, blocked drainage systems and unhealthy neighbourhood conditions signal breakdowns in local administration.
5. Regulation and development of markets, motor parks and public conveniences
Area councils establish, manage and regulate markets, slaughter slabs, motor parks and public toilets. These spaces are both economic centres and revenue sources. Their cleanliness, safety, orderliness and maintenance are direct reflections of council performance.
6. Registration of births, deaths and marriages
Local governments are legally responsible for registering vital events within their jurisdictions. Proper documentation helps in population planning, school enrolment, inheritance matters and access to government services.
7. Community development projects and social welfare
Area councils are expected to provide community centres, recreational parks, public libraries, water supply in rural and semi-urban areas, and support homes for the destitute, infirm and orphans. These services improve the quality of life and social stability.
8. Support for agriculture and natural resources development
Local governments participate in agricultural extension services, veterinary clinics and rural development programmes aimed at boosting food production and livelihoods, excluding mineral exploitation, which remains outside their control.
9. Regulation of shops, food outlets, advertising and local businesses
Area councils license and regulate kiosks, bakeries, restaurants, laundries, outdoor advertising, liquor sales and other small businesses to ensure public safety, hygiene and order in communities.
10. Town planning and building control
They help regulate buildings, name streets, number houses, and support local planning efforts to prevent disorderly development and unsafe structures.
11. Collection and management of local revenues
Area councils collect property rates, market levies, motor park fees, parking charges and other local taxes. These funds are meant to be reinvested into infrastructure, sanitation, health services and community projects. Poor development despite steady revenue collection is a major accountability issue.
12. Public safety support and basic emergency services
Local governments participate in fire services, environmental protection, traffic and community safety efforts in collaboration with higher authorities, helping maintain peace and respond to local emergencies.
