AMAC Draws Battle Line Over Abuja Haulage Fees in FCT Turf War
Motorists plying Abuja’s busy roads now face a clear directive from the Abuja Municipal Area Council: ignore anyone in red “FCT Haulage” T-shirts demanding payments, as such collections lack official backing within AMAC’s domain.
Kingsley Madaki, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs to AMAC Executive Chairman Christopher Maikalangu, issued the advisory in a statement on Sunday, spotlighting a deepening rift over who controls haulage revenue in Nigeria’s capital. The council explicitly stated it does not recognise or authorise the branded attire for any revenue collection, urging commercial drivers and haulage operators to stay vigilant. “It is the constitutional right of the Area Council, not the FCT, to collect revenue on haulage,” the statement asserted, while advising the public to insist on official AMAC demand notices and valid ID from collectors.
AMAC also directed residents to report any harassment or disputes to law enforcement, framing the notice as essential for guiding motorists and safeguarding proper revenue administration in its jurisdiction.
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This latest salvo underscores a chronic tussle between Abuja’s six Area Councils—AMAC, Abaji, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, and Kwali—and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), rooted in the FCT’s peculiar governance structure. Established under the 1976 Federal Capital Territory Act, these councils operate as local governments with revenue rights enshrined in Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which mandates autonomy over internally generated funds like haulage fees on heavy vehicles for road upkeep. Yet the FCT Minister, currently Nyesom Wike, holds governor-like powers, often leading the FCTA to encroach on council turf including markets, parks, and now transport levies.
The statement highlighted “a trend where persons claiming to represent FCTA Transport Secretariat are overstepping their bounds and infringing on the legal responsibilities of the local government,” noting years of unresolved talks between the councils and FCTA. Haulage fees, a steady earner amid Abuja’s logistics boom, have long been flashpoints, with AMAC positioning itself as defender of local rights amid claims of federal overreach.
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Abuja’s revenue wars trace back to the early 2000s, when Area Councils first contested FCTA control over markets and tenement rates, culminating in a landmark 2006 Supreme Court judgment affirming councils’ rights to independent revenue streams. That ruling forced renegotiations, but haulage persisted as contested ground, flaring in 2013 when councils picketed FCTA offices and again in 2020 with lawsuits securing injunctions against federal agents. By 2024, worker protests over unpaid allocations amplified the feud, tying into broader local government autonomy debates post the Supreme Court’s July 2024 ruling on direct LG funding nationwide though FCT councils remain uniquely vulnerable due to ministerial oversight.
AMAC’s Sunday advisory, coming ahead of planned NLC and TUC rallies in Abuja on February 3, signals no retreat, as councils leverage constitutional arguments to reclaim haulage collections and shield drivers from what they call unauthorised operators. With discussions dragging on, the public notice serves both as protection for motorists and a firm stake in the sand for AMAC’s authority.