Julius Adamu, the Peoples Democratic Party chairmanship candidate for the Bwari council in Abuja, has assured residents of his commitment to inclusive grassroots development.

Mr Adamu, who made the promise on Tuesday in Bwari, also promised to prioritise improved infrastructure if elected.

The candidate, a former speaker of the district’s legislative arm, is contesting alongside his vice-chairmanship candidate, Danjuma Usman.

Mr Adamu said that, if elected into office, his administration would consolidate the already existing development plans of the incumbent chairman, John Gabaya, and improve on the structures.

“Governance is supposed to be a process that needs continuous improvement, especially an improvement on what the previous government had done or left behind.

“So our plan is to improve on what this administration has put on the ground, especially with regard to quality education, accessible healthcare, youth empowerment, and rural development,” he said.

The chairmanship candidate added that if elected, his administration would also focus on empowering market women and petty traders with incentives to grow their businesses, improve their capital, and, by extension, their livelihoods.

Regarding accountability and transparency, Mr Adamu promised inclusive governance that would involve dialogue with all stakeholders and community members to promote growth and development.

He said, “When I was the speaker in Gabaya’s first tenure as chairman, we held town hall meetings where we dialogued with residents and community members, irrespective of their political or religious affiliations.

“This gave us room to tell the people what the administration had done and what they planned to do, as it affects the community, while it also allowed the people to voice out their needs to the government. That is the structure I want to emulate, once elected, so that there’s room for accountability and transparency in governance.”

Mr Adamu also promised to work toward developing communities that were “left behind”, while assuring the Igu, Shere and Kawu wards of the district of access roads and rural electrification. He, however, appealed to his supporters to remain peaceful during the campaign period, on the day of the election and after the exercise, maintaining that peaceful coexistence was paramount to the community.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had scheduled the FCT area council elections for February 21 across all six districts of the territory.

(NAN)