Nareesh: Mayor fabricating allegations for political gain

Former Deputy Mayor of Malé City, Ahmed Nareesh, has dismissed claims of any “unknown” within the City Council, accusing Mayor Adam Azim of fabricating allegations for political gain.

Amid ongoing concerns over missing documents from the Malé City Council, a new issue has emerged regarding the Council’s official stamps — with uncertainty surrounding which stamps have been issued, which remain in the Council’s possession, and which may be unaccounted for.

When questioned regarding the matter, Nareesh, who has been appointed to Youth Ministry as an advisor at ministerial level, accused Mayor Azim, who raised the issue, of fabricating allegations for political gain. He questioned why the mayor had not raised the issue when he had been Council, while also questioning what was being done to resolve the issue if it had really come to light.

“Had I not there [the council] some one and half years after the mayor was elected? My point is that something which was not raised back then, nor put on the agenda of a council meeting, is being scheduled on the agenda today for a political gain,” he said.

Nareesh affirmed that there were no “unknown” activities, or unlawful activities, within the Council during President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s tenure as the mayor, and his tenure as the acting mayor.

Nareesh emphasized that it is the Council’s Secretary General who signs agreements in accordance with the established framework. He identified the current Secretary General as Ali Naeer, a former legal counsel, and noted that someone with a legal background would not authorize any agreement unless all necessary prerequisites are fulfilled.

“It is not something that is so confusing, is it?” he questioned.

Nareesh said it is very irresponsible of the mayor to talk in a manner that undermines the council, adding such remarks should have been made after clarifying the situation.

“The public comment should have come after if what is being sought has not been found after conducting the necessary investigations. Is that now how a responsibly individual would act?” he said.

Nareesh underscored that President Muizzu, nor himself, are whom against the mayor’s allegations correspond to, but rather the council’s staff responsible for overseeing the council’s administrative operations.

Notably, a recent issue which had surfaced was Male’ City Council contacting two parties to develop Male’ Fishermen’s Market.

In this regard, the fish market contract was allegedly amended from USD 6.1 million to USD 9.6 million and then awarded to a new party without council approval during the transitional period from President Muizzu’s resignation as mayor and Azim’s election as mayor. Nareesh had served as the acting mayor during the transitional period.

Mayor Azim said that the reason for a new contract is unclear, and that there are no paperwork showing how it got authorized, including documents regarding any such decision by the bid committee.

Speaking on SSTV’s ‘Baaru Hathareh’ program on Monday, Mayor Adam Azim stated that the status of Malé City Council’s official stamps remains unclear. He noted that, due to this uncertainty, it cannot be confirmed whether the stamps have been misused or not.

“It is unknown how many stamps have been made, how many stamps have been issued, and to whom. This is a legal issue,” he added.

As such, Mayor Azim said agreements are being reviewed comprehensively. He highly criticized the administrative running of the Council during previous years.