Malé City council clash: Mayor Azim and councilor Nahula exchange serious accusations over land documents

A major disagreement has erupted between Malé City Mayor Adam Azim and Vilimalé Constituency Councilor Nahula Ali over serious accusations related to a land lease document. Councilor Nahula submitted a motion alleging that the City Council attempted to execute a land handover agreement through deception.

Before the debate could commence, Mayor Azim announced he had filed a police complaint against a Counselor for allegedly tearing up relevant documents concerning a leased plot of land, which he claimed was not part of the council's publicly released document list. Azim mentioned having video evidence of the incident and requested the Council's Secretary General to share this footage on the Councilors’ WhatsApp group, which was done promptly.

"A case has been filed with the police to intervene because of the issue with these plots... The matter has been submitted to the police for a criminal investigation, stating that a Councilor here is trying to destroy documents, and we have the footage. Once that footage is shared, you will clearly know who it is," Azim said.

The video footage reportedly shows Councilor Nahula taking several papers from an office area and tearing them up. An administrative staff member who had the papers was standing near her.

Azim's announcement about filing the police complaint regarding the documents came before the debate on Nahula's motion began. Consequently, Nahula gave a heated response during the session.

"I need to talk about this. I also have evidence, including the footage and audio recording of everything that happened that day, the conversation the SG had with me afterward, and the fake, backdated land document that the employee tried to hand over. I have all the conversations and things the employee said," Nahula stated.

"This incident happened on Thursday. Therefore, I had officially requested to table this issue for the session on Thursday night. So, there is no reason for you to speak here misleading the public without giving me a chance," Nahula said angrily.

Nahula alleged that the employee claimed the Mayor's name was involved in "doing something wrong" and that her audio recording would prove this.

"You can't just come here and campaign, make TikToks, or say whatever you want. Give me the floor to speak," Nahula demanded, clearly agitated.

Nahula claimed that the conversation she had with the SG, who called her twice that day, clearly shows how the incident unfolded, and that it is evident the Mayor is attempting to hide the documents.

"If there is footage here, it will show the employee being called and brought to the office on Thursday during a heavy rainstorm, requesting the handover of a plot of land. And I came to the office because it was a Vilimalé project, and the party who was awarded the project called the Council on Thursday and asked to take over the land, so I came at his request," Nahula explained.

In a Facebook post after the session, Nahula provided details of the alleged deception. She stated that Mayor Azim had claimed on the 26th of last month that a plot of land in Vilimalé (Vilimalé Market Area, Block C, Plot 41), leased to a company named Mary Jugo on September 27, 2023, for the purpose of building an outdoor gym, was not in the Malé land register because there was no agreement.

However, Nahula alleged that last Thursday, Mary Jugo was summoned to the Council to sign a land handover document that was backdated to June 1st of last year.

Nahula included photos of the documents in her Facebook post, which allegedly contained a memo ordering the signing of the handover agreement, along with a copy of the very agreement the Mayor claimed did not exist.

"After Mayor Adam Azim said I was lying and that all existing agreements and plots were included in the register, why are they bringing people here to hand over land based on an agreement he claims doesn't exist, and trying to make them sign a backdated land handover document? What kind of fraud and deception is this?" Nahula wrote.

Nahula insisted that copies of all the agreements the Mayor claimed were non-existent were present at the City Council that day. She alleged that the documents Mayor Azim claims she tore up were the "backdated, fraudulent land handover document" that Mary Jugo was brought in to sign and fingerprint last Thursday.