Councillor alleges obstruction over land allocation linked to mayor
The letter, she said, stated that the agreement with the mayor’s uncle had been terminated on 10 August 2025.
Villimalé councillor Nahula Ali on Tuesday said she was concerned that Malé Mayor Adam Azim had refused to place on the council agenda a case involving the allocation of land to companies linked to his family, alleging that the decision was obstructing scrutiny of the matter.
In a video shared on social media, Nahula said she had requested for two consecutive weeks that the issue be tabled at the council. She said the request was not approved.
According to Nahula, a 3,309-square-foot plot of land in the Alimas Carnival area of Malé was allocated to Nazrash Company and Vasmeeru, which she said are owned by the mayor’s uncle. She said the same plot had previously been leased to a company identified as CIA under an agreement valid until 2027.
Nahula said she received a letter on Tuesday signed by the council’s Secretary General, Abdul Muhaimin Naseer, stating that the matter would not be included on the agenda. The letter, she said, stated that the agreement with the mayor’s uncle had been terminated on 10 August 2025.
She disputed this claim, saying that any termination of a lease agreement must be presented to the council for approval. She said the matter had not been brought before the council and alleged that the information provided in the letter was incorrect.
Nahula said a land registry published by the council in November last year showed that the plot remained allocated to the two companies linked to the mayor’s uncle. She said this contradicted the claim that the agreement had been terminated in August.
She alleged that the land was handed over to a company linked to the mayor’s family while it was still leased to another party. She said the original leaseholders had informed her that while they were present at the site with documentation, individuals wearing uniforms of RCC, a company in which the mayor holds shares, entered the premises and instructed them to vacate.
Nahula said she believed the issue had not been placed on the agenda due to the nature of the case. She also alleged that audits had not flagged land allocations involving businesses linked to the mayor’s family.
In addition to the land allocation matter, Nahula said she had submitted three other issues for inclusion on the agenda of the council meeting scheduled for Wednesday. These include delays in renewing agreements for parking slots in Malé, a 10-day eviction notice issued to a labour quarter at the Fish Market, and concerns regarding land not handed over to individuals listed in the land registry published last year.
Nahula said she had again requested that all four matters be included in the agenda for the upcoming council session.
