The Peoples Democratic Party has set up a special legal team to contest the outcome of Saturday’s Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) after the Independent National Electoral Commission declared the results.
INEC announced that candidates of the All Progressives Congress secured five of the six chairmanship positions in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Abaji, Bwari, Kwali, and Kuje, while the PDP won only in Gwagwalada.
In a statement, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, congratulated its successful candidates but alleged widespread irregularities and voter intimidation during the polls. He revealed that the legal team would be headed by the PDP’s National Legal Adviser, Shafi Bara’u.
Ememobong specifically congratulated the chairman-elect of Gwagwalada Area Council, Mohammed Kasim, and the councillors declared winners by INEC. He described the victory as significant, despite falling short of expectations, citing what he called unprecedented intimidation, excessive monetisation of the process, and executive interference.
The PDP further alleged that security agencies were deployed to influence the election’s outcome, claiming there were reports and video evidence showing armed personnel removing result sheets from polling units, intimidating voters, and interfering with the process.
The party also attributed the low voter turnout to public disillusionment with the Electoral Act 2026, arguing that many Nigerians had lost confidence in elections conducted under the current legal framework. It warned that the local council polls could foreshadow the 2027 general elections if urgent reforms are not implemented.
According to INEC, Christopher Maikalangu of the APC won the AMAC chairmanship with 40,295 votes, having met all legal requirements. Similar declarations were made in Bwari, Abaji, Kwali, and Kuje, where APC candidates were returned elected. The PDP’s sole victory came in Gwagwalada, where Mohammed Kasim polled 22,165 votes and was declared winner.
INEC reported that more than 239,000 voters participated in the election—about 15 per cent of the 1,680,315 registered voters in the FCT. The commission dismissed claims that voters were reassigned to unfamiliar polling units, explaining that newly created split polling units were introduced to ease congestion and that affected voters were duly notified. It added that 93 per cent of polling unit results had been uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal by Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it arrested 20 individuals for alleged electoral offences, including vote buying and obstruction of officials. EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale disclosed that one suspect was apprehended with N13.5 million in a vehicle near a polling unit in Kwali, with a total of N17,218,700 linked to the arrests. The suspects will be charged upon completion of investigations.
President Bola Tinubu congratulated the winners, describing their mandate as a sacred trust. In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President commended INEC and security agencies for ensuring peaceful elections and urged the elected officials to serve with humility and dedication.
APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, described the results as a strong endorsement of President Tinubu’s reform agenda, saying the outcome in Abuja reflected broad-based support for the administration’s direction.
FCT Minister Nyesom Wike also lauded the peaceful conduct of the elections, attributing it to the FCT residents’ commitment to democracy and good governance. He urged the winners to govern with humility and excellence.
However, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar expressed concern over what he described as a shrinking democratic space. He said the voter turnout—averaging below 20 per cent—reflected declining confidence in the current administration and called on opposition parties to unite in defense of Nigeria’s democracy.
PDP chieftain Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, on his part, described the results as evidence that the party is regaining strength, insisting that the PDP is rebuilding and poised for resurgence.
