•PDP won major urban areas like AMAC, Kuje and Bwari, while APC was victorious in predominantly rural populations of Gwagwalada, Kwali and Abaji
Jude Johnson
The final results of local elections that were held in the six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja have been announced. At the end the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were the biggest winners as they were victorious in more populated urban centres of AMAC, Kuje and Bwari, leaving Gwagwalada, Kwali and Abaji for the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
The Area Councils, which include Abaji, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Kwali and Abuja Municipal (AMAC), will see to the emergence of six chairpersons – one for each area council – and 62 councillors.
Over 400 candidates and their running mates contested for these positions on the platforms of the 14 parties. The results from the 62 wards in the Nigerian capital have now been collated and the final results announced, by INEC, for each of the six chairmanship positions.
PDP floors APC to win Kuje
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Suleman Sabo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the winner of the February 12 Kuje Area Council chairmanship election in the Federal Capital Territory.
Mr Sabo, the council’s incumbent chairman who will now serve his second term in office, defeated the other five candidates in each of the 10 wards in the area council.
He gathered a total of 13,301 votes to defeat his closest rival, Sarki Hamidu of the All Progressive Congress (APC), who secured 7,694 votes to emerge second
By this, the PDP candidate defeated the APC with a total margin of 5,607 votes.Sule Magaji, the INEC Returning Officer for the Kuje Area Council election, announced the final results on Sunday morning.
APC wins Gwagwalada
The candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Jubrin Abubakar, has been declared as the Chairman-elect of Gwagwalada Area Council at the Saturday Council elections.
Mr Abubakar, a former chairman of the council, defeated his opponent, Mohammed Kassim of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Mr Abubakar polled 11,125 votes and was declared by the INEC Returning Officer, ID Umar as the winner of the keenly contested election.
Mr Kassim of the PDP polled 9,597 votes.
PDP wins Bwari Area Council
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, John Gabaya, as the Chairman-elect of Bwari Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Mr Gabaya, who was re-elected for a second two-year term, defeated his closest rival, Audi Shekwolo of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mr Gabaya scored 13,045 votes, while Mr Shekwolo had 7,697 votes, according to the INEC Returning Officer, Amochi Madu, who announced the result on Sunday morning.
The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Abubakar Abdullahi, polled 603 votes to come a distant third position.
The Saturday elections were held across the 68 wards/constituencies spread across Bwari, Abaji, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Kwali and Abuja Municipal Council (AMAC) area councils of the FCT.
A total of 473 candidates sponsored by 14 political parties took part in the elections.
PDP floors APC to win AMAC chairmanship election
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been declared the winner of the just concluded chairmanship election for Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
Christopher Zakka (Maikalangu) of the PDP defeated his closest rival, Murtala Karshi (Yamarayi) of the All Progressive Congress (APC), and 10 others, to win the election.
Mr Zakka polled 19,302 votes while Mr Karshi secured 13,249 votes.
AMAC, arguably the most cosmopolitan of the six area councils in Abuja, has 12 wards and includes the city centre of the Nigerian capital.’
The PDP won in 10 wards while the APC won in only two.
The results for AMAC were officially declared by the INEC Returning Officer, Sani Saka.
APC wins in Kwali
The Independent INEC has declared the APC as the winner of the Kwali Area Council chairmanship election in the Federal Capital Territory.
Danladi Chiya of the APC defeated his closest rival, Haruna Pai of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to win the keenly contested election.
The INEC Returning Officer for Kwali Area Council, Wesley Daniel, who made the announcement, said Mr Chiya polled 7,646 votes while Mr Pai garnered 7,345 votes, a difference of 301 votes.
Mr Chiya, the council’s incumbent chairman, will now serve his second term in office.
The APC candidate won in nine of the ten wards in the area council.
He had earlier promised to continue with his mandate of infrastructural development in the area council.
APC wins Abaji but no candidate can be declared winner – INEC
The electoral commission (INEC) has declared the APC as the winner of the chairmanship election in Abaji Area Council of Abuja.
However, due to a legal tussle over who the authentic candidate of the APC is, none of the party’s aspirants will be declared winner of the election, INEC said.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how local elections were held in Abaji and the other five area councils in Abuja on Saturday.
The APC had earlier won the chairmanship election in Gwagwalada and Kwali area councils while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won in AMAC, Bwari and Kuje.
The victory for the APC in Abaji makes it three apiece for Nigeria’s two major parties although a total of 14 parties took part in the area council elections.
The Abaji debacle for APC
On Sunday, the INEC Returning Officer for Abaji Area Council, Gabriel Mordi, said it will not be legitimate to declare any of the APC aspirants as the winner of the election.
“We cannot declare a candidate winner in Abaji because the winning party does not have a candidate here, the case is still in court,” he said.
He said a winner will be announced after the Supreme Court decision in the coming weeks.
In the election, the APC scored 7,280 votes to defeat Hahaha Garba of the PDP, who polled 4,063 votes.
A total of 11,522 voters were accredited in the local government for the poll. Out of these, 11,390 were counted as valid votes while 107 were rejected votes.
The APC Controversy
An APC aspirant, Muhammad Loko, had been declared the winner of the April 23, 2021, chairmanship primary in the area
His name was controversially substituted by the APC with that of Umar Abdullahi who was later recognised by INEC as the party’s flag bearer until recently.
Dissatisfied with this, Mr Loko approached an FCT High Court in Gudu district. The court on November 16, 2021, ruled in his favour and sacked Mr Abdullahi.
The latter appealed the ruling. However, the appeal court in January affirmed Mr Loko as the APC chairmanship candidate for the February 12 poll in Abaji.
Mr Abdullahi appealed to the Supreme Court whose ruling on the matter is now being awaited. It is based on this that INEC refused to declare any of the candidates the winner despite the APC’s victory.
Credits| PT