.Wins assembly seats in Ungogo, Kano Municipal
.One FCT area council win signals PDP resurgence ahead of 2027, says Gbenga-Hashim
BY CALEB ISHAYA, Abuja
In a bold power move, the All Progressives Congress, APC, flexed its muscles, snatching overwhelming victory at the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, area council elections, held at the weekend.
The party won in five of the six area councils in the FCT, Abuja, while the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, clinched victory in one.
Candidates of the APC also won the House of Assembly by-elections held in Ahoada East Constituency 2 and Khana Constituency 2 in Rivers State.
The party, in a similar manner emerged victorious in the Ungogo and Kano Municipal State House of Assembly by-elections held on Saturday.
in Kano Municipal Constituency.
… FCT Council elections
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared Christopher Maikalangu of the, APC,
the incumbent of the Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, winner of the
election held on Saturday.
The Collation Officer for AMAC, Prof. Andrew Abue, said that Maikalangu, was returned elected having scored the highest number of votes cast, 40,295 out of the total number of Valid Votes of 62,861 in the election.
The African Democratic Congress, ADC, came second with 12,109 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, polled 3,398 votes.
According to Abue, the rejected votes is 2,336 and total valid votes is 62,861, while the total vote cast is 65,197.
He added that the number of registered voters in AMAC was 837,338, while the total number of accredited voters was 65,676.
“That Maikalangu of the APC, having certified the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected”, Abue said.
In Bwari Area Council, Mr Joshua Ishaku of the APC, was declared winner of the Chairmanship election.
Prof. Mohammed Nurudeen, INEC Returning Officer for Bwari chairmanship election, who announced the results yesterday in Bwari, disclosed that Ishaku polled a total of 18,466 votes and therefore declared him the winner.
“I am the returning officer for the 2026 FCT Area Council, Bwari chairmanship held on Feb. 21, 2026.
“That Joshua Ishaku, having certified the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected”, he said.
The candidate of ADC scored a total of 4,254 votes, while that of the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, scored 3515 to come second and third places respectively.
In the same vein, Daniel Nuhu, also of the ruling APC, was declared winner of the Chairmanship poll held at the Kwali Area Council.
INEC said that Nuhu polled a total of 17,032 votes to defeat his closest rival, Haruna Pai, of the PDP, who polled 8,575 votes to come second in the election.
The results were declared by the INEC presiding officer at Kwali’s final collation centre on Sunday morning.
Moreover, the INEC declared Mr Danjuma Shekwolo of APC as the elected chairman of Kuje Area Council.
The Collation Officer for Kuje, Prof. Nkiruka Odoh, said that Shekwolo won the election, having scored the highest number of votes cast.
She said the APC candidate scored 17,269 votes to defeat his PDP counterpart who scored 15,824 votes and other contestants in the election.
Odoh said that the total number of registered voters in the election was147,271 while the number of accredited voters was 39,799.
She said that the number of valid votes in the election was 38,491while the total number of rejected votes was 1,097.
According to her, the total number of valid votes cast is 39,588.
“That Danjuma Shekwolo of the APC, having certified the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected”, Odoh said.
In Abaji Area Council, Abdulrahaman Ajayi, of the APC was declared winner, having won with a total of 13,515 votes. He was closely followed by the PDP candidate, Yahaya Garba, who polled 10,632 votes.
Meanwhile, Mr Mohammed Kasim of the PDP, was declared winner of Gwagwalada Area Council Chairmanship election.
Prof. Philip Akpeni, the Returning Officer for Gwagwalada chairmanship election, who announced the results of the poll on Sunday in Gwagwalada, disclosed that Kasim of PDP polled a total of 22,165 votes and therefore declared him the winner.
“I am the returning officer for the 2026 FCT Area Council, Gwagwalada chairmanship held on Feb. 21, 2026.
“That Mohammed Kasim of PDP, having certified the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected”, he said.
Akpeni also said that the candidate of the APC, Mr Yahaya Usman, scored a total of 17,788 votes, while Mr Biko Umar of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, scored 1, 687 to come third place.
Reacting to the victory of the PDP in Gwagwalada Area Council, a presidential aspirant of the party, Dr. Gbenga Hashim, said it is a “strong evidence that the party is regaining momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections, despite internal challenges and political pressure”.
Hashim congratulated party members and supporters for what he termed an “outstanding performance under difficult circumstances”, saying the polls demonstrated that the PDP remains structurally intact and electorally competitive despite internal challenges.
“The PDP is a resurgent party”, Hashim stated. “In spite of leadership disputes at the national level and deliberate efforts to weaken our structure in the FCT, the people stood firmly by the party”.
However, Hashim maintained that the party ought to have secured victory in three additional councils, alleging that its mandate was undermined in those areas.
“Even with the obvious irregularities, the strength of the PDP was undeniable”, he said.
Hashim further characterised the FCT performance as the beginning of a broader political revival for the PDP, expressing optimism that a united and stabilized party would be formidable in 2027.
“This election marks the start of our resurgence. If we can perform this strongly under strain, imagine what a united and fully stabilized PDP will achieve in 2027″, he said.
According to the presidential hopeful, the narrative of decline surrounding the PDP is misplaced.
“The PDP is not declining. The PDP is rebuilding. And this is only the beginning”, he said.
..Rivers House of Assembly by-elections
In Rivers State, candidates of the APC won the House of Assembly by-elections held in Ahoada East Constituency 2 and Khana Constituency 2 in Rivers State.
Announcing the results, the Returning Officer, Rosemary Ogbo, said the APC candidates — Napoleon Ukalikpe and Burabari Loloo — secured the highest number of valid votes and met the requirements of the law.
In Ahoada East Constituency 2, Ukalikpe polled 3,980 votes to defeat other contestants, including Ego Marvelous of the Action Alliance with 33 votes and Godstime Egor of the Action Party of Nigeria with 38 votes, alongside candidates of other parties who recorded single-digit tallies. Ogbo subsequently declared Ukalikpe duly elected.
For Khana Constituency 2, Loloo won with 7,647 votes, beating candidates of several opposition parties to clinch the seat.
The state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Gabriel Yomere, described the by-elections as peaceful and orderly, noting that the process progressed without incidents of violence. He attributed voter apathy in some areas to factors beyond the commission’s control, insisting adequate publicity and sensitisation were carried out ahead of the polls.
… Kano Municipal by-elections
APC emerged victorious in the Ungogo and Kano Municipal State House of Assembly by-elections held on Saturday.
In Kano Municipal Constituency, APC candidate Aliyu Daneji polled 7,484 votes to win the seat.
The Returning Officer, Prof. Ibrahim Siraj, announced the result and declared Daneji duly elected.
Similarly, in Ungogo Constituency, the APC candidate, Aminu Sa’ad, secured 8,975 votes to clinch the seat.
The Returning Officer for the constituency, Prof. Ali Abdullahi, returned Sa’ad elected.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, of the INEC in Kano State, Amb. Abdu Zango, attributed the low turnout to a combination of factors, including the timing of the election and limited party participation.
The by-elections were necessitated by the sudden deaths of the lawmakers representing Ungogo and Kano Municipal constituencies.
…Tinubu urges winners to serve with dedication
President Bola Tinubu has congratulated winners of Saturday’s elections in the, FCT, Rivers and Kano
states, urging them to serve with dedication.
The president’s message was contained in a statement issued by his Spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga, on Sunday in Abuja.
Tinubu urged the winners to serve with humility, patriotism and dedication, advising them to regard the mandate given by the electorate as a sacred trust.
The President commended the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for what he described as remarkable achievements in the territory.
He said the achievements had yielded political dividends for the governing , APC.
Tinubu congratulated the APC national leadership, as well as the party’s Kano and Rivers chapters, on the victories recorded at the polls.
He lauded INEC, security agencies and voters for the peaceful and successful conduct of the elections.
The President also commended the courage and discipline displayed by all contestants, saying, “democracy is enriched by active participation and healthy competition”.
Tinubu said the successful conduct of the elections further strengthened democratic culture and institutions.
He urged INEC to continue improving its processes to deliver even more credible and exemplary elections.
