By Ashiru Taofeek Adewale
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Christopher Maikalangu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) chairmanship election, securing a decisive victory over 14 other candidates.
Prof. Andrew Abue, the Collation Officer for AMAC, announced the results at the collation centre on Sunday, confirming that Maikalangu, the incumbent chairman, polled 40,295 votes to retain his seat.
“Maikalangu of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Abue declared.
The incumbent chairman secured the highest number of votes out of 62,861 valid votes cast, defeating his closest challenger from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who polled 12,109 votes. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate managed 3,398 votes, finishing third in the contest.
Other results announced showed the Social Democratic Party (SDP) securing 2,185 votes, while the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) polled 1,694 votes. The remaining parties trailed significantly, with some recording as low as 32 votes.
According to electoral officials, AMAC recorded 65,197 total votes cast, with 2,336 votes rejected. The area council has 837,338 registered voters, of whom 65,676 were accredited for the election.
Party Agents Applaud Process
Reacting to the outcome, the APC Collation Agent, Gambo Babale, praised INEC for conducting a transparent exercise.
“INEC have done so well. We’ve seen the processes across all the polling units, the ward collation centres and here at AMAC area council collation centre. Everything was done perfectly well,” Babale said.
He noted that the PDP’s victory in about two ward councillorship seats in Karu and Karishi demonstrated the credibility of the electoral process.
“That is to tell you the level of transparency that happens in this election,” he added.
Babale congratulated Maikalangu and expressed confidence that the victory would translate into improved dividends of democracy for AMAC residents.
Abdullahi Ibrahim, the YPP Ward Collation Agent, also commended the transparency of the process and congratulated the winner.
Result sheets were subsequently signed by party agents from the ADC, APC, APGA, YPP, and NNPP present at the collation centre.
Political Implications for 2027
Political observers view the FCT area council elections as a significant indicator of voter sentiment ahead of the 2027 general elections. Some analysts had positioned the contest as an opportunity for the ADC to test its strength against the ruling APC in the nation’s capital.
Human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju had earlier noted that if the APC were to win the FCT election despite opposition figures like Peter Obi and Rotimi Amaechi campaigning there, it would suggest the opposition lacks the capacity to challenge the APC in 2027.
Maikalangu’s victory consolidates APC’s hold on the Abuja municipal council, the most prominent of the six area councils in the Federal Capital Territory.
Leave a Reply