There have been a variety of responses to the February 22 Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, where the APC secured five of the six chairmanship positions, and the PDP won one seat.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the winners of the six area councils — Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Abaji and Kwali, respectively.

Out of the six area councils, the All Progressives Congress (APC) won 5 chairmanship positions, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won one position.

Yiaga Africa, a civil society group, reported intimidation, logistical delays, and disruptions during ward-level result collation in Saturday’s FCT council elections.

In a statement issued on Sunday and signed by Samson Itodo, its executive director, and Cynthia Mbamalu, director of programmes, the CSO said observations were based on data collected from observers in 58 of the 62 ward collation centres across the FCT.

The ruling APC hailed the outcome as an endorsement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reform agenda; opposition parties, civil society groups and religious leaders warned that concerns over transparency and declining voter participation could deepen public distrust in the electoral process.

The Peoples Democratic Party attributed what it described as “incredible voter apathy” in Saturday’s Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections to the Electoral Act 2026, warning that the trend could foreshadow the 2027 general elections if urgent amendments are not made.

In a statement issued yesterday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the party said Nigerians had “completely lost faith” in electoral outcomes conducted under the current law.

“The incredible voter apathy in these polls is a direct response to the anti-people Electoral Act 2026, where the people have completely lost faith in the electoral outcomes from elections conducted under this Act,” the statement read.

There has been no official reaction to Saturday’s elections from the national leadership of the opposition coalition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), since the results were announced.

But the ADC chairmanship candidate for Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Dr. Moses Paul, refused to concede defeat, citing evidence of electoral irregularities and vowing to continue the fight for the people’s mandate.

On Saturday, the day of the election, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) strongly condemned the movement of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, around various polling units in Abuja under the guise of “monitoring”

“Wike’s “monitoring” exercise, after unilaterally imposing a curfew on potential voters, represents direct interference in the election. He is not a registered voter in the FCT, and as a known partisan and cabinet minister, Wike has no constitutional role in the election exercise. His presence during active voting is therefore not only vexatious and meddlesome but also risks intimidating voters and officials.

“In a similar vein, the ADC has received reports of voter suppression and intimidation in parts of the FCT, including alleged collaboration between APC agents and some security personnel.

“We also note disruptions to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), which has remained inaccessible even as results are being collated. We find this a curious coincidence and call on INEC to urgently restore full IReV functionality, with a clear public explanation of the disruption.

“We urge all our party agents and voters to remain calm but vigilant, and to document all incidents”, a statement by Bolaji Abdulahi, its spokesperson, noted.

A Council-by-Council breakdown of the results as announced by the INEC shows:

Bwari Area Council

In Bwari, INEC declared Joshua Ishaku of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the chairmanship election. The Returning Officer, Mohammed Nurudeen, announced the result on Sunday.

He said Ishaku secured 18,466 votes to emerge victorious in the poll.

“I am the returning officer for the 2026 FCT Area Council, Bwari chairmanship election held on Feb. 21, 2026. That Joshua Ishaku, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Mr Nurudeen said while declaring the results.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate polled 4,254 votes to place second, while the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) candidate garnered 3,515 votes to finish third. The election was conducted across the 10 wards of Bwari Area Council.

Kwali Area Council

In Kwali, the APC candidate, Nuhu Daniel, won the chairmanship seat after polling 17,032 votes, defeating Haruna Pai of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who secured 8,575 votes. The results were announced after the conclusion of ward-level collation.

Gwagwalada Area Council

In Gwagwalada, Mohammed Kasim of the PDP was declared the winner after polling 22,165 votes. The Returning Officer, Philip Akpeni, confirmed the result on Sunday.

Akpeni stated that, having satisfied the constitutional and legal requirements, Kasim was duly elected as Chairman of Gwagwalada Area Council.

The APC candidate, Yahaya Usman, finished second with 17,788 votes, while Biko Umar of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) polled 1,687 votes. The election was conducted across the 10 political wards of the council.

Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC)

In AMAC, Christopher Maikalangu of the APC was returned elected after polling 40,295 votes out of 62,861 valid votes cast. The AMAC Collation Officer, Andrew Abue, made the declaration following the completion of ward collation.

“That Maikalangu of the APC, having certified the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Mr Abue said.

The ADC came second with 12,109 votes, while the PDP secured 3,398 votes. A total of 65,197 votes were cast, with 2,336 rejected ballots.

Reacting, APC collation agent Gambo Babale commended INEC for what he described as a transparent process.

“INEC have done so well. We’ve seen the processes across all the polling units, the ward coalition centres and here at the AMAC area council coalition centre. Everything was done perfectly well.

“They’ve tried. They’ve done everything humanly possible. I believe this high level of transparency occurred in all the coalition’s exercises that took place in AMAC.

“PDP won about two ward councillors, Karu and Karishi. That is to tell you the level of transparency that happens in this election,” he said.

Abaji Area Council

In Abaji, INEC declared Umar Abdullahi Abubakar of the APC as chairman after he polled 15,535 votes. He defeated his closest challenger from the YPP, who scored 5,357 votes, while the PDP candidate secured 4,547 votes.

Kuje Area Council

In Kuje, the APC candidate, Danjuma Shekwolo, emerged winner with 17,269 votes. Declaring the results, the Returning Officer, Nkiruka Odoh of the University of Abuja, said Shekwolo, having satisfied the requirements of the law, was duly elected as Chairman of Kuje Area Council.

The PDP candidate, Zakwoyi Danlami, polled 15,824 votes, while the APGA candidate, Abdullahi Galadima, secured 4,305 votes.

However, the concluded FCT election, according to reports, witnessed a low turnout of voters across the six area councils.

Other observations noted by YIAGA include:

“Ward collation commenced between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm in 66% of the collation centres observed. An additional 10% began between 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm, while 3% commenced between 9:00 pm and midnight,” the statement reads.

“In Kuje Central and Kabi wards of Kuje area council, collation did not begin until the following morning.

“The primary causes of delay included late arrival of materials from polling units, absence of collation at designated times, logistical failures in transporting sensitive materials, and reported intimidation of officials by political thugs.”

According to the CSO, 80 per cent of the centres publicly displayed the notice of results poster (Form EC60E) for chairmanship elections.

The organisation noted that party agents were asked to countersign result forms in 95 per cent of centres, with varying compliance across parties: ADC agents in 88 per cent, APC in 93 per cent, PDP in 91 per cent, and SDP in 59 per cent.

Yiaga said its observers reported several incidents of intimidation and violence.

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