* AMAC falls to opposition
*Less than 10% of 1.3m voted
* Disability community decries ‘poor preparation’
By Our Correspondents
The main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, clinched an additional chairmanship seat in the just concluded FCT Area Council elections, thereby splitting control of the six area councils by half.
The party went from winning two chairmanship slots in 2019 when it had just Bwari and Kuje in its kitty, to having three in 2022 following its victory in Abuja Municipal Area Council on Saturday.
The PDP candidate, Christopher Zaka, was declared winner of the chairmanship election in AMAC after polling 19, 302 to beat his closest rival, Murtala Karshi, of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, who scored 13, 240 with a margin lead of 6, 062.
Recall that Karshi’s candidacy was affirmed barely 48 hours to the election following months of legal battle between himself and an aspirant in the APC primaries, Suleiman Gwagwa.
Karshi had approached the Supreme Court challenging a judgment by the Appeal Court which earlier pronounced Hon. Gwagwa as the candidate of the APC in the February 12 polls.
However, Justice Chima Nweze, who read the judgment on Thursday, February 10, said that all evidence presented by Gwagwa to challenge the candidacy of Karshi lacked merit and so Karshi was affirmed the APC candidate with cost of N5m against Gwagwa.
Meanwhile, incumbent chairmen, Hon John Gabaya and Hon. Suleiman Abdullahi Sabo, both of the PDP, were returned chairmen for a second term in Bwari and Kuje Area Councils, respectively.
Sabo, got a total of 13,301 votes to defeat his closest rival, Sarki Hamidu of the APC who got 7,694 votes.
Similarly, the Returning Officer for Chairmanship Election in Bwari Prof. Amuche Madu, declared Gabaya winner after polling 13,045 to defeat his closest rival Mr Haruna Shekwolo of the APC who scored 7,697.
The ruling All Progressives Congress, however retained the chairmanship seats in Abaji, Kwali and Gwagwalada Area Councils.
Though the APC won the chairmanship election in Abaji, the returning officer for Abaji Area Council, Prof. Gabriel Mordi, reserved the declaration of the winner of the election to a later date pending the determination of the case before the courts in Abuja.
Mordi said though the APC scored the highest votes, they could not be declared winner without a party candidate for the election.
The election was keenly contested in Kwali Area Council, with a narrow margin of 301 between the candidate of the APC, Mr Danladi Chiya and that of the Peoples Democratic Party, Haruna Pai.
The returning officer, Professor Wesley Nafarnda of University of Abuja, declared the incumbent chairman, Danladi Chiya, winner of Kwali area council chairmanship election after scoring a total of 7,646 against his closest rival, Pai, who scored 7,345.
Mr Chiya is the first, since inception of democracy in Kwali area council, to be reelected as an incumbent chairman.
The Abuja Inquirer learnt that the PDP has given indication to contest the result as the number of voided votes exceed the margin between the candidates.
It was a landslide victory for the APC in Gwagwalada, where their chairmanship candidate and incumbent, Jubrin Abubakar, polled 11,125 votes to beat his closest rival of the PDP, Mr. Mohammed Kassim, who garnered 9,597 votes.
In a Joint Preliminary Report on PWD Inclusion in the poll, it was stated that the INEC did not make enough accommodation for persons with disability.
The report by The Albino Foundation, Inclusive Friends Association and Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities noted that; “many of the polling units were set and mounted on dais making it difficult for blind persons and persons with physical disability to access the accreditation and voting units and points. In some instances, the polling officers claimed that all persons with physical disability that came to vote were “carried”/ “lifted” by the Assistant Presiding Officers before they could be accredited and allowed to vote.
“As against the assurance given by INEC in the build-up to the election, important devices and voting aids were not provided at the polling units visited. Many of the units visited had no magnifying glasses, braille ballots, etc. When asked, one of the Presiding Officers in Gwagwalada Area Council said that blind voters were assisted by them or any of the electorates to vote and this may include directing him/ her to choose the candidate(s) of his/ her choice.
“Priority voting opportunity was not also given to PWDs in most of the Polling Units visited. This was a clear indication that some PWDs who were ready to vote were not given special consideration that will reflect their peculiarities.”