By Sarah NEGEDU
As the Independent National Electoral Commission continues collation of Saturday’s Area Council elections in the FCT, early declared results indicate victories for the All Progressives Congress in AMAC and Bwari, and for the Peoples Democratic Party in Gwagwalada.
The commission has officially declared Christopher Maikalangu of APC winner of the Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, chairmanship.
Maikalangu, the incumbent, polled 40,295 votes out of 62,861 valid votes, defeating the African Democratic Congress, ADC, candidate Paul Ogidi, who scored 12,109 votes, and the PDP candidate Zadna Dantani, who garnered 3,398 votes. The total number of accredited voters in AMAC was 65,676 from 837,338 registered voters.
In Bwari, APC’s Joshua Ishaku Musa topped the chart with 18,466 votes, ahead of ADC’s 4,254 votes and Zenith Labour Party’s 3,515 votes.
The election covered 10 wards, including Igu, Shere, Dutse, Ushafa, Byazhin, Kuduru, Kubwa, Usuma, Bwari Central and Kawu.
Gwagwalada area council was however captured by PDP, as Mohammed Kasim defeated APC’s Yahaya Usman with 22,165 votes to 17,788, while APGA’s Biko Umar secured 1,687 votes.
The election was conducted across 10 wards, including Paiko, Dobi, Gwako, Ibwa, Staff Quarters, Zuba, Ikwa, Kutunku, Gwagwalada Centre and Tunga Maje.
Results for Kuje, Kwali, and Abaji are still being collated. INEC has begun uploading results from these councils on its IReV portal, with substantial progress: about 79% of Kuje, 82% of Kwali, and 95% of Abaji polling units already uploaded as at press time Sunday morning.
Early trends suggest a strong showing for APC, but final winners and vote totals are yet to be officially confirmed.
The elections recorded low voter turnout in several city-centre polling units, although participation was higher in satellite towns. INEC continues to collate and verify results to ensure accuracy before officially declaring winners in the remaining councils.
