The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has tightened its grip on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) ahead of the 2027 general election, winning five of the six Area Councils in the nation’s capital.

The FCT Area Council elections held on Saturday, February 21, saw the ruling party winning Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Kwali, Kuje, Bwari and Abaji, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) crawled back from the dead to win Gwagwalada.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Sunday morning declared Mohammed Kasim of the PDP as the winner of the Gwagwalada Area Council chairmanship election.

INEC Returning Officer, Philip Akpen, announced that Mohammed scored 22,165 votes to secure a decisive victory in a keenly contested election, while Yahaya Shehu of the APC came second with 17,788 votes

Akpen affirmed that Mohammed met the legal requirements to be returned as the duly elected chairman.

He described the electoral process as “peaceful and smooth,” despite the high stakes involved in the council polls.

Also, the electoral umpire declared Daniel Nuhu of the APC as the winner of the Kwali Area Council chairmanship election.

Nuhu polled 17,032 votes to defeat Haruna Pai of the PDP who scored 8,575 votes to come second in the election.

Similarly, INEC declared Joshua Ishaku of the APC as the winner of the Bwari area council chairmanship election.

The returning officer for the election, Mohammed Nurudeen, while declaring the results Sunday morning, said Ishaku secured a total of 18,466 votes to win the election.

In the same vein, the commission declared Zakka Christopher of the APC winner of the AMAC chairmanship election.

Christopher scored a total of 40,295 votes to defeat the ADC that polled 12,109 votes, while the PDP trailed with 3,398 votes.

The ruling party continued its winning streak after INEC declared Hon. Abdullahi Abubakar of APC winner of Abaji Area Council election. Abubakar polled a total of 15,535 votes.

He defeated his closest challenger, the Young Progressives Party (YPP) candidate, who polled 5,357 votes. The PDP candidate trailed with 4,547 votes, followed by the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) with 53 votes, and the ADC with 37 votes

INEC also declared Hon. Samuel Shekwolo of APC as the winner of Kuje Area Council election. (THISDAY)

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