FCT council polls: APC wins in Abaji — but without a candidate

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the Abaji area council chairmanship election in the federal capital territory (FCT). 

The election was conducted on Saturday in over 60 wards spread across the six area councils in the FCT.

TheCable had reported that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari and Kuje, while the APC secured victory in Gwagwalada and Kwali.

Gabriel Mordi, INEC returning officer for Abaji, said the APC got 7,280 votes to defeat Yahaya Garba of the PDP, who got 4,063 votes.

Mordi, however, said the candidate of the APC cannot be proclaimed the winner of the election in Abaji because of a pending court case.

“We cannot declare a candidate winner in Abaji because the winning party does not have a candidate here. The case is still in court,” the returning officer said.

Muhammad Loko, an aspirant of the APC, was declared winner of the party’s chairmanship primary in 2021, but the party allegedly replaced his name with Umar Abdullahi, who was subsequently recognised by INEC as the authentic standard-bearer.

Loko later filed a suit at a federal high court in the FCT, which ruled in his favour.

Abdullahi, however, appealed the judgement but the court of appeal ruled in Loko’s favour as the standard-bearer of the party for the election.

Unhappy with the court’s ruling, Abdullahi filed a suit at the supreme court which is yet to deliver judgment on the matter.

Meanwhile, following the victory in Abaji, the APC and the PDP now control three area councils each in the FCT.