PHOTOS: AMAC chairman, councillors dump PDP for APC

Christopher Maikalangu, chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Abdullahi Ganduje, national chairman of the APC, received Maikalangu into the ruling party alongside his councillors and thousands of supporters on Thursday at the Old Parade Ground, Abuja.

Maikalangu said he joined the APC to sustain the delivery of democratic dividends to residents of AMAC, which is the central area council in the nation’s capital.

“Today marks a defining moment in my political journey,” he said.

“I stand before you not just as your chairman, but as your servant-leader who remains committed to the progress, peace, and prosperity of our great AMAC.

“After careful consultations with stakeholders, community leaders, youth and women’s groups, and the good people of AMAC, I have made the decision to officially join the All Progressives Congress (APC).”

Maikalangu said the defection was not driven by personal ambition but by the need to align AMAC with the centre of power.

“It is about ensuring that the dividends of democracy reach every corner of our communities — from Nyanya to Karshi, from Karu to Jikwoyi, from Garki to Wuse,” he said.

He said President Bola Tinubu’s administration has brought renewed hope to the federal capital territory (FCT), especially with the appointment of Nyesom Wike as minister.

“Since the emergence of President Bola Tinubu and the appointment of Nyesom Wike as FCT minister, we have seen renewed hope in action,” the AMAC chairman said.

“We have already felt the positive impact in AMAC through federal appointments given to sons and daughters of the FCT and through projects championed by the Tinubu-led administration.”

He thanked Tinubu for the ongoing infrastructural development in the FCT.

“To our political family, let me assure you that I am still the same Maikalangu you know,” he said.

“I remain accessible, accountable, and committed to inclusive governance.

“My administration will continue to deliver people-oriented projects, empower our youth and women, and strengthen grassroots democracy.

“Let us work together, not as members of different parties, but as people united in the pursuit of a better future for AMAC.”

The APC national chairman said the wave of defections is a strong signal that residents of the FCT are solidly behind Tinubu.

“As the seat of power and the city that serves as the rallying point of Nigerians, it would be odd for Abuja to be left in the hands of opposition political parties,” he said.

He noted that Tinubu had demonstrated inclusion by appointing Abuja indigenes into key positions in his cabinet.

“This gale of defection to the APC speaks volumes of the level of acceptability of the party in the FCT,” he said.

On April 12, Ganduje said the proposed coalition of opposition leaders ahead of the 2027 elections would fail.

He spoke with journalists during the visit of the APC national working committee (NWC) to the residence of former President Muhammadu Buhari in Kaduna.