The African Democratic Congress has rejected the outcome of the Saturday’s Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections, describing the exercise as flawed and vowing to challenge the results in court.

In a statement issued on Sunday after the declaration of winners by the Independent National Electoral Commission, the party alleged widespread irregularities, voter suppression and procedural breaches that, it claimed, undermined the credibility of the polls.

The elections, held across the six area councils namely; Abuja Municipal Area Council, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Kwali, and Abaji, saw candidates of the All Progressives Congress secure victories in five councils and PDP one council.

However, the ADC maintained that the results did not reflect the true will of the electorate.

The party accused electoral officials in some polling units of failing to adhere strictly to guidelines, citing alleged incidents of result manipulation and logistical lapses.

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President Bola Tinubu has congratulated winners of the just-concluded elections in the Federal Capital Territory, Kano State, and Rivers State, describing the outcomes as a testament to democratic resilience.

In a statement released by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission conducted polls across the six area councils of the FCT and held by-elections in designated state constituencies in Kano and Rivers states.

The elections covered chairmanship and councillorship seats in Abuja Municipal Area Council, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Kwali, and Abaji.

By-elections were also conducted in Kano Municipal and Ungogo constituencies in Kano State, as well as Ahoada East II and Khana II constituencies in Rivers State.

According to results declared by INEC, the All Progressives Congress secured victories in Abaji, Kwali, Abuja Municipal Area Council, and Bwari, while the Peoples Democratic Party clinched Gwagwalada Area Council. In Rivers State, the APC won both Ahoada East II and Khana II seats.

President Tinubu urged the elected officials to approach their mandates with humility, patriotism, and dedication, emphasizing that the trust reposed in them by voters must be upheld through service-driven leadership.

He also commended the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for what he described as transformative leadership in the territory, noting that his developmental strides have translated into political gains for the ruling party.

The President extended his congratulations to the national leadership of the APC, as well as party structures in Kano and Rivers states, applauding members for their commitment throughout the electoral process.

Tinubu further praised INEC, security agencies, and voters for ensuring a peaceful exercise.

He acknowledged the participation of all candidates, stating that competitive engagement strengthens democratic culture and institutions.

He encouraged the electoral body to sustain and improve its standards in delivering credible elections nationwide.

Despite the commendations, reports indicated that voter turnout was relatively low in some areas, while opposition parties raised concerns over alleged irregularities.

The PDP has since constituted a legal team to challenge aspects of the FCT Area Council elections through the appropriate judicial channels.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Joash Amupitan, has commended the conduct of the Federal Capital Territory area council elections, describing the exercise as peaceful, orderly and efficient.

Speaking with journalists on Saturday after monitoring voting activities in parts of the Abuja Municipal Area Council, Amupitan expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the general turnout of voters.

He noted that accreditation using BVAS took only a few seconds in most polling units visited, significantly reducing waiting time and contributing to the smooth flow of the exercise.

According to him, reports from presiding officers indicated that the technology functioned effectively across the territory.

The INEC chairman praised voters, security personnel and election officials for maintaining calm and professionalism throughout the process.

He added that the peaceful atmosphere observed at the polling units reflected positive progress in Nigeria’s democratic journey.

Addressing concerns over the reported harassment of a journalist by security operatives, Amupitan said the commission promptly intervened to secure the journalist’s release, reaffirming INEC’s commitment to protecting accredited media personnel and observers.

While acknowledging minor delays in the deployment of materials and ad hoc staff in a few locations, he said the commission swiftly addressed the issues.

As of mid-morning, he disclosed, nearly all polling units across the FCT had opened for voting, with real-time monitoring ongoing from the situation room.

Amupitan assured residents that the commission remained committed to ensuring that every valid vote counts and pledged further improvements ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Henrietta Bulabari, has been declared winner of the Khana II State House of Assembly Constituency bye-election in Rivers State.

The Returning Officer, Angela Briggs, announced that Bulabari polled 7,647 votes to emerge victorious, having met the constitutional requirements.

According to the results released at the end of the exercise, the vote tally stood as follows: AA secured 46 votes, APC 7,647, NNPP 37, YPP 23, and ZLP 47.

Data from the poll showed that out of 71,914 registered voters, 7,834 were accredited to vote. A total of 7,800 votes were declared valid, while 34 ballots were rejected.

Party agents monitored the collation and declaration of the results.

Reacting to her victory, Bulabari expressed delight over the outcome, describing the election as free, fair and peaceful.

She pledged to initiate impactful constituency projects and ensure effective representation for the people of Khana II.

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mohammed Kasim, has been declared winner of the Gwagwalada Area Council chairmanship election conducted as part of the 2026 Federal Capital Territory area council polls.

The Independent National Electoral Commission returning officer for Gwagwalada, Philip Akpen, announced the result in the early hours of Sunday, stating that Kasim polled 22,165 votes to defeat Yahaya Shehu of the All Progressives Congress, who secured 17,788 votes.

Akpen said the election was peaceful and orderly, adding that Kasim, having satisfied the requirements of the law, was duly returned elected.

Biko Umar of the All Progressives Grand Alliance finished third with 1,687 votes.

The area council elections were held across the six councils in the FCT — Abuja Municipal Area Council, Abaji, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali — for both chairmanship and councillorship positions.

In Gwagwalada Area Council, 207,577 voters were registered, while 46,294 were accredited for the exercise.

A breakdown of the chairmanship results shows that the PDP scored 22,165 votes, APC 17,788, APGA 1,687, ADC 1,366, SDP 432, NNPP 175, YPP 158, AA 116, ADP 128, APM 24, while party A recorded 151 votes.

A total of 43,960 votes were declared valid, with 1,521 rejected ballots.

The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared Christopher Maikalangu of the All Progressives Congress as the elected chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council.

The collation officer for AMAC, Andrew Abue, said that Maikalangu, who is the incumbent AMAC chairman, was returned elected, having scored the highest number of votes cast — 40,295 out of the total number of valid votes of 62,861 in the election.

He said that the African Democratic Congress came second with 12,109 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party polled 3,398 votes.

According to Abue, the rejected votes are 2,336 and the total valid votes are 62,861, while the total votes cast are 65,197.

He added that the number of registered voters in AMAC was 837,338, while the total number of accredited voters was 65,676.

“That Maikalangu of the APC, having certified the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Abue said.

The votes of the 12 political parties and their candidates that contested the election are as follows:

Agbon Vaniah of the Accord (A) – 403 votes;

Nemiebika Tamunomiesam of the Action Alliance (AA) – 108 votes; Paul Ogidi of African Democratic Congress (ADC) – 12,109 votes; Richard Elizabeth of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) – 588 votes;

Christopher Maikalangu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) – 40,295 votes; Eze Chukwu of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) – 1,111 votes; Chukwu Promise of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) – 122 votes; Ugoh Michael of the Action Peoples Party (APP) – 32 votes; Thomas Happiness of the Boot Party (BP) – 43 votes;

Jibrin Alhassan of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) – 1,694 votes; Samson Usani of the National Rescue Movement (NRM) – 73 votes;

Dantani Zanda of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – 3,398 votes; Iber Shimakaha of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) – 90 votes; Simon Obinna of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) – 2,185 votes;

Madaki Robert of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) – 421 votes; and Swani Buba of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) – 189 votes.

Speaking in an interview with journalists immediately after the announcement of the results, the APC collation agent, Gambo Babale, described the election and collation process as credible.

“INEC has done so well. We’ve seen the processes across all the polling units, the ward coalition centres and here at AMAC area council coalition centre. Everything was done perfectly well.

“They’ve tried. They’ve done everything humanly possible. I believe this high level of transparency occurred in all the coalition’s exercise that took place in AMAC.

“PDP won about two ward councillors, Karu and Karishi. That is to tell you the level of transparency that happens in this election,” he said.

While congratulating the winner, he said the victory was for Maikalangu to deliver more dividends of democracy to the people of AMAC.

Babale said that the results were an indication that the APC was ready for victory in 2027.

The YPP ward collation agent, Abdullahi Ibrahim, also described the collation process as transparent, while congratulating the winner.

The result sheets were signed by the ADC, APC, APGA, YPP and NNPP party agents present at the collation centre.

Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has dismissed a viral prophecy predicting the impeachment of his deputy, Olayide Adelami, describing it as a distraction with no basis in reality.

The prophecy was made by Olumuyiwa Akogun, General Overseer of God Central Ministry in Ekiti State, in a video circulating on social media.

In the footage, the cleric claimed to have seen a vision of political turmoil in Ondo State involving the governor and his deputy.

According to him, the vision featured what looked like a breaking news announcement declaring that the deputy governor had been impeached.

He also described seeing the governor and his deputy standing behind each other holding a flag before a sudden storm separated them — which he interpreted as a sign of looming conflict.

“I saw breaking news. I saw the picture of the deputy governor, and I saw that he was impeached. The Lord told me that a step will be taken, and that step will cause chaos between the governor and the deputy. It shall be a serious problem,” the cleric said in the video.

Responding on Friday during the commissioning of the newly constructed Ayegunle-Iwaro Oka Road as part of activities marking his first anniversary in office, Governor Aiyedatiwa dismissed the prediction.

He said there was no plan to remove his deputy and stressed that Mr Adelami had not committed any offence to warrant such speculation.

The governor described his deputy as loyal and dependable, urging the public to disregard the viral claims.

“He is a loyal deputy,” the governor stated.
After the ceremony, Mr Aiyedatiwa proceeded to commission the Isuada-Iselu Road in Owo Local Government Area.

While recent ward congresses of the All Progressives Congress have generated tension in parts of the state — with reports of violence resulting in two deaths — there are no clear indications of any rift between the governor and his deputy.

Nonetheless, political discussions about succession and the future leadership of the state have intensified in recent weeks, fueling speculation in some quarters despite official reassurances from the government.

Agents of the Peoples Democratic Party and the African Democratic Congress on Saturday accused members of the ruling All Progressives Congress of attempting to induce voters with cash at Polling Unit 035 in Nyanya during the ongoing Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections.

The allegation triggered a brief commotion at the polling unit as opposition agents confronted individuals they described as APC intermediaries allegedly distributing ₦1,000 to voters waiting in line.

One opposition agent, who spoke anonymously, claimed that certain persons approached voters on the queue and offered them cash in exchange for support.

According to him, the agents openly challenged the move, leading to tension before calm was restored.

An ADC representative at the unit also condemned the alleged inducement and questioned the role of security personnel present at the scene, arguing that such actions should not be tolerated during an election.

The confrontation temporarily disrupted the voting process, with heated exchanges among voters along party lines.

At a point, a voter appealed to the protesting agents to de-escalate the situation, warning that further disturbance could result in the cancellation of results from the polling unit.

Order was eventually restored following the intervention of operatives of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, who reinforced security and monitored proceedings to ensure normal voting resumed.

Commercial activities around the area were largely suspended due to the elections, with only essential services such as Nyanya General Hospital remaining open.

Vote buying has remained a persistent concern in Nigeria’s electoral process.

Despite provisions in the Electoral Act criminalising voter inducement, enforcement has continued to pose challenges.

Analysts attribute the practice to economic hardship, weak monitoring mechanisms, and intense political competition, particularly in closely contested local elections.

Stakeholders have repeatedly urged stronger enforcement of electoral laws, enhanced voter education, and improved accountability measures to safeguard the credibility of the country’s democratic system.

The chairmanship candidate of the African Democratic Congress for Abuja Municipal Area Council, Dr. Moses Paul, has alleged that his party’s agents were subjected to threats and intimidation during Saturday’s FCT Area Council elections.

Speaking at his polling unit in AMAC, Paul expressed concern over what he described as unusually low voter turnout across parts of the council.

He attributed the situation to confusion stemming from the movement restriction imposed for the elections, arguing that it discouraged many residents from coming out to vote.

The candidate, who said he has resided in AMAC for about four decades, noted that he had never experienced similar conditions during previous elections.

He likened the atmosphere to a state of emergency, insisting that the restrictions were excessive and unnecessary.

While raising concerns over the alleged intimidation of ADC agents in Takum Shara and sections of Kabusa Ward, including Dogongada and Shereti, Paul commended officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission at his polling unit for their professionalism and adherence to laid-down procedures.

He also alleged incidents of vote-buying in some parts of the capital, describing the practice as criminal and undemocratic.

Despite the reported challenges, Paul maintained confidence in his chances at the polls, urging residents to stand firm against intimidation and demand transparent and accountable leadership.