The national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has declared that more than 60 percent of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is now under the political control of the ruling party.
Ganduje said this on Thursday when he formally received the chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, his councillors and thousands of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters across the six area councils of the territory into the APC in Abuja.
Maikalangu formally defected from PDP to the ruling APC, with an estimated 30,000 PDP members, as claimed by APC FCT chairman, Abdulmalik Usman.
The APC national chairman said, with the latest political development, the ruling party is set to produce the only Senator for the FCT, two members of the House of Representatives and all area councils chairmen in the territory.
“Ladies and gentlemen, as part of that Renewed hope agenda, today we have started seeing that FCT will be converted to APC. Today we have a great political giant, we have the chairman of AMAC which is the most popular local government in the Federal Capital Territory. The chairman, with all his elected councillors, with all his appointed councillors, with all the politicians from PDP, they have decided to come to our great party, the APC. He has come with his thousands of supporters.
“Also, we have decampees from Bwari Area Council. We have decampees from Kuje Area Council, we have decampees from Abaji Area Council, we have decampees from Kwali Area Council, we have decampees from Gwagwalada Area Councils. What remains now, almost all the politicians, all the people, more than 60% of the Federal Capital Territory is now APC,” he said.
Maikalangu, who was elected AMAC chairman on the PDP platform in 2022, said his decision to join the APC was motivated by a desire to advance the development of the council and align with a party that is in control at the federal level.
“Yes, I’m the most honest man today. What you are seeing here, I’m doing for the interest of my people. The reality is to join the APC, so we can move AMAC forward,” he declared.
Flanked by his councillors and aides, Maikalangu emphasised that the defection was collective.
“Everyone is going to APC. You can see I’m here with my councillors, my commissioners — all of them are here with me,” he stated.
In a special remarks on behalf of former APC Governors, the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, declared no vacancy in the Aso Rock presidential villa come 2027, adding that President Bola Tinubu will be overwhelming re-elected to continue with the good work he is doing for the country.
Bello said APC was intact and called on aggrieved party members to unite. He stressed that APC will soon take over all the area councils in the FCT.
While presenting the defectors to the party’s national leadership, the APC state chairman for FCT, Abdulmalik Usman assured that the party under his leadership will redouble its efforts towards ensuring that the ruling party takes over the nation’s capital ahead of the 2027 general election.
The event drew a massive crowd of supporters and witnessed the presence of top APC stalwarts, including the party’s national chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje; Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State; Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibril; and minister of special duties and intergovernmental affairs, Hon. Zaphaniah Bitrus Jisalo.
Others in attendance included the minister of women affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim; minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh; FCT minister of state, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud Bankure; former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello; and FCT APC Chairman.
Deputy Senate President Barau echoed a message of victory and unity, predicting a landslide win for the APC in the coming council elections.
“We are going to make APC, President Tinubu, and Nigeria proud. Let us work together to make our nation great,” he urged.
Highlighting the inclusion of FCT indigenes in national governance, Jisalo thanked Tinubu for appointing him as a minister, saying it was the first time a Gbagyi indigene of Abuja had been so recognised.
“So, will we give our vote to this person or someone else? Of course, we will give it to him,” he said to loud cheers from the crowd.
Maikalangu, will seek to continue his tenure under a new political platform, as the APC looks to strengthen its hold on the FCT political landscape.
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