FCT Poll: APC Stakeholders Take Protest To NWC Over Delegates

Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have resolved to meet with the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to rectify issues that characterised the delegate election held over the weekend.

The stakeholders led by the minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Hon. Zaphaniah Jisalo, reached this resolution after they received the reports of the delegate election from the six area councils of the FCT at a meeting in Abuja on Monday.

LEADERSHIP learnt that the exercise which was held to elect delegates who would nominate APC candidates at the primary election on Wednesday for next year’s FCT Area Council polls was marked by some irregularities.

Addressing the stakeholders, Jisalo said he had secured an appointment with the Dr Abdullahi Ganduje-led NWC to meet with them on Monday evening and resolve the issues which arose from the delegate election.

The minister urged members to be united by the common interest of party which is to deliver President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election and secure other electoral victories, beginning with the council polls.

“The interest is a party interest and the interest is for the president to win the election in 2027…That is why I called you again, come. The outcome of the delegate election, come, let’s discuss and I have heard what all of you have said here.

“I will plead that those of you that were in the committee let’s sit down again. Those we have agreed, everybody will go. We’ll put ourselves together. So that those of you who want to see the national chairman this evening, I have already made an appointment so that we can see him.

“So we should not blame one or single person on whatever is happening today in FCT. It’s a fight for all of us, a fight and make sure we liberate our party, liberate our people in FCT. So let’s put ourselves together. It’s a struggle. It’s a struggle that we will not leave it,” he said.

Also speaking, the APC zonal secretary for North Central, Hon. Yakubu Adamu, said as party leaders and executives from the FCT, they agreed to meet the national leadership in order to resolve the issues that arose from the delegate election to go into the primaries as a united house.

“We’re here as leaders and executives of the party in FCT to discuss the outcome of the delegate election that was held on Saturday. Issues that have arose were deliberated and a committee is set to go and discuss with the leadership of the party in the national to harmonise the stand of the delegates and make sure we have a document, a working document of the election that will be coming up on Wednesday for chairmanship and councilor election.

“You know, in an election like this, there must be crisis, there must be issues, there must be people accepting what transpired and so people will have issues with that. This I think we collated and discussed and we are going to trash them by the special grace of God so that we face election on Wednesday without any issue,” he said.

On his part, chairman of the FCT APC, Abdulmalik Usman, said the issues raised would be properly addressed during the meeting with the NWC ahead of the Wednesday primary election so that candidates that would emerge would be acceptable to all party members.

“The most important thing is for us to choose our candidates, we must follow the due process. That’s why we call our leaders here so that we can discuss where things are not properly done. We complain so that they should be properly fixed,” he said.