FCT Polls: PDP’s Kasim Clinches Gwagwalada Chairmanship Seat

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has seized victory in the Gwagwalada area council chairmanship election, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) successfully defended its stronghold in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) during Saturday’s Area Council polls in FCT.

The returning officer for the Gwagwalada election, Philip Akpeni, mounted the podium in the early hours of Sunday to deliver the verdict that would silence the APC campaign camp.

According to the official results, PDP candidate, Mohammed Kasim, secured a decisive victory with 22,165 votes, defeating his closest rival, Yahaya Shehu of the APC, who garnered 17,788 votes. Biko Umar of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) trailed in a distant third with 1,687 votes.

“I am the returning officer for the 2026 FCT Area Council, Gwagwalada chairmanship held on Feb. 21, 2026,” Akpeni announced to a crowd of party agents and observers.

He then formally declared the winner, stating, “That Mohammed Kasim of PDP, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected.”

The atmosphere shifted dramatically in the AMAC collation centre, where the incumbent chairman, Christopher Maikalangu of the APC, was confirmed to have retained his seat.

Maikalangu, who defected from the PDP to the APC last year, polled an imposing 40,295 votes to secure his return.

Collation Officer Andrew Abueo confirmed the commanding win, noting the wide margin over his competitors.

He reported that Maikalangu was “returned elected having scored the highest number of votes cast.”

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate managed a second-place finish with 12,109 votes, while the PDP, Maikalangu’s former party, could only muster a distant 3,398 votes.

Providing a breakdown of the electoral statistics for AMAC, Abueo stated that from a registered voter base of 837,338, the total number of accredited voters stood at 65,676.

The total votes cast in the chairmanship poll were 65,197, out of which 62,861 were deemed valid.