Tinubu’s APC government repeats election rigging

West Africa WeeklyFebruary 24, 20262 Mins read15

Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has claimed victory in five of the six chairmanship seats contested in the Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections, even as frustration over low turnout, confusion and questions about how the election was conducted have overshadowed the results. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took the single remaining seat in Gwagwalada, but the overall atmosphere in the nation’s capital was anything but a normal and smooth democratic exercise.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the official results on Sunday, showing APC wins in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Abaji, Bwari, Kwali and Kuje. Christopher Maikalangu was returned as AMAC chairman with 40,295 votes, while Umar Abdullahi Abubakar won in Abaji, Joshua Ishaku in Bwari, Nuhu Daniel in Kwali and Danjuma Shekwolo in Kuje. Mohammed Kasim of the PDP secured the lone opposition win in Gwagwalada with 22,165 votes.

For many Abuja residents, however, the day was marked not by celebration but by bewilderment and disillusionment. Voter turnout was extremely low across most polling units, with figures at some places barely reaching double digits even hours after voting began. In parts of the Abuja Municipal Area Council, officials reported that only a handful of voters had cast ballots several hours into the day, while long queues were largely absent in other locations.

Confusion over polling unit locations added to the disarray. Many registered voters said they arrived at designated locations only to find their units relocated without clear notice, forcing some to abandon the process entirely. Late arrival of electoral materials at several units also delayed accreditation and voting, aggravating the sense that the exercise was poorly coordinated.

Groups aligned with opposition movements described what happened in concrete terms. In statements released after the poll, activists criticised the results as not reflecting the will of residents and pointed to incidents that took place during the day. One organisation reported that its polling agent was killed while trying to protect ballot boxes, underscoring the tensions that played out on the ground.

Beyond operational problems, the exercise revealed deep disengagement among ordinary citizens. In the capital, where voter registration rolls run into hundreds of thousands, actual participation appeared to represent only a small fraction of eligible voters. Former political leaders and public figures noted that turnout in some areas was under ten percent.

From the perspective of political momentum, the result gives the ruling party a strong foothold at the local level in Abuja just as the country approaches larger national elections. Securing five out of six chairmanship seats well ahead of the main electoral contests gives the APC significant organisational advantage, control of grassroots structures and influence over local governance in the territory.

Yet the manner in which the polls unfolded has left many questioning the legitimacy of that advantage. Residents who struggled to find their polling units, waited for hours without voting, or witnessed disorder around accreditation and ballot handling told neighbours and friends that the election experience felt engineered rather than participatory. News of long delays, relocated units and low participation spread quickly once results began to circulate, feeding a sense that the exercise fell well short of what a credible poll should look like.

Across the territory, votes were counted and winners announced, but the titling of results is only part of the story. For many Abuja residents, the day’s events raised uneasy questions about how competitive local elections can truly be when turnout is weak, communication about procedures is poor, and political dominance is so pronounced. Whether the APC’s sweep reflects actual voter preference or a broader pattern of managed outcomes remains a subject of heated debate among citizens and political actors alike.