The Peoples Democratic Party has inaugurated a special legal team to challenge the results of Saturday’s election held across the Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory.
As declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, candidates of the All Progressives Congress won five of the six chairmanship seats in the council elections.
The APC won the Abuja Municipal Area Council, Abaji, Bwari, Kwali and Kuje, while the PDP secured the chairmanship seat in Gwagwalada.
The exercise, conducted to fill six chairmanship and 62 councillorship seats, was marred by widespread voter apathy and reported vote-buying.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, on Sunday, the party congratulated its winning candidates but alleged irregularities.
The party said its legal team would be headed by its National Legal Adviser, Shafi Bara’u, Esq., and urged aggrieved candidates to act promptly.
“We specifically congratulate the chairman-elect of Gwagwalada Area Council, Mohammed Kasim, and the councillors who have been declared successful by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“This victory, though less in number than we anticipated, is particularly gladdening because it is against the background of unprecedented intimidation, high-powered money politics and brazen executive brigandage,” the statement read.
Ememobong further alleged misconduct during the polls.
“Reports and video evidence abound where armed security personnel were used to cart away result sheets at polling units, intimidate voters and unduly influence the outcome of the elections.”
The statement added, “The incredible voter apathy in these polls is a direct response to the anti-people Electoral Act 2026, where the people have completely lost faith in electoral outcomes conducted under this Act.
“These local council polls may just be a foreshadowing of the forthcoming general elections in 2027 if changes are not urgently made.”
According to results declared by INEC officials, Christopher Maikalangu of the APC was returned elected in the Abuja Municipal Area Council, after polling 40,295 votes out of 62,861 valid votes cast.
The Returning Officer for AMAC, Andrew Abue, declared, “That Maikalangu of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected.”
The African Democratic Congress came second with 12,109 votes, while the PDP secured 3,398 votes.
The total votes cast stood at 65,197, with 2,336 rejected votes. AMAC recorded 837,338 registered voters and 65,676 accredited voters.
In the Bwari Area Council, Joshua Ishaku of the APC emerged victorious with 18,466 votes.
Announcing the result, the Returning Officer, Mohammed Nurudeen, said, “That Joshua Ishaku, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected.”
The ADC polled 4,254 votes to place second, while the Zenith Labour Party garnered 3,515 votes to finish third. The election was conducted across the 10 wards of the council.
In Abaji Area Council, Umar Abubakar of the APC secured 15,535 votes to defeat his closest challenger from the Young Progressives Party, who polled 5,357 votes.
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[b] PDP candidate came third with 4,547 votes. Declaring the result, INEC Returning Officer Muhammad Usman said, “Umar Abdullahi Abubakar of APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
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Similarly, in Kwali Area Council, the APC candidate, Nuhu Daniel, polled 17,032 votes to defeat Haruna Pai of the PDP, who secured 8,575 votes.
Also, the APC won the Kuje Area Council chairmanship election, with its candidate, Danjuma Shekwolo, emerging victorious. Shekwolo polled 17,269 votes, according to the official results.
Declaring the outcome, Returning Officer, Prof Nkiruka Odoh of the University of Abuja, said, “Shekwolo, having secured the highest number of votes and met all legal requirements, is duly elected and returned as Chairman of Kuje Area Council.”
Closely trailing the APC candidate, the PDP candidate, Zakwoyi Danlami, polled 15,824 votes, while the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Abdullahi Galadima, scored 4,305 votes.
The PDP’s lone victory came in Gwagwalada Area Council, where Mohammed Kasim polled 22,165 votes to defeat Yahaya Shehu of the APC, who secured 17,788 votes.
Announcing the result, the Returning Officer, Philip Akpen, said, “That Mohammed Kasim of the PDP, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected.”
Biko Umar of the All Progressives Grand Alliance came third with 1,687 votes. Gwagwalada recorded 207,577 registered voters and 46,294 accredited voters, with 43,960 valid votes and 1,521 rejected votes.
INEC denies voter migration claims
INEC, on Sunday, announced that over 239,000 voters participated in the just-concluded FCT Area Council elections, representing about 15 per cent of the 1,680,315 registered voters.
In a statement signed by the Acting Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr Wilfred Ifogah, on Sunday in Abuja, the commission expressed appreciation to residents of the FCT for their peaceful conduct and cooperation throughout the electoral process.
According to INEC’s Election Operations Dashboard, 45 per cent of polling units had opened for voting as of 8:30 am on election day, while all polling units were confirmed open by 10:00 am.
The commission, however, acknowledged that some voters experienced difficulties locating their designated polling units.
Addressing claims in some quarters that voters were migrated to new polling units, INEC denied the allegation, clarifying that no voter was transferred from their original units.
“Contrary to the claim in some quarters that some voters were migrated to another/new polling units different from their original polling units, the commission wishes to state categorically that voters were not migrated,” the statement read.
It explained that what was done was the creation of split polling units in locations with over 1,250 registered voters to reduce congestion on election day.
“The split units are located a few meters away from the original polling units within the same premises,” INEC stated.
The commission recalled that it displayed the voter register at designated centres and split polling units four days before the elections to enable voters confirm their details and polling unit locations.
It added that text messages and emails were sent to affected voters from Wednesday, February 18, through Saturday, February 21, 2026, to notify them of the exact locations of their split polling units.
“These were intended solely as reminders to assist them in identifying their current polling units,” the commission said.
INEC further disclosed that as of 2:00 pm on Sunday, February 22, 2026, 93 per cent of polling unit results had been uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal, allowing residents and other interested members of the public to access results from the six Area Councils.
While expressing concern over voter apathy, the commission noted an improvement compared to the 2022 Area Council elections, where 148,685 voters, representing 9.4 per cent of registered voters, participated.
“In the current election, over 239,210 voters voted, representing approximately 15 per cent of the 1,680,315 total registered voters in the FCT,” the statement added.
INEC attributed the delay in announcing the Kuje Area Council result to the difficult terrain in Kabi Ward, which slowed the final collation process.
The commission said the level of participation recorded across the six Area Councils reflects citizens’ continued trust in the democratic process and the electoral system.