ABUJA — The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Christopher Maikalangu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), following the conclusion of Saturday’s chairmanship poll in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The AMAC Collation Officer, Prof. Andrew Abue, announced the result at the collation centre after the final votes were tallied. According to him, Maikalangu, who is the incumbent chairman, secured 40,295 votes out of 62,861 valid votes cast to win a fresh mandate.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Paul Ogidi, came second with 12,109 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dantani Zanda, finished third with 3,398 votes.

Prof. Abue disclosed that 2,336 votes were rejected, bringing the total votes cast to 65,197. He further stated that out of 837,338 registered voters in AMAC, 65,676 voters were accredited for the election.

“Christopher Maikalangu of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Abue said while announcing the result.

Full Breakdown of Results

Other political parties recorded the following votes:

• Accord (A) — Agbon Vaniah: 403
• Action Alliance (AA) — Nemiebika Tamunomiesam: 108
• African Democratic Congress (ADC) — Paul Ogidi: 12,109
• Action Democratic Party (ADP) — Richard Elizabeth: 588
• All Progressives Congress (APC) — Christopher Maikalangu: 40,295
• All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) — Eze Chukwu: 1,111
• Allied Peoples Movement (APM) — Chukwu Promise: 122
• Action Peoples Party (APP) — Ugoh Michael: 32
• Boot Party (BP) — Thomas Happiness: 43
• New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) — Jibrin Alhassan: 1,694
• National Rescue Movement (NRM) — Samson Usani: 73
• Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — Dantani Zanda: 3,398
• Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) — Iber Shimakaha: 90
• Social Democratic Party (SDP) — Simon Obinna: 2,185
• Young Progressives Party (YPP) — Madaki Robert: 421
• Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) — Swani Buba: 189

However, the official declaration followed a wave of early speculation on social media and in some online circles suggesting that the ADC candidate had emerged victorious. The initial claims, which surfaced shortly after voting ended and collation commenced, were based on results from a handful of polling units where the ADC reportedly performed strongly.

The speculation generated brief confusion among supporters before INEC completed the collation of results from all wards in the council. The final figures, as announced by the commission, showed a clear lead for the APC candidate.

The AMAC election was conducted alongside other Area Council polls across the FCT and was largely peaceful, though turnout in several polling units was observed to be low.

With the declaration, Maikalangu is set to continue in office for another term as chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council.