President Bola Tinubu secured 15,531 votes across the 12 wards of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) in the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary election.
The AMAC Returning Officer, Mr Christopher Maikalangu, who announced the collated results on Saturday at the Apo Town Hall, Abuja, described the direct primary exercise as peaceful, transparent and hitch-free.
A breakdown of the results showed that Chika ward recorded the highest turnout with 2,172 votes, closely followed by Karu ward with 1,826 votes, and Orozo ward with 1,706 votes.
Other results were Gwarinpa, 1,675; Karuwa, 1,548; Jibi, 1,263; Gudu, 1,060; Nyanya, 1,039; City Centre, 1,001; Gwagwa, 978; Wuse, 976; and Karshi, 447.
Speaking with newsmen on the sidelines of the primary, Maikalangu described the exercise as exceptionally smooth, transparent, and constitutionally sound.
“We are all gathered here for our President, Bola Tinubu, and we all voted for him. We don’t have any other candidate. This is the only team we have, and we have done just the way it should be in the Constitution.
“Everything is transparent, so there is no issue here,” Maikalangu said.
Responding to concerns over the low number of votes recorded at some polling points, Maikalangu explained that voting was decentralised across different areas of the council.
He added that because AMAC comprises 12 wards, votes were collated from different centres, including clusters in Karu and Nyanya.
He attributed the support for Tinubu in the FCT to the administration’s recognition of FCT indigenes.
“Our people are here because this is the only government that recognises the good people of the FCT. This is the first time we are given a ministerial slot in the territory.
“We are the beneficiaries of this government, so we must really work hard to return our President,” Maikalangu added.
Also speaking, the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Mr Zephaniah Jisalo, commended the direct primary model adopted by the APC.
“This process will deepen democracy at our grassroots level. That is why the party said we should go back to the direct option, and that is why we are here today.
“It is my prayer that our President will win his second tenure through this mandate we are giving him again. I urge all of us to vote for President Tinubu for continuity,” Jisalo said.
Newspotng reports that the APC adopted the direct primary mode for the exercise, allowing registered party members to vote at ward level rather than relying on delegates.
NAN also reports that the political atmosphere in the FCT APC has been highly charged following historic political gains.
President Tinubu appointed Jisalo as Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, making him the first indigene of the FCT to hold a ministerial position in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.
The gesture has strengthened support from indigenous communities and local political leaders, including Maikalangu, who recently defected to the APC.
