FCT Area Council Election: APC grants waivers to new defected aspirants, fixes June 25 for party primaries

From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has granted waivers to all new entrants from opposition parties to contest the party’s June 25, 2025, primary election for the February 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections.

The decision was reached at an emergency meeting of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) on Monday, June 16, 2025, at its headquarters in Abuja, despite protests from some party members to deny the new entrants waivers.

APC National Organising Secretary, Muhammed Suleiman Arugungu, confirmed the waivers on Tuesday, June 17, while inaugurating the Chairmen and Secretaries of the Screening and Screening Appeal Committees for the Area Council election.

Speaking during the inauguration, Arugungu said, “The NWC realised that some of the aspirants have just joined the party. In consonance with the constitution of our party, the NWC on Monday approved waivers for all that have just joined the party. This is to give them the opportunity to come on board and participate in the forthcoming election.”

Although the party’s constitution requires one year of membership and financial good standing for aspirants to be eligible for the party’s ticket, Arugungu noted that the NWC waived this clause for the forthcoming election.

Inaugurating the committees on behalf of APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Arugungu disclosed that 35 aspirants are contesting for the party’s chairmanship tickets across the six Area Councils, while 135 councillorship aspirants are vying for the 62 ward tickets.

He further explained that the NWC agreed to conduct the screening exercise in three centres after consultations with the FCT party leadership. Aspirants from Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) and Bwari Area Council will be screened in Bwari; Gwagwalada will host aspirants from Gwagwalada and Kuje Area Councils; and aspirants from Abaji and Kwali Area Councils will converge in Kwali.

Arugungu revealed that AMAC has the highest number of chairmanship aspirants with nine, followed by Bwari with eight. Kuje has seven chairmanship aspirants, Kwali six, Gwagwalada four, and Abaji one. For councillorship tickets, AMAC leads with 49 aspirants, followed by Bwari with 29, Gwagwalada 19, Kwali 14, Kuje 13, and Abaji 11.

Advising the committees to be thorough, Arugungu urged them to adhere to the party’s guidelines and the Electoral Act to ensure a foolproof screening process, guaranteeing that elected candidates meet the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) guidelines. “We are admonishing you to be thorough. Your committees should be fair to all in line with the guidelines of the Constitution of the party. We should ensure that if any of our candidates is elected, we will have no fear of litigation when we win the election proper,” he noted.

Responding on behalf of the committees, Akinfolarin Mayowa promised fairness, stating, “We are going to be fair and just to all that will appear before us.”