FCT polls: ADC admits agents were ‘compromised’

By Goli Innocent

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has admitted that some of its polling unit agents were compromised during Saturday’s Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections, a setback the party says partly explains its poor outing at the polls.

A senior party chieftain, who spoke anonymously told newsmen in Abuja that reports from the field showed that in some polling units, ADC agents were either absent or allegedly induced to abandon their duties. “Well, the truth is that there are some cases… where there was a total absence of polling unit agents,” the source said. “When we investigated further, what we found was that some of the agents were actually compromised and allegedly bought over by the APC.”

The insider added that monetary inducement may have played a decisive role in weakening the party’s grassroots presence. “That may not be far from the truth, because I am aware that at some polling units, there were financial inducements that led some agents to leave the polling units completely,” the source stated.

Official results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed the All Progressives Congress (APC) sweeping five of the six area councils AMAC, Bwari, Kwali, Abaji and Kuje while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured Gwagwalada. The ADC, which fielded candidates across the councils, failed to win any chairmanship or councillorship seat and polled about 12,000 votes in AMAC, where it placed a distant second.

Beyond alleged inducement, the party insider linked the outcome to internal challenges, particularly the travails of two prominent figures Nasir El-Rufai and Abubakar Malami. “In as much as El-Rufai and Abubakar Malami are leaders and very strong pillars in the party, there are tendencies that the travails of these two frontline leaders would have dealt a serious blow to our outcome in the election,” the source said.

The chieftain also cited voter apathy, pointing to what he described as public distrust in the electoral process. “However, I would also say there was general voter apathy towards our party, based on the perception that people do not believe in the transparency and accountability of INEC to deliver the will of the masses,” he noted. Efforts to reach the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, were unsuccessful as of press time.