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From Idu Jude Abuja
However, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), Stephen Abraham Ajiya, has boasted that the FCT area Council election coming up on Saturday was a mere formality as the party was sure of complete victory.
Ajiya, who spoke exclusively to the Daily Sun in Abuja, ahead of the poll, indicated that candidates from main opposition parties like the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) have not only stepped down but also declared membership of the ruling party at various area councils.
For instance, he said prior to the election, Julius Adamu, a former member and PDP flag bearer, stepped down and joined the APC with all his counsellors and supporters.
At the Abuja Municipal Council, the PDP’s main flag bearer for the election, Zadna Dintani also stepped down for the APC candidate on Wednesday in Abuja with a declaration before the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike.
He further assured that more candidates were going to step down and defect to the APC, due to entrenched people-oriented projects carried out by the administration.
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“As I told you, we are still waiting with our hands open to welcome the remaining opposition candidates from other area councils to fall in line. And let me also tell you that with or without, the APC will win. It is obvious if you are a follower of area council elections in the FCT. As it stands, only one area council is not of the APC and that is likely to happen on or before Saturday. For instance, in the AMAC, as a Gbagyi man, I can testify and everyone can see how the city has been transformed by Wike team and Christopher Maikalangu’s team. And such goes to other area councils like Bwari, Kwali, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Abaji. The new trend of massive infrastructural development speaks for the party and that is why one can see massive support and defection. If not, did this kind of thing happen in 2023? What actually happened that made the ruling party not win the FCT? So, elections here are grassroots not money politics. So, it is a thing of pride to some of us who followed him from the PDP to the APC to see that his achievements are more remarkable than those of his predecessors. And we are calling on all indigenes of the FCT and residents to come out en masse to vote for him for a second tenure.”
Ajiya, however, debunked the rumour of the area council’s traditional chiefs being bought over by the ruling party, dismissing the allegation as a political gimmick. “I can tell you that politicians are like that. Once they find themselves in a tight corner, they will start smelling rats. And if you didn’t ask me, I wouldn’t know that the APGA is in the race for the FCT polls. I don’t even know who their candidates are at various area councils. And don’t forget that this is a democracy where votes speak. Even the chiefs have one vote each, so with or without them, political parties can, as well, speak to the people and have their votes.”
He argued that even the FCT chiefs would like to have better candidates voted in because the 2023 experience has taught the people a bitter lesson. “For instance, the choice of Sen. Ireti Kingibe, as a non-indigene, was a mistake; she has contributed nothing since her election into the National Assembly.
“Nobody sees her, she is not accessible. She does no work. She cares for nobody, and maybe that’s why the indigenous people are angry but apart from that, how could anyone in his or her right frame of mind think of voting for any other party after all that the APC has done in the FCT?”
Meanwhile, Ajiya has denied that defectors were forced or induced financially. He attributed it to the massive implementation of party manifestos, which underscore performance and good leadership. “I don’t think this is true because I happen to know all these council chairmen. At least, if there was anything like that, they could have extended some to me. “Moreover, I don’t think a fellow council chairman can bribe another to step down for him because they all get equal allocation. So, what is it that anyone can give that was not at your disposal as a chairman? I think it was all about brotherhood and working for a common purpose. I listened to the speech of the PDP man during his step-down ceremony and he stated that he did it because of the common Gbagyi agenda. And maybe, he doesn’t want this Senator Kingibe kind of leadership, where the people she represents do not have access to her.
On the INEC e-transmission of results, she blamed those protesting over the Senate’s stand, calling them ignorant of the dotted lines. “I don’t think those who are protesting the dotted lines read well. And in my understanding, the clauses are clear. The IReV is said to transmit results but there must be alternatives, should it fail, but the protesters said no that it must be only e-television. And to be candid, who can guarantee a steady network throughout the elections? Even the network providers for ordinary phone calls fail every minute. Does it mean we should postpone the elections when network providers fail?” he queried.
