BREAKING: #FCTDecides2026 — APC’s Maikalangu wins polling unit by wide margin

Mr Maikalangu, who voted earlier at Polling Unit 004, Garki Village 2, secured 229 votes to defeat his opponents.

Christopher Maikalangu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) chairmanship election, has won his polling unit in Saturday’s council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by a wide margin.

Mr Maikalangu, who voted earlier at Polling Unit 004, Garki Village 2, secured 229 votes to defeat his opponents. The candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Paul Ogidi, polled 15 votes, while Onyebuchi Chukwu of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) garnered one vote.

Mr Maikalangu is one of the two incumbent area council chairmen seeking re-election. The other candidate seeking second term in office is Abubakar Abdullahi of Abaji Area Council. Both are completing their first term on the platform of the APC. Meanwhile, there are six area councils in the capital city.

Before the commencement of vote counting, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu; the Minister of State for the FCT, Mariya Bunkure; and other supporters visited the polling unit, which is located within Mr Maikalangu’s family compound.

Speaking after casting his vote earlier on Saturday, Mr Maikalangu expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the election, describing the process as seamless. He noted that the accreditation and voting process was efficient, adding that he cast his ballot in less than three minutes.

“I am impressed with the turnout today; you can see that my people are out here to vote. I am satisfied with the process. In less than three minutes, I cast my vote. I think everything is okay,” he said.

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that voting in several polling units across AMAC commenced behind schedule, with low turnout and logistical challenges recorded in parts of the council. Some officials also reported intermittent malfunctioning of the fingerprint component of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), forcing reliance on facial recognition for voter accreditation.

At Mr Maikalangu’s polling unit, 252 voters were accredited and cast their ballots out of 2,287 registered voters.