The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Mr. Christopher Maikalangu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections held on Saturday, February 21, 2026.
The FCT Area Council elections took place across six area councils, with voters participating to elect chairmen and councillors.
INEC officials conducted the electoral process in compliance with Nigeria’s electoral laws and procedures, including voter accreditation and ballot counting.
AMAC is one of the six area councils within the FCT, encompassing densely populated urban communities. Area council elections are held to fill local government executive positions that oversee grassroots governance and service delivery.
Prof. Andrew Abue, the AMAC Collation Officer, announced the results of the chairmanship contest, showing that Maikalangu secured the highest number of valid votes among the candidates.
According to the results, 65,197 votes were cast in the election, with 2,336 votes rejected. Registered voters in AMAC totalled 837,338, while 65,676 were accredited at polling units.
Maikalangu, the incumbent chairman, received 40,295 valid votes. The candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr. Paul Ogidi, came second with 12,109 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mr. Dantani Zanda, scored 3,398 votes.
Other candidates from multiple political parties also polled various numbers of votes.
The collation centre confirmed that the result sheets from the AMAC election were signed by party agents from several political parties, including ADC, APC, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Young Progressives Party (YPP), and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
Mr. Abue said, “That Maikalangu of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected.”
The APC Collation Agent, Mr. Gambo Babale, said, “INEC have done so well. We’ve seen the processes across all the polling units, the ward collation centres and here at AMAC area council collation centre. Everything was done perfectly well.”
Mr. Babale also noted, “PDP won about two ward councillors, Karu and Karishi. That is to tell you the level of transparency that happens in this election.”
The YPP Ward Collation Agent, Mr. Abdullahi Ibrahim, said the collation process was transparent and congratulated the winner.
The declaration of the AMAC chairmanship result forms part of the broader FCT Area Council polls, a significant sub‑national election ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The outcome in AMAC reflects the political engagements and competitive processes among political parties at the local level.
Valid and transparent election results in area councils contribute to public confidence in Nigeria’s democratic processes and electoral administration. The conduct and results of these elections are part of ongoing national discourse on governance and local representation.
