The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mohammed Kasim, has won the Gwagwalada Area Council chairmanship in the local government elections held across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Sunday.
Mr Kashim polled 22,165 votes to defeat his rivals in the election.
The PDP defeated its contender from the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yahaya Shehu, who scored 17,788 votes.
Declaring Mr Kasim as the winner, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Returning Officer, Philip Akpen, said the election was peaceful and smooth.
Mr Kasim’s manifesto during his campaign focused on community welfare, women’s empowerment, improved healthcare services, and enhanced education opportunities for children.
INEC conducted the local elections across the six council areas of the FCT, including Gwagwalada, on Saturday. The rest are the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Abaji, Kwali, Abaji and Kuje.
The elections were in two categories – the chairmanship and councillorship.
PDP pulled through in the election at a time it is facing its most devastating crisis, which has led to division in its national leadership and loss of governors and lawmakers elected on its platform to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its top figures such as the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Although, the outcome of the local election does not necessarily mirror the popularity of the PDP at the national level, it is a significant victory for the party in a section of Nigeria’s capital which reflects the multi-ethnic and multi-religious composition of Nigeria.
It may also be a pointer to the fact that APC’s enhanced dominance with high-profile defections from the opposition parties to its fold in the last one year may not have taken a strong hold in many local areas of the country.
A breakdown of the chairmanship election results in Gwagwalada Area Council is as follows:
Gwagwalada Area Council
– Registered voters: 207,577
– Accredited voters: 46,294
Results
– A: 151
– AA: 116
– ADC: 1,366
– ADP: 128
– APC: 17,788
– APGA: 1,687
– APM: 24
– NNPP: 175
– PDP: 22,165
– SDP: 432
– YPP: 158
– Total valid votes: 43,960
– Rejected votes: 1,521