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By Tracy Moses
The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) chairmanship race, Christopher Maikalangu, has secured victory at his polling unit in Saturday’s area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Maikalangu polled 229 votes at Polling Unit 004, Garki Village 2, to defeat his closest challenger, Paul Ogidi of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who garnered 15 votes. Onyebuchi Chukwu of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) secured one vote.
Out of the 2,287 registered voters at the polling unit, 252 were accredited and cast their ballots, reflecting a relatively low voter turnout in the area.
The incumbent chairman, who is seeking a second term in office, cast his vote earlier in the day at the same polling unit, located within his family compound in Garki.
Maikalangu is one of two serving area council chairmen under the APC seeking re-election in the FCT. The other is Abubakar Abdullahi of Abaji Area Council. The FCT comprises six area councils.
Speaking shortly after casting his vote, Maikalangu expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the election, describing the process as smooth and efficient.
“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.
Meanwhile, the election in parts of AMAC recorded low voter turnout, with only a fraction of registered voters participating in the exercise.
In a related development, former chairmanship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Zadna Dantani, had earlier stepped down from the race and endorsed Maikalangu ahead of the polls.