701 candidates seek 62 FCT councillorship slots

A total of 1,344,856 registered voters in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will on Saturday elect 62 councillors from among 701 candidates vying for the positions in the 62 wards in the territory. Five area councils have 10 wards each while Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) has  12. The governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and the […]

A total of 1,344,856 registered voters in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will on Saturday elect 62 councillors from among 701 candidates vying for the positions in the 62 wards in the territory.

Five area councils have 10 wards each while Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) has  12.

The governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates are the main challengers in the poll but several other political parties have also fielded candidates in the election.

The 701 candidates contesting for the councillorship positions in the wards showed an increase from the 206 that contested for the same position during the 2016 area council polls.

In AMAC, 209 candidates are contesting for the 12 slots while 82 candidates contested in 2016.

Kabusa ward has the highest number of candidates with 20, while Gwarinpa, Jiwa, Nyanya and Wuse wards have 19. There are 18 candidates vying for the slots in the  City Centre, Gui and Karu wards while Garki and Orozo wards have 17 candidates. Karshi and Gwagwa wards have 13 and 12 candidates respectively.

In 2016, 21 candidates contested for the position across the 10 wards of Bwari area council but the number has shot to 111 in 2019. There are 18 candidates from Dutsen Alhaji ward and 13 from Byazhin ward. Twelve candidates are contesting for Bwari Central and Kawu wards while 11 are contesting for the position in Kubwa and Kurudu wards.

Nine candidates are also vying for the slot in Shere and Ushafa wards while seven are contesting for the position in Usuma ward.

Thirty candidates contested for the 10 councillorship positions in Gwagwalada in 2016 but 127 are interested for the positions in 2019; 29 are  eyeing Gwagwalada Central ward and 15 are set to battle for Kutunku ward.

In Dobi and Staff Quarters wards, there are 13 candidates for each ward. Gwako and Paiko wards also have 11 candidates for each ward and Tungan Maje and Ibwa wards have 12 candidates for each slot. Zuba, and Ikwa wards also have 10 candidates respectively.

Abaji has the least number of councillorship candidates among the area councils with 65 candidates vying for the 10 positions in 2019. Twenty candidates contested for the slots in 2016. Abaji Central, Northeast and Southeast wards have eight candidates each while six candidates have shown interest for each of the slots in Alu Mamagi, Gawu, Gurdi and Nuku wards. Agyana/Pandagi ward has seven candidates. Rimgba Ebagi and Yaba wards have five councillorship candidates apiece.

Twenty-three councillorship candidates contested for the 10 wards in Kwali area council during the 2016 area council elections. The number rose to 100 in 2019. Each of Ashara, Dafa, Kundu, Pai and Yangoji wards has 10 candidates while Kwali Central ward has the highest number in the area council with 12. In Gumbo and Kilankwa there are 10 each while Wako and Yebu wards have eight candidates apiece.

Kuje has 89 candidates in the 2019 elections of which 13 are set to go to head-to-head in Kuje Central ward. There are eight candidates each from Yenche, Rubochi and Gudun Karya wards. Nine candidates are set to slug it out in Gaube, Kabi and Kwaki wards. Chibiri ward has 12 candidates while Gwargwada and Kujekwa wards have seven and six candidates each.

“We know in FCT that there are two major political parties but this has not stopped people from showing interest in these positions. That should tell you that people are more informed and enlightened about the political process,” Ayoola Olaniyi, a resident said.

Another resident, Uche Daniel, attributed the high number of candidates to the increase in registered political parties in the country.

“There are 91 registered political parties in the country. This doubles the number registered in 2016. So these parties would surely field candidates,” he said.