FCT polls: APC pegs chairmanship forms at N20m, rules out automatic tickets

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has released its timetable and schedule of activities for the 2026 FCT Area Council elections, pegging the cost of its chairmanship forms at N20 million and councillorship forms at N2.5 million. According to the schedule signed by APC’s National Organising Secretary, Muhammad Sulaiman Argungu, the sale of nomination and expression […]

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has released its timetable and schedule of activities for the 2026 FCT Area Council elections, pegging the cost of its chairmanship forms at N20 million and councillorship forms at N2.5 million.

According to the schedule signed by APC’s National Organising Secretary, Muhammad Sulaiman Argungu, the sale of nomination and expression of interest forms will begin on May 22 and close on May 28, while completed forms must be submitted by May 29.

Amid speculation about automatic tickets, particularly for recent defectors, the APC FCT Chairman, Alhaji Murthar Abubakar, dismissed such claims. This includes the incumbent chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.

Speaking at the unveiling of the Yunusa Dantani Sarki (YDS) Foundation in Karimo, Abuja, the AMAC APC Vice Chairman, Saidu Yaro Karishi, who represented Abubakar, stated that no aspirant would be given a free pass.

• $94bn stolen from Nigeria, other African countries annually —GIABA
• 2 arrested as gunmen kill woman, kidnap husband in Edo

“There is no automatic ticket for anybody for the 2026 AMAC election. Every aspirant will go through the primaries. Everyone must seek votes from the people,” Karishi said.

Unveiling his agenda, Hon. Yunusa Dantani Sarki declared his intention to contest the AMAC chairmanship, promising to bridge the divide between indigenes and non-indigenes and end administrative stagnation.

Reacting to Maikalangu’s defection, Sarki said the lack of guaranteed tickets gives him confidence.

“President Goodluck Jonathan was an incumbent and he was defeated in 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari. The people will decide,” he said.