LESS than two weeks to the February 21 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, political parties across the six councils namely Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali are revving their campaigns.
The contest is expected to shape grassroots governance in the nation’s capital, where the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) shared the councils in previous election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fixed February 21, 2026, for the poll, with campaigns running until February 19 after publication of the final candidates list in September 2025.
The INEC had cleared more than 1.6 million registered voters to participate in electing six chairmen and 62 councillors across the councils.
According to the figure released by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for the FCT, Aminu Idris, the number of voters for the poll stands at 1,680,315.
Idris also said INEC had approved the decongestion of large Registration Area Centres to enhance efficiency and ease the movement of personnel and election materials on polling day. This, he explained, led to the establishment of sub-RACs in Dutse Alhaji and Kubwa wards in Bwari Area Council, as well as in Gwarinpa and Kabusa wards within the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
The REC further disclosed that elections would not be conducted in four polling units across the FCT because no voters registered there during the last voter registration and revalidation exercise.
Three of the affected polling units are located in Garki Ward, while the remaining one is in Jiwa Ward.
The election will hold in 2,822 polling units of the 62 wards in the FCT.
However, the build-up to the exercise has been shaped by court rulings and intra-party conflicts.
A Federal High Court in Abuja on January 20, ordered INEC to recognise candidate lists from some parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), while disputes over nomination processes and candidate eligibility have also trailed the Labour Party (LP) and the PDP.
Meanwhile, below are the major contenders across the six area councils as listed on INEC portal as of September 2025.
Abaji Area Council
Sokodabo Musa Bilyaminu emerged as the PDP’s consensus chairmanship candidate during the party’s primaries in June 2025, securing all delegate votes. He was the only contestant according to the Electoral Committee Chairman.
His emergence positions him as the party’s frontline challenger in what is expected to be a fierce competition among the three leading parties – the PDP, APC, and ADC. The APC won the seat in 2022.
Umar Abdullahi is the APC flagbearer as the party seeks to retain the seat. Mohammed Ibrahim picked the ADC ticket and will be seeking to cause a major upset for his rivals. It is, however, unclear if INEC has delisted him to entertain the court-ordered names from the David Mark-led national executives of the party.
Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC)
AMAC, being the home to Nigeria’s seat of power and major national institutions, is widely regarded as the most developed council in the FCT. It will see 16 political parties vying for its chairmanship seat.
Danlani Zadna clinched the PDP ticket after Michael Jigu withdrew from the race. This left Danlami as the lone contestant and winner with all 30 delegates votes at the primary.
Zakka Christopher flies the APC flag in AMAC, seeking to retain the seat for his party. The PDP won the poll in previous election (in 2022), but the chairman, Christopher Maikalangu, defected to the APC in 2025, citing loss of federal jobs by his constituents.
Similarly, Paul Moses Ogidi is the ADC flagbearer in the election.
Bwari Area Council
Adamu Julius secured the PDP ticket after winning the party’s primary with 19 votes against Elimelech Jebida, who garnered six votes. Others namely Abdullahi Abuja Zakanbonton, Haruna Muhammed, and Ephraim Dauda got one vote each.
Julius candidacy followed the PDP’s electoral success in Bwari, where the party previously won the chairmanship seat.
Haruna Shekwoloaudi leads the APC’s bid to win the area council’s chairmanship, while Musa Josiah Abinto picked the ADC ticket, according to INEC list of registered candidates.
Gwagwalada Area Council
For Gwagwalada Area Council, Mohammed Kasim emerged the winner of the PDP primary, securing 19 votes to defeat Rabiu Adamu, who polled 11 votes. His candidacy aims to reclaim a council previously won by the APC. He will be contesting against Yahaya Usman Shehu of the APC and Danjuma Iko Afanyibada of ADC.
Kuje Area Council
Zakwoyi Danlami, the PDP candidate in the forthcoming exercise is contesting against Danjuma Samuel Shekwolo of the APC, and ADC’s Knabayi Stephen Adalo.
The area council is currently led by the PDP.
The party will seek to hold its grip on an area council that has recorded landmark transformation from both its current chairman’s efforts and President Bola Tinubu-led government.
Both the PDP and APC-led governments have been widely commended for executing internal road projects across the town, with the two Federal Government-funded dual highways planned to connect Kuje to Gwagwalada and the main city.
Kwali Area Council
Haruna Pai Muhammed secured the PDP ticket in a three-way primary contest, emerging with the highest delegate votes. Daniel Nuhu Kwali (APC) leads his party’s campaign to regain the council it previously controlled.
Meanwhile, Bandoj Jeremiah won ADC ticket in the area council, defeating other major contender.
The ICIR reports that beyond the PDP, APC and ADC, other parties are fielding candidates in the election, with up to 16 parties in AMAC and between nine and 11 in others.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M