…As Atiku decries low voter turnout, Tinubu celebrates APC electoral victories
…As PDP alleges money induced elections, heads to tribunal
Fresh controversy has trailed the weekend’s Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections, with the Independent National Electoral Commission defending a reported improved 15 per cent voter turnout while opposition figures question the health of the country’s democratic space.
The electoral umpire, through its Acting Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Wilfred Ifogah, rejected suggestions of wholesale voter apathy and released figures it said show a modest yet meaningful rise in participation. According to the commission, 239,210 voters took part in the exercise, representing about 15 per cent of the 1.68 million registered voters. The figure marks an increase on the 9.4 per cent turnout recorded during the 2022 Area Council elections.
INEC also sought to clarify concerns over logistics, explaining that the decision to split large polling units was an intentional step aimed at easing congestion and improving orderliness, rather than a covert relocation of voters. The commission attributed the delayed declaration of results in Kuje Area Council to the challenging terrain of Kabi ward, which it said slowed final collation until Sunday afternoon.
Despite these explanations, criticism swiftly followed. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar issued a statement faulting the handling of the democratic process under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The Waziri Adamawa described the sub-20 per cent average turnout, alongside what he called a startling 7.8 per cent participation rate in the Abuja Municipal Area Council, as a troubling reflection on the government’s stewardship.
Atiku argued that the administration has tightened its grip on pluralism, fostering an atmosphere in which dissenting voices are treated as threats and discouraging citizens from believing their votes carry weight. He contended that democracy in Nigeria is being steadily constricted through intimidation and the coercion of opposition actors.
President Bola Tinubu, however, congratulated the declared winners and characterised the elections in the FCT, Kano and Rivers states as evidence of a deepening democratic culture. In a statement released by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President praised FCT Minister Nyesom Wike for what he described as administrative strides that translated into political gains for the All Progressives Congress.
Tinubu commended the discipline displayed by contestants and reiterated his confidence in INEC, urging the commission to refine its procedures further in order to deliver even more credible elections in the years ahead.
The Peoples Democratic Party signalled that its next move would unfold at the tribunal. The party announced the inauguration of a special legal team headed by its National Legal Adviser, Shafi Bara’u, Esq., as it prepared to challenge the outcomes in court.
Speaking through its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the PDP alleged that the APC’s victories were driven by unprecedented intimidation, the deployment of substantial financial inducements and what it termed executive overreach. The party claimed to possess documented evidence of armed security personnel seizing result sheets and called for the immediate publication of outstanding results in Kuje, voicing concerns that its slender lead in the area could be compromised.
Ememobong further maintained that the Electoral Act 2026 has eroded public confidence in the system, portraying the local council polls as a warning sign ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Offering a sharp rebuttal, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, dismissed the critics as an out-of-touch elite whose views, he said, do not mirror those of voters who participated in the ballot. He challenged journalists and civil society organisations to refrain from presenting themselves as spokespeople for the masses, arguing that there is no reliable benchmark to substantiate claims of widespread dissatisfaction when the certified results suggest otherwise.
As INEC confirmed that 93 per cent of results had been uploaded to its IReV portal, the debate over turnout and legitimacy continued to intensify, with competing narratives framing the election as an early contest over the direction of the 2027 political cycle.
