Politics

APC expels Eta, extends caretaker committee tenure by six months

Published

5 years ago

December 8, 2020

Dissolves party’s structure nationwide

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has announced the expulsion of the former acting national chairman of the party, Hillard Eta, for pressing ahead with his court case against the party.

It also extended the tenure of its National Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee by additional six months.

The committee led by Yobe State governor, Mai Mala Buni, was set up on June 25, 2020, following the dissolution of the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC).

This is coming as President Muhammadu Buhari called on the party stakeholders to return to the era where it respected informal and formal agreements reached before the formation of the APC.

Eta, who was the National Vice Chairman, South-South in the Comrade Oshiomhole’s dissolved NWC of the party, had continued to claim that he remained acting national chairman of the party despite the dissolution of the NWC.

Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja on Tuesday, Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai joined by his Imo and Ondo counterparts, Hope Uzodinma and Rotimi Akeredolu, disclosed the party’s decisions.

He explained that the tenure extension was to enable the committee to complete its assignment.

He said the six months period was makeup to the time lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NEC has also approved the dissolution of the party organs at the polling units, wards, local government, states and zonal levels as well as the non-NWC component of the NEC.

The highest decision-making body of the ruling party approved their immediate reconstitution and composition of the dissolved Excos to serve in their respective offices in a caretaker committee capacity but excluding the non-NWC members of NEC.

The party granted a blanket waiver for new members and potential members who may wish to contest for any elective position on its platform.

Reading the five-point resolution of the NEC, el-Rufai said, “National Executive Committee of the party approves the extension of the tenure of Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee led by Mai Mala Buni, which expires on December 25, 2020, for another six months period, to terminate on 30th of June, 2021. This is to enable the Caretaker and Convention Planning Committee to conclude its assignment as laid before NEC.

“NEC has also donated its powers as enshrined in Articles 13.3 Subsection 5 and 13.3 Subsection 6 of the APC Constitution to the Caretaker and Convention Planning Committee.

“The second resolution is that NEC has approved the granting of waivers to persons who have recently joined the party members and those desirous of joining the party in the nearest future. By this, such new members will enjoy all the benefits and privileges accruable by virtue of their membership of the party. So, they will be able to contest for positions in the party, they will be able to contest elections without any requirement of being members for a number of years or period of time.

“The third resolution, NEC approved the expulsion of Ntufam Hilliard Eta from the party for flaunting the directives of NEC to discontinue all litigation against the party and its members.

“The fourth resolution, NEC approved the immediate dissolution of the party organs at the polling units, wards, local government, states and zonal levels as well as the non-National Working Committee component of the National Executive Committee as well as their immediate reconstitution and composition of the dissolved Excos to serve in their respective offices in a caretaker committee capacity but excluding the non-NWC members of NEC.

“Finally, the NEC condemns in very strong terms, the call by the PDP leadership and some of their cheerleaders for the resignation of Mr President. NEC observes that security challenges though regrettable can only be addressed when all interest, civil and military, governments and opposition, security forces and indeed all citizens collaborate irrespective of party affiliation. This is not the time to politicize security.”

In his opening remarks at the meeting, President Buhari recalled that the APC was used to respecting agreements reached whether formally or informally and urged its members to return to that era.

He said, “I want to appeal to all our party members and leaders at all levels, to try and make the required sacrifices so that we are able to collectively restore our progressive and democratic political party, which can nurture and give expression to our collective dream of building a strong, united and developed Nigeria.

“May I use this opportunity to remind all of us of the need to recreate our negotiation secret of 2012, 2013 under our legacy parties. What guided our success to achieve the merger that produced the APC was the respect we were able to have for each other. In those times, decisions reached both at formal and informal consultations were respected with trusted initiatives taken and believed that they were needed to produce the required political platform that could guarantee electoral victory. Every one of us as leaders ensured that those decisions were respected.

“I have, through consultations of the caretaker committee and other leaders of the party, agree that our challenges in the party require that we take steps to rebuild the party from wards to national levels. The initiative to carry out membership registration revalidation is, therefore, necessary, membership registration revalidation will lay the foundation for reorganizing our membership from ward to local government, state and national levels.”

Chairman of the APC National Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee and Governor of Yobe State, Buni, recalled that at his assumption of office, the APC was like a theatre of war at many levels.

He said, “Conflicts reconciliation within the party: on the assumption of office at the end of June 2020, our party was a theatre of infighting both at the national level and in many states.

“Reconciliation of all the warring factions and individuals was, therefore, an important consideration for us to be able to commence the process of reconstituting the party’s leadership.”

“To achieve that, we set up a reconciliation committee across the country. Issues such as Bauchi, Bayelsa, Cross River, Enugu, Zamfara, Edo, Ondo Anambra and Oyo were either referred to one of the committees to handle directly or handled directly by the national caretaker committee.

“Tempers within our party have substantially come down although the works of our various reconciliation committees are yet to be concluded. While progress is being recorded by our respective reconciliation committees, the task of reconciliation should be continuous.”

Politics

Tinubu Hails Wike as APC Dominates 2026 FCT Area Council Elections

Published

7 hours ago

February 22, 2026

Trends Admin

President Bola Tinubu and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike

Tinubu Hails Wike as APC Dominates 2026 FCT Area Council Elections

President Bola Tinubu has commended the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for his outstanding contributions to the success of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the recently concluded 2026 FCT Area Council elections.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted polls across the six area councils of the FCT — Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, and Kwali — on February 21, 2026. The APC secured victories in Abaji, AMAC, Bwari, and Kwali, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won in Gwagwalada.

In a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Sunday, Tinubu congratulated all successful candidates and praised the peaceful and credible conduct of the elections, noting the efforts of INEC, security agencies, and voters.

Tinubu Hails Wike as APC Dominates 2026 FCT Area Council Elections

Politics

PDP Heads to Court Over FCT Polls, Cites Video Evidence of Irregularities

Published

10 hours ago

February 22, 2026

Trends Admin

PDP Heads to Court Over FCT Polls, Cites Video Evidence of Irregularities

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has announced plans to challenge the outcome of the February 21, 2026 Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, declaring that it is heading to court with what it described as strong video and documentary evidence of electoral irregularities.

The move follows the conclusion of voting across the six FCT area councils — Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali — with official results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showing a clear advantage for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to the results, the APC won chairmanship seats in Abaji, AMAC, Bwari and Kwali, while the PDP recorded its only victory in Gwagwalada Area Council.

PDP Sets Up Legal Team

In a statement signed by the party’s spokesperson, Ini Ememobong, the PDP disclosed that it has constituted a special legal team to prosecute all election-related petitions arising from the FCT council polls. The team is headed by the party’s National Legal Adviser, Shafi Bara’u.

Claims of Intimidation and Manipulation

The PDP accused security agencies and other actors of interfering in the electoral process, alleging widespread intimidation, vote suppression, and manipulation at polling units and during result collation.

“We specifically congratulate the Chairman-elect of Gwagwalada Area Council, Mohammed Kasim, and the councillors declared successful by INEC,” the statement said.

“This victory, though fewer than expected, is particularly significant given the background of unprecedented intimidation, high-powered money politics, and brazen executive brigandage witnessed during the elections.”

The party insisted it has visual records allegedly showing armed security personnel carting away result sheets, intimidating voters, and influencing outcomes in several polling units.

Voter Apathy and Electoral Reform

Beyond the legal challenge, the PDP blamed low voter turnout on what it described as declining public trust in Nigeria’s electoral system. The party argued that repeated controversies surrounding elections have weakened confidence among voters.

It warned that the FCT council elections could be a signal ahead of the 2027 general elections if urgent reforms are not implemented.

Call for Intervention

The opposition party called on the President and the National Assembly to urgently intervene by reforming the electoral framework, strengthening transparency, and limiting security interference in elections.

With post-election litigation now looming, political focus in the FCT is shifting from the ballot box to the courtroom as parties prepare for legal battles that could reshape grassroots governance in the nation’s capital.

PDP Heads to Court Over FCT Polls, Cites Video Evidence of Irregularities

Politics

FCT Council polls: APC Wins Four Chairmanship Seats as PDP Takes Gwagwalada

Published

10 hours ago

February 22, 2026

Trends Admin

FCT Council polls: APC Wins Four Chairmanship Seats as PDP Takes Gwagwalada

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has recorded a strong showing in the 2026 FCT Area Council elections, securing four chairmanship seats across the Federal Capital Territory, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) claimed victory in Gwagwalada Area Council.

The elections were conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the six FCT councils — AMAC, Bwari, Kwali, Abaji, Gwagwalada and Kuje — with chairmen and councillors elected to oversee grassroots governance.

AMAC: Maikalangu Re-elected

In Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Christopher Maikalangu of the APC was re-elected after polling 40,295 votes, the highest in the contest. A total of 62,861 valid votes were recorded out of 65,197 votes cast.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) placed second with 12,109 votes, while the PDP trailed with 3,398 votes. Rejected votes stood at 2,336, with 837,338 registered voters and 65,676 accredited voters in the council.

Bwari: APC Clinches Clear Win

In Bwari Area Council, Joshua Ishaku of the APC emerged winner with 18,466 votes, defeating candidates of the ADC (4,254 votes) and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) (3,515 votes). The election covered 10 wards, including Kubwa, Ushafa, Dutse, Byazhin and Bwari Central.

Kwali: APC Extends Lead

The APC also won in Kwali Area Council, where Daniel Nuhu secured the chairmanship seat with 17,032 votes, beating Haruna Pai of the PDP who polled 8,575 votes.

Abaji: APC Dominates

In Abaji Area Council, Umar Abdullahi Abubakar of the APC was declared winner after scoring 15,535 votes. The Young Progressives Party (YPP) followed with 5,357 votes, while the PDP recorded 4,547 votes. The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and ADC polled 53 and 37 votes respectively.

Gwagwalada: PDP Breaks APC Run

The PDP secured its only victory so far in Gwagwalada Area Council, preventing an APC sweep of the FCT councils.

Kuje Result Awaited

As of the time of filing this report, results from Kuje Area Council were still being awaited, with collation ongoing and an official announcement expected shortly.

Election Snapshot

So far, the APC has won in AMAC, Bwari, Kwali and Abaji, while the PDP has taken Gwagwalada, leaving Kuje as the final undecided council. The polls were largely peaceful, though voter turnout varied across councils.