A presidential hopeful of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has strongly rejected the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s claims of success in the recent Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, dismissing the results as a fabricated narrative amid allegations of coerced defections and institutional interference.
Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim made the remarks during a PDP stakeholders meeting in Abuja on Thursday, where party officials and members convened to evaluate the recent elections held across six FCT Area Councils: Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, and Kwali.
The elections, conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saw APC candidates securing chairmanship seats in Abaji, Kwali, AMAC, and Bwari, while PDP claimed victory in Gwagwalada. As of the meeting, results from the remaining council were still being collated, according to INEC updates.
In a statement issued to The PUNCH Online, Olawepo-Hashim argued that many of the APC’s winners were former entrenched PDP figures who had switched sides under duress ahead of the elections. “In reality, the contest was PDP versus PDP. What we witnessed was the deployment of massive resources and state institutions to manufacture the appearance of competition,” he stated.
He reminded supporters that the FCT had long been a stronghold for the PDP, warning them not to be swayed by fabricated stories intended to misrepresent the electoral reality in the territory.
Olawepo-Hashim called on PDP members to maintain unity and intensify grassroots efforts, emphasizing that true political power derives from the people’s trust and support, not from manipulated outcomes. “Authentic leadership cannot be imposed. It is built on the trust and will of the people,” he declared.
The meeting was attended by PDP chairmen from the six Area Councils, ward chairmen, State Executive Committee members, and other stakeholders from the FCT.
During the session, FCT PDP Chairman Alhaji Ismail Dogara proposed a motion to endorse Olawepo-Hashim’s 2027 presidential bid. Honourable Isa Dobi, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees, seconded the motion, which was overwhelmingly approved by the gathering.
The assembly also commended Olawepo-Hashim for his support of PDP candidates during the Area Council campaigns, acknowledging his efforts as vital to the party’s local success.
Participants called for the immediate release of PDP members who were allegedly detained by security forces, claiming that their imprisonment was part of an effort to influence election outcomes in certain FCT zones.
Political observers noted that this controversy reflects the escalating rivalry between the PDP and APC in Nigeria’s capital, as both parties consolidate their power and expand their influence ahead of the 2027 national elections.
This unfolding drama occurs against the backdrop of persistent defections and realignments within the FCT’s political landscape—a pattern that has shaped local elections since Nigeria’s return to civilian rule in 1999. Leading up to these elections, several key candidates switched allegiance: for example, APC’s Gwagwalada chairmanship candidate, Mallam Usman Yahaya, withdrew to support PDP’s Alhaji Kasim Mohammed Ikwa, while PDP aspirants in AMAC and Bwari backed APC competitors. These shifts reveal the extent to which political maneuvering often overshadows public opinion in determining electoral outcomes.
Historically, the FCT’s Area Council elections have mirrored national political trends. Although PDP dominated early post-1999 elections, it began to lose ground to APC after 2015. In 2015, PDP won several key councils amid President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid, but APC’s rise, aided by defections and federal power, shifted the balance by 2019. Voter turnout in the FCT has consistently been low, dropping to approximately 15 percent in 2026, driven by a sense of disenchantment and perceptions of top-down control in grassroots elections.
The rivalry between the PDP and APC in the FCT reflects broader national struggles, stemming from PDP’s 16 years of federal dominance (1999-2015), a period during which the party controlled most states and the presidency under leaders such as Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and Jonathan. Internal conflicts within the PDP, including the 2013 split among governors and the 2016 leadership dispute between Ali Modu Sheriff and Ahmed Makarfi, paved the way for the formation of the APC in 2013. The APC subsequently ousted the PDP from power in 2015. The trend of defections, including over 100 lawmakers switching parties between 2015 and 2019, has contributed to this volatile political environment.
In the FCT, where the political system is overseen by a minister rather than a governor, elections have become proxies for broader national power struggles. Allegations of electoral fraud and low voter engagement characterized the 2022 polls, with APC gaining ground amid the PDP’s national challenges, such as the revolt of G-5 governors against Atiku Abubakar in 2023. Legal provisions under Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution require lawmakers to vacate their seats if they defect, but inconsistent enforcement, as seen with figures like Atiku Abubakar and Aminu Tambuwal, has allowed defections to persist.
Olawepo-Hashim, a businessman and activist born in 1965, brings a wealth of experience to his critique. He was a student leader at the University of Lagos in 1989, later co-founding PDP in 1998 and serving as its first Deputy National Publicity Secretary in 1999. After running for president in 2019 on a different platform, he rejoined PDP, positioning himself as a contender for the 2027 election amidst calls for a more equitable zoning process.
Unrelated developments include Minister Nyesom Wike’s visit to the family of late Senator Mpigi in London, where he pledged support; an ADC leader branding former Governor Nasir El-Rufai as a “political prisoner of war”; and former NTA journalist Modele Sarafa-Yusuf announcing her candidacy for the Ogun governorship in 2027.
