As the February 2026 Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) election draws closer, the political atmosphere in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory is shifting. Dr Moses Paul, popularly known as “Dr MO”, has emerged as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for AMAC chairman, campaigning on a platform of reform, transparency, and grassroots service delivery.
At a recent campaign event held in Abuja, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, publicly endorsed Dr MO’s candidacy. Speaking to a crowd of supporters, Obi said: “MO is contesting to be chairman of AMAC and I can tell you I’m going to go through the street with him. We want to use people like MO and his team to start changing things.”
Obi criticised the monetisation of local elections, warning against vote-buying and manipulation. “When AMAC election comes now, they start giving you money, they start doing everything, and they will tell you, ‘Oh! Peter Obi does not want this.’ I don’t want it because I don’t want to start wasting my time doing what is not right,” he said.
He urged residents to support Dr MO based on merit, not money. “Go and see those hospitals you are taking me to. Go and make sure schools are on. People will say there’s strike in schools in Abuja FCT. Don’t ask MO to give you money. Go and use your resources to support him. I will support him. Please support MO. He is somebody I have worked around with. He’s somebody I have been to places with, and I can assure you, I don’t know what will make him change, but I can say I know him.”
Obi added that his future political endorsements will be guided by five principles: competence, capacity, compassion, character, and commitment. “That’s my next future of my campaign. I am going to be supporting people based on competence, capacity, compassion, the character and commitment to do the right thing. Because it’s not easy. So let’s support the right candidate.”
Dr Moses Paul, who also serves as the National Secretary of the Obidient Movement of Nigeria, used the event to outline his vision for AMAC. He declared: “I am going to be very poor as AMAC chairman very, very poor and happy for it. Because standing here today, I am not just standing here as Dr Moses Paul. I am here as your servant. I am here to be a voice for the voiceless. I am here to embody our collective burden and aspirations for our dreams, hope and ambition for the future that we seek.”
Dr MO, who holds a PhD in Environmental and Resources Planning, painted a grim picture of the current state of AMAC. “I go through the market. Our markets are all entrapped with litigation rather than trading for prosperity. AMAC is so dirty. It is filled with waste because the institutions, the command and the chain that’s supposed to manage it have collapsed. Our schools were shut down. Our children were abandoned. Our healthcare centres are dead—they do not exist. Sixty-two of them.”
He also raised concerns about rising insecurity and youth vulnerability. “Our young people are giving to drug, killing, kidnapping right here in AMAC. May your car not break down in city centre no, no, no. This is not governance. This is abandonment.”
Dr MO called attention to untapped resources and international support available within AMAC. “All the embassies in AMAC have money they return every year. Because we live in the age of knowledge. The outgone American ambassador told me this. We have signatory to what we call Universal Basic Education just one. Do you know that all the embassies have cultural funds? They have money for all the things Nigeria is signatory to. Even if I tell you, you can’t collect it because there’s a way you can collect it.”
The campaign event, themed “We Don Tire”, attracted civil society groups, youth leaders, ADC members, and residents from across Abuja. The National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Dr Yunusa Tanko, also announced the movement’s full backing for Dr MO’s candidacy.
With the AMAC election approaching, Dr MO’s campaign is positioning itself as a grassroots-driven movement focused on restoring dignity, improving public services, and building a transparent local government system. His message resonates with many residents who say they are tired of broken promises and poor governance.
