Ahead of the February 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has approved a waiver for all new entrants from opposition parties to participate in its primary election scheduled for June 25, 2025.
The decision was reached during an emergency meeting of the APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) held Monday night at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
Speaking on Tuesday while inaugurating the chairmen and secretaries of the Screening and Appeal Committees for the FCT council elections, APC National Organising Secretary, Alhaji Muhammed Suleiman Arugungu, confirmed the development.
He stated that the party’s top leadership had approved the waiver to allow new members to contest in the party’s primaries, thereby expanding the pool of aspirants ahead of the local elections.
He said, “The National Working Committee realised that some of the aspirants have just joined the party. In accordance with the constitution of our party, yesterday (Monday) NWC approved a waiver for all who have just joined the party. This is to allow them to come on board and participate in the forthcoming election.”
Although the party’s constitution pegged eligibility for any aspirant to contest for the party’s ticket to one year of membership and should be up to date financially, the APC National Organising Secretary said the NWC has waived the clause for the forthcoming election.
Inaugurating the committees on behalf of the National Chairman, Arugungu said 35 aspirants are jostling for the party’s chairmanship tickets in the six area councils, while 135 Councillorship aspirants are contesting for the 62 wards tickets.
He further said that the NWC agreed that the screening exercise be conducted in three centers after consultation with the leadership of the party at the Federal Capital Territory.
He explained that the exercise will have two of the councils in each of the three centres.
Aspirants from Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) and Bwari Area Council are to be screened in Bwari; Gwagwalada will host the screening of aspirants from Gwagwalada and Kuje Area Councils, and aspirants from Abaji and Kwali Area Councils are to converge in Kwali for the same exercise.
Arugungu also disclosed that AMAC has the highest number of 9 chairmanship aspirants, with 8 aspirants jostling for Bwari Area Council ticket, 7 aspirants will be slugging out in Kuje Area Council while in Kwali Area Council, 6 aspirants are eyeing the party’s ticket and 4 aspirants in Gwagwalada are in the race. Abaji Area Council has only one aspirant.
For the Councillorship tickets, AMAC has 49 aspirants, Bwari 29, Gwagwalada 19, Kwali 14, Kuje 13, and 11 aspirants will appear for screening in the Abaji Area Council.
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Admonishing the committees to be thorough in the discharge of their assignments, the National Organising Secretary added that they should be guided by the party’s guidelines and the Electoral Act.
He said they should ensure a fool-proof screening that would guarantee that the party flag bearers are qualified to contest the election, in line with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) guidelines.
“We are admonishing you to be thorough. Your committees should be fair to all, in line with the guidelines of the Constitution of the party. We should ensure that if any of our candidates is elected, we will have no fear of litigation when we win the election properly.
Responding, on behalf of the committees, Hon. Akinfolarin Mayowa promised that the committees would not disappoint the confidence the party reposed in them.
“We are going to be fair and just to all that will appear before us,” Mayowa assured