From Cyril Mbah, Abuja.
An aggrieved founding member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Abdullahi D. Galadima has faulted the process of picking flag-bearers to represent the APC in major elections, warning that the party has lost many members as a result of the meddlesome nature of some national officers in party primary elections.
Galadima, who served as Executive Chairman of Kuje Area Council for three years but lost his 2019 reelection bid to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), explained that high scale interference of the APC leadership in internal democratic processes has become a source of concern for several members and makes nonsense of party elective congresses.
He remarked in an interview that undue interference in primary elections has driven many members of the party out of APC because politicians who are the choice of the people and those considered as better aspirants are often sidelined and are not allowed to emerge as candidates of the party due to the vested interest of top ranking party leaders.
Using Kuje as example, Galadima stated that his effort to recontest for the post of chairman in 2026 under the platform of the APC was deliberately frustrated just as other aspirants were schemed out of the contest while a total stranger, “who does not have membership card of the party was hand-picked and presented as the party’s flag-bearer for the February 2026 FCT Chairmanship election in the area council.”
Interestingly, many other area councils especially Bwari and Kwali had similar complaints about imposition of candidates by the party leadership and although members organised protests at the National Secretariat of the party seeking reversal of the results of the elections, the protests were ignored.
Galadima, who was appointed Chairman, Federal Government Special Public Works Programme (SPWP) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) after the 2019 election loss, wondered why the party will allow people to buy the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms when due process will not be allowed to prevail at APC primaries, pointing out that where democratic principles are respected, the choice of candidates should be the prerogative of members in any locality because the members know the aspirants better than party leaders.
“What happened in Kuje during the primaries was more like a robbery because there was no election. Instead, what the party did was to bring an outsider who is not even a member of the All Progressives Congress and gave him the ticket. This is an imposition, despite the overwhelming support that we have and our ability to deliver victory to the party at the polls,” the former Area Council Chairman lamented.
Explaining why he left the APC and adopted the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) as his new party, Galadima stated that after the sham primary election, his supporters, who protested the results and were bluntly ignored, prevailed on him to decamp to enable him use another platform to contest the upcoming election.
Galadima commended the exemplary leadership qualities of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and pledged to ensure victory for the President in Kuje Area Council at the presidential election even though the APC was not fair to him and his supporters.
He praised the National Assembly for granting local government chairmen four years tenure, instead of three, stating that four years will be enough for any focused leader to make sufficient impact with development projects in his/her community.
He further advised politicians seeking elective offices to go about their campaigns peacefully without inciting their supporters to violence or the destruction of campaign billboards and posters of rivals pointing out that the era when such negative practices were used to win elections has passed.
On vote buying, Galadima advised the electorate to reject any effort by politicians to lure them and secure their votes with money and he went ahead to remind those who insist on trading their votes not to blame anybody if the candidate becomes inaccessible after the election or fails to perform while in office.
He called on President Tinubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that a free, fair and credible election privails in the February 2026 FCT Chairmanship elections throughout the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory while also pleading that candidates should be given a level playing field irrespective of party affiliations.
Galadima promised to make a difference in development processes this time around if voted into office, pointing out that his administration will focus attention on rural roads, youth empowerment, agriculture, provision of boreholes in rural communities and education among others.
