Thousands stranded in Abuja South over APC primary consensus dispute

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: The All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for the Abuja South Federal Constituency was halted on Saturday after a prolonged dispute over the selection of a consensus candidate left thousands of party members waiting at voting centres across four area councils.

Electoral officials were absent for hours after the proceedings were scheduled to begin, and party members who arrived as early as 8 a.m. at designated sites—including Pilot/Demonstration Primary School in Gwagwalada and Science Pilot Primary School in Kwali—remained in line all day.

By 5 p.m., most venues had emptied, leaving only a few determined members holding their membership cards in anticipation of an exercise that never materialised.

The collapse followed three days of deadlocked negotiations in the Abaji, Kwali, Gwagwalada and Kuje Area Councils, during which party leaders could not agree on a single consensus candidate for the seat. With no agreement reached, the scheduled primary was cancelled.

Outgoing Gwagwalada Area Council Chairman and aspirant Alhaji Abubakar Jibrin Giri blamed recent defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for pushing the consensus approach, claiming they were attempting to seize party control through unconventional means.

“Consensus will not work in the Federal Capital Territory. Those championing this method are defectors from the PDP who want to grab power through the back door. The members of this party will resist any attempt to bypass due process and impose unpopular aspirants on us,” he declared.

Giri called for a democratic test of all aspirants and used the occasion to criticize incumbent lawmaker Hon. Abdulrahman Ajiya, who is also in the race.

“The incumbent has wasted four years in the Green Chamber without doing anything tangible for our people. The three or four of us contesting should be allowed to go to the polls. Whoever wins, we will support them to fly the party’s flag. If elected, I promise to bridge the gap, remain accessible, and attract modern infrastructural development to Gwagwalada and the entire constituency,” he said.

Former Commissioner at the National Population Commission representing the Federal Capital Territory and ex‑Kwali Area Council Chairman Hon. Joseph Shazin also criticized the party leadership, warning that forcing a consensus on unwilling members could trigger mass defections from the APC.

Standing outside the Pilot Science Primary School in Kwali, where voters had gathered but no electoral officials arrived, Shazin said the turnout itself demonstrated the membership’s desire for a genuine contest.

“The people are willing to elect their favourite candidate; you can see that from the large turnout here at the Pilot Science Primary School, Kwali. But there are no officials to conduct the election,” he told journalists.

“While meetings are still ongoing to produce a consensus candidate, my interactions with the aspirants show that a consensus might not be possible. The leadership must allow free and fair primaries. People should be allowed to vote for the person they want,” Shazin added.

Four aspirants are contesting the Abuja South seat: Abubakar Jibrin Giri, Danladi Chiya, Yahaya Musa and the incumbent Abdulrahman Ajiya.

As night fell on Saturday, limited voting activity was reported in parts of Gwagwalada, but the process remained completely stalled in Kwali and Abaji, where aspirant Danladi Chiya was said to be locked in last‑minute closed‑door talks with two other contenders from Abaji in a final attempt to salvage a consensus arrangement.

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