By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike, on Monday openly backed the All Progressives Congress APC ahead of the February 2026 Area Council elections, urging residents of Tunga Madaki and adjoining communities to vote for the ruling party.
Wike, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, threw his weight behind the incumbent chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council AMAC, Christopher Maikalangu, who recently defected from the PDP to the APC and is seeking re-election for a second term.
Speaking at the flag-off of a 7-kilometre road project with four-span bridges linking Tunga Madaki to eight other settlements, Wike said the construction was a fulfillment of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and a direct response to community demands during the land compensation process for the second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
“It was unfair that a people surrendered their ancestral lands for a national project like a second runway, yet had no access road, even to the airport they gave land for. I took the matter to Mr. President, and he said, ‘Whatever they ask for, give it to them.’ Today, we are here to fulfill that promise”, he said.
The minister announced that the project, being executed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation CCECC, would be completed and commissioned in June 2026, coinciding with Tinubu’s third anniversary in office.
Calling on residents to reward the APC at the polls, Wike declared; “One good turn deserves another. When you do for me, I do for you. When you fall for me, I fall for you. When you listen to me, I listen to you.”
He credited Maikalangu with persistently pushing for the Tunga Madaki project, describing him as “a tireless advocate” for his people.
Wike urged the community to support Maikalangu in next year’s election so that the commissioning of the road in June would be “a joint celebration.”
The FCT Minister further challenged residents to reflect on past administrations.
“You have had council chairmen before—did anyone remember Tunga Madaki? Did they connect you to the airport whose land you gave away? Ask them where they were when your roads were impassable.
“Remember the man who remembered you during the rainy season. This is a time to stand with the party that brought development to your doorstep”, he said.
Wike stressed that the new road would not only provide vital access to the airport via Bill Clinton Drive but also open up nine previously neglected settlements to development.
The February 2026 Council Polls will serve as a major test of the APC’s political strength in the capital, where no ruling party has ever had a clean sweep of the six councils.
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