By Joy Odor | Reportcircle News | Abuja
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, on Friday formally inaugurated the party’s National Campaign Council for the forthcoming Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council election, triggering what leaders describe as a full-scale political offensive to reclaim and consolidate Abuja.
At the ceremony in Abuja, Yilwatda charged members to “mobilise massively” across the FCT’s six area councils and 68 councillorship seats, declaring the contest a strategic battle the party cannot afford to lose.
“This party is your home. We must open the space for inclusive participation and provide leadership that attracts Nigerians from every corner,” the APC chairman said, framing the election as both a test of structure and strength.
The newly inaugurated Council is chaired by Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who accepted the assignment with a pledge to deliver victory.
Gov. AbdulRazaq thanked Yilwatda and the party leadership for the confidence reposed in the Council, assuring that grassroots structures would be strengthened and mobilisation intensified to secure wins across all six area councils.
The FCT election, party officials said, is not symbolic, it is arithmetic.
After losing ground in a key area during the last general election to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the APC is determined to rewrite the capital’s electoral script.
“We are mobilising more than any other political party in Nigeria. We are confident we will win,” Yilwatda declared when asked about opposition activities.
But the political punch of the event came from the Secretary of the Campaign Council and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, who laid out an aggressive plan to swing Abuja’s sizable Igbo electorate to the APC.
“As the most senior person holding elective office from the South-East, I am part of this government. I am one of the faces of the Igbo in leadership,” Kalu said.
His message was direct: visible inclusion at the highest levels of power is itself a campaign asset.
According to him, the current administration marks a departure from what he described as eight years without Igbo representation in top succession leadership.
“Now they see me every day participating in governance. They cannot say they are alienated,” he said.
In a city widely regarded as Nigeria’s demographic melting pot, Kalu’s strategy is to convert identity, inclusion and infrastructure delivery into structured votes.
The Council’s blueprint abandons reliance on headline rallies in favour of hyper-local engagement, including:
Door-to-door canvassing
Business-to-business outreach
Ward-level activation
Youth-driven mobilisation squads
“We will be on the streets. We will go household to household,” Kalu declared.
The numerical target is explicit: win control of the FCT’s six area councils and secure the majority of its 68 councillorship seats.
Infrastructure as Campaign Capital
Beyond representation politics, Kalu anchored the party’s message on infrastructure transformation within the FCT, crediting the current administration and the FCT Minister for extending development beyond the city centre to satellite towns and grassroots communities.
“Facts speak for themselves,” he said, arguing that visible projects reduce the burden of persuasion.
Party leaders insist the campaign will take “evidence, not slogans” to the electorate.
Responding to questions about opposition momentum, including new alignments and high-profile defectors, Yilwatda dismissed suggestions that the APC is on the defensive.
“Who told you they were not campaigning?” he asked rhetorically, maintaining that governors from the South-South, South-East, North-Central and North-West are already engaging their regional constituencies resident in Abuja.
The council’s composition deliberately mirrors Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones a design party strategist says reflects Abuja’s national character.
For political observers, the FCT carries influence beyond its size. Performance in Abuja often signals urban voter sentiment and cross-regional appeal metrics that shape national political narratives.
The APC’s Abuja strategy rests on three pillars:
Representation politics
Infrastructure-driven messaging
Hyper-local mobilisation
Whether that combination can neutralise opposition advances will depend on turnout discipline, candidate selection and voter mood in the months ahead.
But one fact is clear: with Chairman Yilwatda projecting confidence, Governor AbdulRazaq coordinating the structure, and Deputy Speaker Kalu leading the South-East outreach, the battle for Abuja has moved into full ground-game mode.
One capital city and a contest that could redefine the political balance in Nigeria’s seat of power.
