![Dr Muhammad Ali Pate, CEO of Gavi Alliance. [PHOTO CREDIT: Twitter handle of Atiku Abubakar]](https://i0.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2023/02/Dr-Muhammad-Ali-Pate.jpeg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1)
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has vowed to mobilise Igbo residents in Abuja to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming FCT Area Council election.
Mr Kalu, who serves as secretary of the APC National Campaign Council for the FCT poll, spoke on Friday at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja shortly after the inauguration of the party’s national campaign council.
|
|
The 21 February poll will hold across the six area councils of the FCT; Abaji, Abuja Municipal, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali, where chairmanship and councillorship positions are to be contested.
Addressing journalists, the deputy speaker said the party would rely on inclusive governance and visible development projects to win over voters, particularly the large Igbo population resident in the territory.
|
|
|
|---|
He noted that the FCT remains a melting pot of Nigerians from all regions, with Igbo traders, professionals and investors forming a significant segment of its economic life.
“I am an Igbo man and also a Nigerian, and I’m part of this government. I’m one of the faces of Igbos in leadership. So no longer can Igbos say we are not part of the administration,” he said.
Mr Kalu argued that Igbo representation at senior levels of the current administration under President Bola Tinubu demonstrates inclusion and counters claims of exclusion.
He observed that during the previous administration,, no Igbo person occupied a top succession leadership position at the federal level, adding that his emergence in national leadership signals greater participation of the South-east in governance.
Beyond identity considerations, the deputy speaker said the APC would campaign on what he described as measurable development in the FCT.
He commended the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for infrastructural projects and grassroots interventions across the territory, saying these achievements would form a core part of the party’s campaign message.
“These are our campaign tools. We are going beyond posters and slogans. The facts speak for themselves. You can feel and experience the dividends of democracy,” he said.
He admitted that the APC had previously faced setbacks in Abuja elections due to limited visible impact at the grassroots, but maintained that the narrative has changed.
“No reasonable person can say there is no visible development in the FCT today,” he added.
Mr Kalu said the campaign council would embark on intensive grassroots mobilisation in the build-up to the 21 February election, including door-to-door engagement and direct interaction with residents and businesses across the FCT’s six area councils and 68 wards.
ALSO READ: FCT Poll: INEC tasks security agencies on planning, deployment, intelligence gathering
“We will be on the streets, in every household, business to business, selling the message of the APC,” he said.
Expressing confidence in the party’s prospects, he said the APC was poised to reverse past electoral losses in Abuja, insisting that Igbo voters and other residents would rally behind its candidates.
“It will no longer be mentioned that APC lost election in Abuja. We are about to rewrite history,” he declared.
Mr Kalu added that pro-APC support groups would work in synergy with the campaign council to secure victory, stressing that the party is prepared to deepen grassroots governance if given the mandate in the 21 February FCT Area Council election.
Discover more from Premium Times Nigeria
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
