2023: How 3 Non-Indigenes Dislodged Age-Long Tradition In FCT Politics

The victory of Ireti Kingibe, Chinedu Obika and Abdulrahman Ajiya at the just concluded National Assembly polls in the Federal Capital Territory has dislodged an age-long tradition of electing indigenes as National Assembly representatives in the nation’s capital.

Kingibe dislodged Philip Aduda of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to win the senatorial seat in the FCT while Obika won the House of Representatives for Bwari/AMAC Federal Constituency in the Nation’s Capital defeating Micah Jiba of the PDP who currently occupies the seat.

Abdulrahman Ajiya of the All Progressives Congress (APC) also emerged victorious in the race for the Abuja South Federal Constituency seat defeating incumbent Hassan Sokodabo of the PDP, who sought a second term return.

As non-indigenous people of FCT, Kingibe, Chinedu, and Ajiya made history after defeating the indigenes of Abuja at the poll.

Kingibe, the FCT Senator-elect, was declared the winner of Saturday’s senatorial election after polling 212,175 votes to defeat Philip Tanimu Aduda, the incumbent senator who scored 100,544.

While Chinedu, from Anambra State, won with 201, 308 votes out of a total of 326, 463 votes that were cast, defeating Micah Jiba, the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who got a total of 58,809 votes.

Also, Ajiya of APC, and the immediate past Chairman of Abaji Area Council emerged as the winner of Abuja South Federal Constituency with 51, 502 votes in the national assembly election conducted on 25 February.

Ajiya defeated the incumbent, Hassan Sokodabo of PDP, who sought a second term and will represent the Constituency which comprises Abaji, Kwali, Gwagwalada, and Kuje area councils.

The FCT Senatorial District in Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria covers 6 local governments which include: Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Abaji, Kwali, Bwari, Gwagwalada, and Kuje.

The FCT senatorial district also has within its territory, Nigera’s seat of power (Aso Rock Presidential Villa, the National Assembly, and Judicial headquarters) but Aduda who is the incumbent senator for the region will not be returning to the red chambers.

In 1999, Khairat Abdulrazaq-Gwadabe, an Indigene of Kwara State represented the Nation’s capital under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) platform at the National Assembly from 1999 to 2003 and was succeeded by Isah Maina in 2003 and he held office till 2007 in PDP.

For twenty-four years, PDP maintained the senatorial seat with the advent of Adamu Sidi Ali in 2007 till 2011 when Philip Tanimu Aduda took over from him.

But that has set to change with the election of Kingibe who sacked Aduda from the senatorial seat at the poll during the presidential and National Assembly election on 25th February.

Aduda who lost the senatorial seat to Kingibe has been in the Senate for twelve years. The incumbent senator served two terms in the Nigerian House of Representatives between 2003 and 2011.

Ireti Kingibe an engineer and a Nigerian politician was elected in the just-completed election to represent FCT senatorial zone in the National Assembly.

Kingibe, born of a Muslim father, who is half Yoruba and half Fulani, from Kano state, won the senatorial seat under the Labour Party’s platform and was married to Babagana Kingibe, a former Secretary to the Federal Government, but later divorced.

She is the younger sister to Nigeria’s former First Lady, Ajoke Mohammed, and she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota, United States, in 1980, becoming one of the very few female engineers in Nigeria at that time.

In 2022, she picked a nomination form to run for senate under the platform LP. The civil engineering graduate, in 2014 withdrew from the senatorial race to represent the FCT