Barely 24 hours after the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chairmanship candidate for Bwari Area Council, Julius Adamu, stepped down for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Joshua Ishaku Musa, another PDP candidate has followed suit in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) ahead of Saturday’s area council elections.
The Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) PDP candidate, Hon. Zadna Dantani, has stepped down for the APC candidate, Hon. Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, citing the intervention of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
Dantani, who said he had submitted a formal letter of withdrawal to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), made the declaration in a video.
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Quoting him, “My name is Hon. Zadna Dantani, the Chairmanship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Abuja Municipal Area Council for the Saturday’s Area Council elections.
“I want to sincerely appreciate everyone who supported us and by the grace of God, we are doing it not because of our personal interests.
“I am here to tell my people that as a candidate who is standing for this election, I have today, agreed based on the intervention of the Honourable Minister of FCT, Barrister Nyesom Wike, who is our leader in the party and the leader in FCT, who has called my attention to let us know that this is a brotherhood election.
“I am also doing this in support of the good works of the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“I have consulted widely and by the grace of God we have agreed that we are no longer going to contest against my brother, Hon Christopher Zakka Maikalangu.
“By doing so, I also submitted a letter of withdrawal to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) today.
“I therefore call on all my supporters across the 12 wards in the Abuja Municipal Area Council to come out enmasse to support Hon Christopher Maikalangu, who is the candidate of APC.”
In his letter to INEC, Dantani wrote: “I write to respectfully inform you that I, Hon. Zadna Dantani of Gosa Village along Airport Road FCT Abuja, a member and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have decided to voluntarily withdraw from contesting for the Chairmanship position of Abuja Municipal Area Council, in the forthcoming Area Council Elections which is scheduled to hold on 21st February, 2026, after due other consideration and thorough consultation with my Family and relevant stakeholders.”
He added, “I wish to state unequivocally that this decision to withdraw my candidature is borne out of my own freewill volition.”
THE WHISTLER reported that Wike had openly declared that party loyalty would take a back seat in the FCT ahead of Saturday’s polls.
“We have the FCT area council election coming up on February 21, and I have a duty to support any candidate that supports President Tinubu to win.”
“It is also my duty to ensure that any candidate who is not supporting Tinubu does not win in the election, and I owe no apology for my stance,” Wike had said on Saturday.