FCT MINISTER COMMENDS GWAGWALADA RESIDENTS FOR PEACEFUL CONDUCT OF COUNCIL ELECTIONS

FCT Minister Barr Nyesom Wike addressing residents of Gwagwalada during his thank you visit to the Council on Wednesday

FCTA PRESS RELEASE

FCT MINISTER COMMENDS GWAGWALADA RESIDENTS FOR PEACEFUL CONDUCT OF COUNCIL ELECTIONS

…APPROVES NEW CHIEFTAINCY TITLE AND IMMEDIATE WATER INTERVENTION FOR ZUBA SATELITE TOWN

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, has lauded the residents of Gwagwalada Area Council for their peaceful conduct and democratic choices during the recent council elections.

Barr. Wike made the remarks during a thank-you visit to Gwagwalada on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, to convey the appreciation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the residents of the area for their support during the just concluded elections.

Speaking during the visit, the Minister formally recognized the victory of the Chairman-elect, Mohammed Kasim of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying it reflected the genuine voice and will of the people of Gwagwalada. He also described Kasim as a hardworking leader and expressed the FCT Administration's readiness to partner with him.

“I commend and respect the people of Gwagwalada for choosing Kassim as your Chairman. This is the voice of the people. This is what you want…I will work with him to make sure that we provide infrastructure to Gwagwalada”, the FCT Minister stated.

Barr. Wike also explained that while the Chairman-elect may have run under a different party banner, he is committed to supporting the President's Renewed Hope Agenda, stressing that the current political cooperation in the FCT has transcended traditional party lines in favor of what he described as a rainbow coalition, focused on development.

In another significant move to strengthen local traditional institutions, the Minister announced the establishment of a Third-Class chieftaincy title for the Gbagyi people of Gwagwalada, characterizing the gesture as a vital step in the government’s ongoing effort to recognize and honor local traditions and indigenous heritage.

Furthermore, the Minister addressed the urgent need for basic amenities, specifically promising an immediate intervention to provide potable water for the people of Zuba. "I feel so bad that you don’t have water in Zuba," Barr. Wike stated, assuring the community that they should consider the problem solved under his administration.

The Minister also offered strategic advice to the Chairman-elect, urging him to consult widely and prioritize specific, high-impact projects rather than attempting to tackle every local challenge simultaneously. He encouraged the incoming leadership to sit with the community to identify immediate needs that can be delivered effectively.

Barr. Wike who reiterated his call for authentic representation in future elections, asserted that the FCT will no longer support candidates who are disconnected from the local geography and the specific needs of the people. “We are not going to vote again for people who don’t know where Gwagwalada is. “We will choose somebody who understands the people of Gwagwalada and who understands Abuja”, he said.

The Minister further lauded the impressive turnout of residents in Gwagwalada, saying that the outing was the best he had witnessed (in the thank you tour series). He described it as a clear sign of the people's enthusiasm for proactive governance and praised the residents for their passion and democratic maturity.

The Minister also promised to brief President Tinubu on the successful visit and the robust support of the people, emphatically declaring Gwagwalada as a stronghold of political stability and community engagement.

Speaking at the occasion, the Aguma of Gwagwalada, HRH. Alh Mohammed Magaji, said that the people ought to have gone to thank the Minister at his residence, expressing his astonishment that it was the Minister who came down himself to thank the people.

The Royal Father appreciated the Minister for the success and peaceful conduct of the elections, saying that "there were no issues”. He further said that as Chairman-Elect, Hon Kassim Mohammed was not there as a representative of any party, but as a chairman representing the people of Gwagwalada.

He further thanked the Minister for the Territory-wide upgrade of traditional rulers, adding that traditional rulers in the FCT had long desired such an upgrade, and would never forget the Minister for his kind gesture.

In his address, the Chairman-elect, Hon Mohammed Kassim, vowed his loyalty to the Minister, pledging that he and the people of Gwagwalada will stand wherever the FCT Minister stood.

Kassim assured that Gwagwalada residents were endeared to Barr Wike because of the quality of his work and the impact he had made in the development of the Area Council.

He however listed numerous projects which he appealed for the Minister’s intervention. These included the dualization of the Gwagwalada - Dobi Road, popularly called the Specialist Road, the Dukpa Road and Bridge, the Ikwa Road, and the 13km Zuba-Shenenga Road which, he said, is largely impassable during the rainy season.

RABI MUSA UMAR

DEPUTY DIRECTOR, PRESS

(OFFICE OF THE HONOURABLE MINISTER)

11/03/2026

FCTA/ODP/PR/807   

 

MORE PHOTOS AND CAPTIONS

Gwagwalada Area Council Chairman elect, Kasim Mohammed (2nd left) welcomes the FCT Minister Barr Nyesom Wike (right) to the Council on a thank you visit on Wednesday, while the incumbent Chairman of the Council, Abubakar Giri (2nd right) and the Chairman Abaji Area Council, Abubakar Umar Abdullahi (left) look on

Jubilant Gwagwalada residents during the Minister's thank you visit to the Council on Wednesday