The All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Yahaya Usman, have submitted a petition contesting the February 21, 2026, chairmanship election results in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja.
Filed under reference FCT/ACEPT/EP/02/2026 and obtained by our correspondent on Thursday, the petition challenges the declaration of Mohammed Kasim of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
INEC had announced Kasim as the winner with 22,165 votes, while Usman received 17,788 votes. The petitioners are seeking to nullify the election on three main grounds: alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2026, corrupt practices, and claims that the declared winner did not secure the majority of lawful votes cast.
According to the petition, the election, held across 10 wards and 338 polling units in Gwagwalada Area Council, was plagued by irregularities involving electoral officials. APC and its candidate allege that results from at least six polling units were altered or manipulated to match accredited voter numbers and hide over-voting incidents. The affected units are located in Kutunku, Ibwa, Tungan Maje, and Ikwa wards.
The petition states, “That the result of 6 polling units in 4 wards i.e., Kutunku (code: 02); Ibwa (code: 04); Tunga Maje (code: 07); and Ikwa (code:09), issued to the Petitioners by the 1st Respondent on request as entered in Forms EC8A series by the presiding officers of the 1st Respondent were altered, changed, results suppressed or inflated to avoid over-voting in breach of the Electoral Act, 2026 and the Electoral Regulations and Electoral Guideline. That there were also incidences of cancellations on the face of results in Forms EC8A that were glaringly done in 6 polling units during the Gwagwalada Area Council Chairmanship Election.”
They also claim that APC votes in two polling units were deliberately suppressed during collation.
Additionally, the petition highlights 102 polling units where substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act allegedly occurred, and eight units where electoral officials reportedly engaged in result manipulation, including erasures, cancellations, and re-writing of figures.
It reads, “That aside the 102 Polling Units where substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026 occurred in the 2026 Gwagwalada Chairmanship Election held on the 21st of February, 2026, there are also 8 polling units where electoral officials of the 3rd Respondent engaged in corrupt practices and irregularities by mutilating, erasing, cancelling and re-rewriting the figures in the results sheet with the aim of altering, changing to avoid the consequences of over-voting, as well as suppressing results and inflation of votes.”
The petition also alleges wrongful accreditation of voters in 71 polling units across six wards, accusing officials of failing to tick voters’ details in the register properly. Despite these issues, INEC is said to have collated and relied on these votes to declare the PDP candidate the winner.
Further, the petition reports over-voting in 31 polling units, where recorded figures exceeded accredited voters, amounting to 1,289 votes for APC and 3,236 votes for PDP, which they argue should be invalidated.
After adjusting for disputed votes, the petitioners calculated that APC would have 16,499 valid votes and PDP 18,929, leaving a margin of 2,430 votes—significantly below the 21,289 registered voters in the affected units—thus justifying annulment and a possible fresh election.
The petitioners are asking the tribunal to cancel the election results and declare the rightful winner in accordance with the law.
