FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has declared his support for the incumbent chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council, Christopher Maikalangu, who is seeking re-election, ahead of the February 2026 FCT Area Council election.
Wike threw his weight behind the All Progressives Congress candidate on Monday during the flag-off ceremony for the construction of a 7-kilometre road with four-span bridges linking Tunga Madaki and eight other settlements.
While noting that the Independent National Electoral Commission has officially given the green light for aspirants to commence campaign, he urged residents of Tunga Madaki and residents of AMAC to support Maikalangu for a second tenure.
Maikalangu recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC ) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Maikalangu has never stopped reminding me about the promise made to you during the land compensation process,” Wike said.
“He kept pressing, and here we are today. I am handing him over to you. Support him in the February 2026 elections, so that by June, when the road is commissioned, we’ll all dance together in celebration,” he said.
The minister also assured residents of the community where the road construction will take place of timely settlement to enable the contractor handling the project to deliver on time.
Wike said the project was in fulfillment of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and a direct response to the community's long-standing demand for infrastructure.
Wike noted that the road project stemmed from earlier negotiations during the acquisition of land for the construction of a second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
He explained that despite the land belonging to the Federal Capital Territory, the Aviation Ministry had to pay compensation, during which the affected communities demanded road access as a condition.
“It was quite unfair that a people would surrender their ancestral land for a national project like a second runway, yet they had no access road—even to the airport they gave land for,” Wike said.
“So, I took the matter to Mr. President, and he said, ‘Whatever they ask for, give it to them.’ Today, we are here to fulfill that promise.”
"This is a government that listens, a government that keeps its promises. For the first time in your lives, you asked for one thing, and the government responded. That is what the Renewed Hope Agenda is all about,” he said.
