The internal crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has taken a new turn after Mrs. Susan Joshua, wife of the party’s chairmanship candidate, Joshua Musa, loyal to the FCT Minister, Nyeson Wike, urged voters to split their ballots in the February 21 election.
In a video obtained by the Trumpet on Friday, Mrs. Joshua was seen encouraging residents to vote for the APC in the chairmanship race, while supporting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for councilorship positions.
The development comes days after the Supreme Court affirmed Musa as the lawful APC candidate for the Bwari Area Council chairmanship election.
One APC source told the trumpets that the call for split voting undermines party cohesion at a critical time.
“We strongly urge all APC members, supporters and stakeholders to remain steadfast and vote strictly APC, from chairman to councilorship, on the ballot,” the source said.
In a 4–1 majority judgment delivered on February 16, the apex court set aside the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal and adopted the dissenting opinion of Justice Okon Abang, holding that Ishaku was validly nominated by the APC.
The court ruled that Ishaku’s suit was not statute-barred and that the dispute extended beyond internal party affairs, thereby warranting judicial intervention.
It subsequently ordered that his name be recognised and published as the APC candidate for the Bwari chairmanship poll.
The judgment effectively displaced Shekwolo, who had earlier been recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the party’s candidate.
Before the Supreme Court verdict, tension had already escalated within the Bwari APC over the outcome of councilorship primaries in wards including Usuma, Byazhin, Ushafa, Kuduru and Kawu.
A suit filed by aspirants loyal to Musa and Nasir Jimnas challenging the emergence of candidates aligned with Shekwolo was dismissed by the FCT High Court for lack of jurisdiction.
The court held that the matter constituted a pre-election dispute outside its jurisdiction and reaffirmed the mandate of candidates it described as duly elected during the primaries.
Despite the apex court’s ruling in his favour, Shekwolo declared continued loyalty to the APC and urged his supporters to vote for the party.
He, however, accused Wike, former Senator Philip Aduda, and the incumbent Bwari Area Council Chairman, John Gabaya, of orchestrating his removal from the APC ticket.
According to Shekwolo, the alleged move was aimed at installing a loyalist chairman ahead of Aduda’s reported plans to return to the Senate in 2027.
“They have been battling with us,” Shekwolo said. “The FCT minister, Philip Aduda, and the present chairman have been the ones fighting me.”
He also claimed that the PDP candidate was pressured to step down because his opponents believed Joshua might struggle to win the election without external backing.
Despite his grievances, Shekwolo maintained that he remained committed to the APC.
“As a party man, the first thing is for our party to win, despite the injustices that have been done to me,” he said, urging supporters not to abandon the party.
