The Chief Protocol Officer to the Chairman of Kuje Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Stephen Tumaka, has threatened residents who may refuse to vote for candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.
Tumaka issued the threat in a social media post on Tuesday, the same day Kuje Area Council Chairman, Samuel Danjuma Shekwolo, was reported to have warned residents to either support the APC or leave the area council.
In his post, Tumaka declared that Kuje belonged to the APC and warned residents unwilling to vote for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other APC candidates that they could no longer consider the area council their home.
Tumaka specifically mentioned Tinubu, Senator Philip Aduda and Hon. Danladi Chiya, popularly known as Bayani as candidates residents should support in the election.
He wrote: “LISTEN WELL. Kuje is APC. If you are not ready to vote ASIWAJU TINUBU, SENATOR ADUDA, and HON. BAYANI on election day comes January, then this Area Council is not for you. Don’t mistake this for a joke. January is around the corner.”
The statement has raised concerns over alleged political intimidation in Kuje, particularly because it came from a senior aide attached to the office of the area council chairman.
Tumaka’s warning also appears to reinforce the position previously expressed by Shekwolo, whose remarks in a video sparked concerns over residents’ rights to freely participate in the electoral process without threats or coercion.
Chairman’s ‘Vote APC Or Leave’ Remark
In the video that triggered the controversy, Shekwolo openly warned residents that they could either support the APC or leave Kuje Area Council.
The chairman said, “It’s either you’re doing APC or leave the Area Council. I am not hiding it at all at all. With confidence, I am saying it.”
He further explained his position by referring to the support he said the area council was receiving from the minister and the President.
He added, “You know why: I cannot have the minister and the President doing for us what they’re doing, and on the day of the election, you say you want to march/match me; I will not agree. It’s either you’re with us or you leave.”
The comments have generated concerns among residents and rights advocates over the possibility of political intimidation ahead of the 2027 elections.
The controversy is particularly significant because the threats involve officials of a local government authority, which is expected to provide services and protection to residents regardless of their political affiliations.
Amnesty International had earlier condemned the failure of Nigerian authorities to take what it considered appropriate security action against Shekwolo over his remarks.
The international human rights organisation said residents of Kuje were still living in fear because security agencies had allegedly failed to take steps to hold the council chairman accountable for threatening residents who would not vote for the APC.
“Residents of Kuje area council FCT will continue to live in fear as no effort has been made by security agencies to hold the council chairman Samuel Danjuma Shekwolo to account, for threatening to unleash violence on anybody who would not vote for APC,” Amnesty International said.
The organisation described the attempt to make support for the APC a condition for peaceful residence and the exercise of civic rights in Kuje as unlawful.
“His desperate attempt to make voting for APC as the sole condition for living peacefully and exercising civic rights in Kuje is unlawful,” it said.
“Ahead of 2027 elections and beyond, it is essential that the Nigerian authorities ensure that any politician or other leaders, of any political party or grouping, responsible for carrying out or inciting or threatening politically, religiously or ethnically-motivated violence or human rights abuses must be held to account.”
Amnesty International consequently urged Nigerian authorities to ensure that politicians and other influential figures who threaten or incite politically motivated violence are held accountable.
The organisation stressed that the authorities must act against individuals responsible for carrying out, inciting or threatening politically motivated violence or human rights abuses, regardless of their political affiliation.