Kuje Council Chairman Denies Threatening Residents Who Don’t Support APC

An aide to the Chairman of Kuje Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Samuel Danjuma Shekwolo, has submitted that his principal’s remarks about support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) were taken out of context.

The chief protocol officer to the chairman, Tumaka Danlami Stephen, said Shekwolo did not threaten to eject residents who refuse to support the APC in elections.

Naija News recalls that the Council Chairman, in a now-viral video, claimed that there is no room for anyone who would not openly associate with the APC and asked such people to vacate the area.

However, Tumaka said the chairman’s remarks were taken out of context as they were intended to encourage residents to support the ruling party in appreciation of development projects underway in Kuje.

He insisted that the chairman did not threaten anyone or seek to deprive residents of their right to vote for candidates of their choice.

According to him, Shekwolo was only urging residents to appreciate the unprecedented development being witnessed in Kuje under the administration of President Bola Tinubu and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, through their votes during elections.

“The video did not mean what is being represented by the public. The message he was trying to pass across was that with the good work the people of Kuje Area Council are enjoying from the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, which has never happened before in the history of the council, there is every reason to give the minister back the support that he deserves,” Tumaka said.

He explained that the chairman viewed the ongoing projects as dividends of democracy and was appealing to residents to support the government responsible for delivering them.

Tumaka said Shekwolo had no negative intentions as he was particularly addressing youths and other residents of Kuje and the FCT, encouraging them to support President Tinubu and APC candidates in the forthcoming elections.

He, however, stressed that the chairman respects every citizen’s right to make an independent political choice.

“He was just trying to encourage the youths of FCT and Kuje Area Council that a good turn deserves another. He didn’t mean anything negative. Everyone has the right to vote for whoever they want to vote for, but he is appealing that they should vote for the ruling party because of the massive development they have brought to the council,” he said.

The protocol officer said the chairman’s message was simply a political appeal, rather than an attempt to force residents to vote for the APC.

“He also meant that if anybody is not ready to vote for the APC in the council, with the development that is coming to the council, it means they are not lovers of the council,” he added.

Tumaka maintained that the chairperson’s comments should therefore be understood as political mobilisation and advocacy for the APC, rather than a threat of eviction or punishment against residents who hold different political views.

He reiterated that residents remained free to vote for candidates and political parties of their choice, while urging them to consider the development projects being implemented in Kuje when making their decisions at the polls.