Political tension is rising in the Federal Capital Territory ahead of the 2027 general elections after the Chairman of Kuje Area Council, Samuel Danjuma Shekwolo, threatened to resist residents who vote against the ruling All Progressives Congress.
In a video circulating on social media, Shekwolo declared that he would not tolerate opposition to the APC within the area council, insisting that residents should support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The council chairman anchored his position on projects executed in the area by the Tinubu administration and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, arguing that residents should reciprocate the government’s interventions with electoral support.
“I have said in my area council that it’s either you are for the APC or you leave the area council. I am not arguing about it at all,” Shekwolo said in the video.
He added: “You know why? I cannot have the Minister and the President doing what they are doing, then on the day of the election, you will now say you want to match me. I will not agree.
“It’s either you are with us or you are against us.”
The remarks amount to one of the strongest public statements yet by a local government official linking access to political space within a community to support for the ruling party.
They also come at a sensitive period as parties intensify mobilisation for the 2027 elections and concerns grow over the need to protect voters from intimidation, coercion and political pressure.
Under Nigeria’s democratic system, eligible voters are entitled to support candidates and political parties of their choice, while elections are expected to be conducted without threats or interference.
Shekwolo’s comments, therefore, are likely to draw scrutiny over whether elected public officials should use the authority of their offices to pressure residents into backing a particular political party.
The Kuje chairman, however, appeared to frame the matter as one of political reciprocity, repeatedly pointing to projects attributed to Tinubu and Wike as justification for demanding loyalty to the APC.
His comments also illustrate the increasingly aggressive tone of political mobilisation in the FCT, where Wike has emerged as a major figure in efforts to consolidate support for Tinubu ahead of the next presidential election.
The remarks could further energise opposition parties, which have repeatedly accused the ruling party of attempting to use incumbency and state structures to strengthen its electoral position.
Neither the APC nor the FCT administration was quoted in the report as responding to Shekwolo’s statement.
As campaigning gathers momentum, the controversy is likely to sharpen the debate over the limits of political mobilisation by public office holders and the obligation of authorities to guarantee that residents can cast their ballots freely, regardless of which party controls government.
For voters in Kuje, the central question now extends beyond development projects and party loyalty to a more fundamental democratic principle: whether political support in 2027 will remain a matter of individual choice or become the subject of pressure from those holding public office.
