The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has criticised opposition parties over their reactions to the outcome of the Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections, accusing them of attempting to undermine the credibility of the process.
In a post shared on X on Sunday, Keyamo dismissed allegations of irregularities in the polls, insisting that the complaints being circulated by opposition figures were exaggerated and unsupported by evidence.
According to him, “Opposition elements often search for excuses after losing elections, but isolated issues cannot invalidate an entire electoral process. Nigerians are capable of judging the credibility of elections for themselves.”
The minister argued that only a small number of polling units showed discrepancies, which he said could not be used to generalise about the entire election.
“Out of thousands of polling units, pointing to a few where corrections were made does not prove that the whole exercise was flawed,” he stated. “Even if more units were affected, they would still represent only a tiny fraction of the total.”
Keyamo further accused opposition parties of using their claims to fuel unnecessary tension among citizens.
“They attempt to magnify minor concerns into a narrative that democracy is under threat,” he said. “This kind of rhetoric is capable of misleading the public and creating avoidable anxiety.”
He maintained that political actors often question election credibility only when results do not favour them.
“In their thinking, the only time an election is truly free and fair is when the ruling party loses,” he added.
The comments come amid protests and objections from some opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress, following the announcement of results in parts of the FCT.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Joshua Ishaku winner of the Bwari Area Council chairmanship poll after he secured 18,466 votes.
In the Abuja Municipal Area Council, Christopher Maikalangu was also returned elected after polling 40,295 votes from 62,861 valid votes cast.
However, the Peoples Democratic Party recorded victory in Gwagwalada Area Council, where Mohammed Kasim defeated his closest rival with 22,165 votes.
