Kuje APC threats: Aide warns residents over 2027 votes
By: Abudu Olalekan
Politics in Kuje Area Council, Federal Capital Territory, is starting to take a worrying turn. And this time, it’s not just campaign talks – it’s threats.
It all began after the Kuje Area Council Chairman, Samuel Danjuma Shekwolo, went viral in a video telling residents they either support the All Progressives Congress (APC), or leave the council entirely.
Now, one of his aides seems to be echoing the same message – only more bluntly.
Stephen Tumaka, the Chief Protocol Officer to the chairman, took to social media on Tuesday to warn residents who may not be willing to vote for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Philip Aduda, Hon. Danladi Chiya (popularly known as Bayani) and other APC candidates come 2027.
“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,” he wrote.
For many, the comment was hard to ignore – more so coming from an aide attached to the chairman’s office, whose duty is meant to serve all residents, not threaten some of them for their choice at the polls.
This isn’t far off from what the chairman himself had said earlier. In that viral clip, Shekwolo didn’t mince words either.
“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 said.
He went on to justify it, pointing to the support he claimed the council has been getting from the FCT Minister and the President. “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.”
These remarks have continued to spark outrage, with residents and rights groups worried that political intimidation is already creeping in, well ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In fact, global rights group Amnesty International has already condemned the development – and the silence that followed. According to the group, no serious effort has been made by security agencies to hold Shekwolo to account for his threat. And as a result, Kuje residents are still living in fear.
Amnesty International, in a statement obtained by Reportersroom, described the move to make APC support a condition for peacefully living in Kuje – or exercising one’s civic rights – as outright unlawful.
The organisation also called on Nigerian authorities to ensure that any politician, or person of influence, who incites, threatens or carries out politically motivated violence or human rights abuse is held to account. No matter which party they belong to.
At the heart of it all is a simple question for many in Kuje: since when did choosing who to vote for become a reason to be told to pack up and leave your own home?
Olalekan A. Abudu is a seasoned and dedicated News Journalist at REPORTERS ROOM, with over eight years of experience. He specializes in politics, climate change, health, and education, while also covering security, economic, and judicial issues. Committed to accuracy and balanced reporting, Olalekan exemplifies the principles of public-interest journalism.
