FCT Election: Obina , the Dark horse that May become AMAC Chairman

In this write up, MBACHU GODWIN, takes a look at one of the top contenders to the Chairmanship of the forth Coming Abuja Municipal Area Council election and opined why the odds favours the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Candidate, Mr. Obina Simon.

Barely fourthy days from now , the residents of the Abuja Municipal Area Council will be going to exercise their voting right to elect the chairman of the council that will pilot the affairs of the council in the next four years.

Ahead of the February, 21st scheduled Council election , many candidates jostling to clinch the top position had already swing into campaigns and map out strategies on how to emerge victorious at the polls.

Amongst the candidates jostling for the Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, number one seat is the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Candidate , Mr Obina Simon, a Nando , Anambra born Entrepreneur , Humanist and politician who was raised in the North West of Kastina state

Obina’s candidacy , political observers say is perceived as a dark horse who came into the political firmament of the Abuja Municipal Area Council by storm .

His entrant into the Chairmanship race of the Abuja Municipal Area Council is believed by many political watchers to have uttered the political permutations and arithmetic of the camp of the incumbent chairman, Hon. Christopher Maikalangu who dumped his party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, for the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC.

Since , his joining the race , the incumbent chairman, Hon Maikalangu and the leadership of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, has been unsettled and rattled as many APC aggrieved leaders and supporters found the SDP candidate as a credible alternative

Our Check reveals that the All Progressive Congress, APC, has lost many of it’s strong supporters and faithful to the Social Democratic Party, SDP, a development political analyst say it’s not palatable for the APC.

The sagacity, humility, vision and capacity exhibited by the candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Mr Obina Simon in this short period of time has continued to endear him to the AMAC electorates , who see him as genuine reformer that will transform the council if given the mandate.

As a humanist , Mr Obina through his Non governmental Organisation Tagwaye foundation has made impactful humanitarian initiatives providing scholarships for over 100 less privileged students, health welfare programs and economic empowerment programs to many across the globe. Through his platform, he has successfully delivered nationally recognized programs using humor to address critical societal issues and promote national unity.

Speaking on his priority and blueprint for the Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, Mr Obina, member of Advertising Practitioner Council of Nigeria, who has been branded the “Change agent” the Council needs by his teeming supporters and admirers said he was in the race to fix infrastructural decay, education, health , Agriculture, human capital development and empower the youths and vulnerable through empowerment scheme.

Mr Obina, a former member of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council who berated the incumbent All Progressive Congress, APC, leadership of the Area Council for poor leadership and service delivery said his party the Social Democratic Party SDP, is coming to adequately address the failures of the APC government, warning that returning the incumbent chairman to office is a threat to the well being and development of the council , arguing that the incumbent chairman has no capacity to deliver as he allegedly told the whole world sometimes on 2025 that he has no capacity to address the security challenge in AMAC by procuring patrol vehicles when asked by the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Minister , Bar Nyeson Wike

He added that he will boost the Internal generated revenue of the council and ensure safety of life and property as well as run a government of inclusiveness by bringing the indigenes and non indegenes together as one Nigeria.

He said “What we realized that is happening in AMAC concerning revenue, because some portion of the revenue is used to compensate politicians. I don’t have problem with that, they should be a tentative arrangement with the government It has to be just , for instance 70/ 30 percent . It doesn’t make sense,We will work with consultants because we are creating job . A consultant must declare what he has collected ,you cannot come and tell us what you collected and we agree , no, and it must go digital , we will find out what was collected. I can be in my office and you h the screen and see what you have collected,We will digitalize it to checkmate corruption. Anything collected must go to the council account .it is we paying you not you paying us, you cannot come and say this what I collected no.

“For education, remember I told you I am a professional teacher, I have NCE, in education, by law I am certified to practice. I read education and I have thought for seven to eight years , Even on my declaration I stated that I am going to declare State of emergency on education, especially in FCT , where students seat on the floor, for instance where the teacher teaching PHE and you scold the students that their uniform are dirty , when they are seating on the floor.if education fails under my watch it is a slap on me. There is a school where we went in Nyaya they converted that school to a toilet, does it show professionalism of the teachers and headmaster, for education I made it a point of call that public school will compete with private school.

“Agriculture is something I won’t play with, everybody cannot work with the government, there are women I met at Gwagwa they called them vegetable and Allied farmers, I promised them that we will expand their farming business, give them modern implement to mechanize and modernize their farming and contribute to the economy of AMAC”

Commenting on his chances to defeat the incumbent, he said “There is no right thinking person in AMAC that will vote for the APC. The election of AMAC chairman would not be based on party but individual performance, as the incumbent left PDP and came to APC , he just changed party not who he is , it is not about the party .that people are following me today because of SDP but because of what I have done , they have sampled me and know what I stand”

Obina, a recipient of many awards , promised to bridge the gap between the indegenes and the non indigenes ,”I don’t belong to any divide , we are all brothers and sisters. I don’t like this issue of indigene, I am coming to set the information straight, I don’t believe in indigene and non indigene , this is FCT and is the centre of Unity , every body own here , what we are facing today in AMAC , infrastructural decay, educational neglect, poor health facilities, and others affects everybody.

The SDP candidate who has received many endorsements from almost all the geo- political zones in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, regardless of party affiliation expressed gratitude to the residents of AMAC for their support and believing in him to rescue the council .

There is a saying in Igbo land that your beauty should start from the home and then go out
If there are first people to endorse me it has to be Igbo, before you turn to what Igbo people call Ofeke, so, I am not a religious or ethnic bigot , so if other people are endorse me , people will ask why has his people Igbo’s not endorsed him, a lot of endorsement are rolling out, and I thank the residents of AMAC and God Almighty for believing in me and my capacity to reduce the council’

As the popularity of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, continued to soar with every day endorsement by major stake holders throwing their weights behind Mr. Obina Simon, it is glaring that if the election holds and the momentum is sustained and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, live up to expectation and discharge their functions independently, the chances of Obina Simon emerging the next AMAC Chairman is high, barring any unforeseen circumstances.