Wike Rewards Abuja Traditional Rulers for Supporting Tinubu and APC in Area Council Elections

Gloria Adesanya 11:16 - 11 March 2026

Nyesom Wike Upgrades FCT Monarchs

After the FCT delivered overwhelming votes for Bola Tinubu, Minister Nyesom Wike announced a major upgrade of traditional rulers across Abuja, promoting second- and third-class chiefs in the FCT Council of Chiefs.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has approved an upgrade of traditional rulers across Abuja. He announced this decision while thanking residents for backing Bola Tinubu’s candidates in the recent area council elections.

Speaking in Abaji on Tuesday, Wike said all second-class chiefs in the FCT will now become first-class chiefs, while third-class chiefs will move up to second-class status within the FCT Council of Chiefs.

We sat down with you and requested that you support Tinubu and that the support should begin with the area council elections.
The election was held on Feb. 21, and you fulfilled your promise. You came out in your numbers and gave Tinubu 133 out of the 135 polling units in the area council.
What else can we say but thank you? Now that you have done your own, we will do our own too. Abaji people have spoken, and they have spoken very well.

Wike told the traditional rulers and residents gathered for the visit.

“By the power confined in me, I hearby upgrade all second class traditional rulers in FCT to first class and third class to second class because you voted APC and supported Tinubu”

- Wike upgrades all traditional Rulers in Abuja cos they supported Tinubu pic.twitter.com/LfQoOyc5sR
— Oyindamola🙄 (@dammiedammie35) March 11, 2026

All I want from you is to continue to support Mr President, and you will see many good things.

For the minister, the upgrades are part reward, part recognition of the role traditional institutions still play in grassroots politics.

The request itself came from the Ona of Abaji and Chairman of the FCT Council of Chiefs, Adamu Yunusa, who had earlier praised Wike for upgrading the Etsu of Kwali, Luka Nizassan III, to the rank of first-class chief – something many traditional leaders in the territory had been hoping for under previous administrations.

Yunusa said the decision demonstrated that the minister understood the importance of traditional institutions in Nigerian society.

Still, he had more requests. He advocated a broader restructuring that would elevate deserving second-class chiefs to first-class status and move third-class chiefs to second-class status. Doing so, he said, would allow more traditional leaders to be properly integrated into the FCT Council of Chiefs.

Beyond the titles, there were practical matters as well. Yunusa asked the minister to help build a new palace befitting the chairman of the council of chiefs, something that would reflect the culture and history of the FCT.

Wike turned to the Abaji Area Council chairman, Abubakar Abdullahi, with a simple instruction: get a design ready.