By BANNERNEWS Reporter
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), says the commission has concluded preparations for the 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections scheduled for Saturday, February 21.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, Amupitan said 1,680,315 registered voters will participate in the poll across 2,822 polling units in the six area councils of Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali.
He added that 570 candidates are contesting 68 constituencies, covering chairmanship, vice-chairmanship and 62 councillorship seats.
He described the FCT poll as the only local government election conducted by INEC, noting that it has become a benchmark for polls conducted by State Independent Electoral Commissions and strengthened confidence in grassroots democracy.
Amupitan said INEC has implemented all activities in its 13-item timetable, with only the close of campaigns at midnight on Thursday, February 19, and Election Day remaining. He urged political parties and candidates to comply strictly with electoral laws.
On voter readiness, he disclosed that distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ended on February 10, with 106,099 cards collected during the Continuous Voter Registration exercise. He encouraged eligible voters to turn out peacefully and exercise their franchise.
The INEC chairman said 89 domestic and foreign observer groups and 700 journalists from 72 media organisations have been accredited to monitor and cover the election, while 11,873 polling unit officials will be deployed alongside supervisory and technical personnel.
He added that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has been upgraded and will be deployed in all polling units, with results uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal. He noted that all devices, including backup units, have been tested, while a mock accreditation exercise in 289 polling units produced satisfactory results.
To ensure seamless logistics, INEC will deploy 1,132 vehicles, 620 motorcycles and 14 boats, with polling units expected to open at 8:30 a.m.
He also reaffirmed the commission’s neutrality and warned against vote trading, saying the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) will deploy personnel to arrest offenders.
Amupitan urged security agencies, political parties and voters to act responsibly, stressing that INEC’s mandate is to ensure votes are cast freely, counted accurately and reflected transparently.
