By George Mgbeleke
\nBarely 48 hours to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that the conduct of credible elections is a collective responsibility of all stakeholders, as preparations reach their final stage for the February 21, 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections.<\/p>\n
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, made this declaration on Wednesday at an enlarged stakeholders\u2019 forum held at Barcelona Hotel, Abuja.
\nAddressing political party leaders, chairmanship candidates, security agencies, civil society groups, and members of the media, Amupitan emphasized that while INEC is constitutionally mandated to organize and supervise elections, the success of the process depends on the cooperation of all actors within the framework of the law.<\/p>\n
The INEC Chairman disclosed that 1,680,315 registered voters are expected to cast their ballots across 2,822 polling units spread over the six area councils of the FCT. A total of 570 candidates will contest for 68 elective positions, comprising chairmanship and councillorship seats.<\/p>\n
He described the FCT as a \u201cmicrocosm of Nigeria,\u201d noting that the council election is the only local government poll conducted directly by INEC, making it a benchmark for State Independent Electoral Commissions nationwide.
\n\u201cBecause Abuja is the seat of power and capital of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the attention of the entire country and the international community will be on this election,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Amupitan confirmed that the Commission has successfully implemented 11 out of the 13 activities in its election timetable. The only outstanding items are the conclusion of campaigns \u2014 which must end at midnight on February 19 \u2014 and Election Day proceedings.<\/p>\n
He revealed that 106,099 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were collected following the suspension of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise in October 2025, describing the turnout as evidence of strong public interest in the electoral process.
\nINEC accredited 89 domestic and foreign observer groups and 700 journalists from 72 media organizations to monitor and cover the election.<\/p>\n
The Commissioner of Police, FCT, assured residents of robust security arrangements, including the deployment of personnel to identified flashpoints to guarantee voter safety.<\/p>\n
INEC also confirmed the deployment of:
\n11,873 polling officials
\n282 Supervisory Presiding Officers
\n68 Registration Area Supervisors
\n208 technical support staff
\n192 collation officers
\nFor logistics, the Commission will deploy 1,132 vehicles, 620 motorcycles, and 14 boats, particularly to riverine areas of Abaji Area Council.<\/p>\n
Amupitan stressed that election materials and personnel would be moved to Registration Area Centres (RACs) ahead of Election Day to ensure polls commence promptly at 8:30 a.m.
\n\u201cOur benchmark for success is simple \u2014 timely commencement, peaceful conduct, transparent result management, and prompt declaration of results,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
The INEC Chairman assured stakeholders that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has been upgraded and deployed to all polling units, including 195 split polling units, with an additional five percent backup devices available, he added BVAS Upgraded, Results to Be Electronically Transmitted.<\/p>\n
A mock accreditation exercise conducted in 289 polling units yielded satisfactory results, boosting confidence in the system\u2019s reliability. Results, he added, will be uploaded through the Commission\u2019s Result Viewing Portal in line with established procedures.<\/p>\n
Amupitan raised concern over vote trading, describing it as a major threat to electoral integrity. He called on the Nigeria Police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to intensify efforts in arresting and prosecuting offenders.
\nWhile noting commendations received for the recent Anambra election, he stressed that the FCT poll must surpass previous standards,
\n\u201cINEC does not arrest or investigate. We rely on security agencies, he emphasize the commission \u201cZero Tolerance for Vote Buying\u201d.
\nHe however, noted that the commission legal department is ready to prosecute once investigations are concluded,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the forum, FCT Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mallam Aminu; Supervising National Commissioner, Mallam Haruna Kudu; representatives of political parties under the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC); and the NYSC State Coordinator, Mr. Samson, commended INEC\u2019s level of preparedness.<\/p>\n
They urged voters to turn out peacefully and called on the media and observers to remain professional and objective in their duties.<\/p>\n
Daily Echoes Media can confirm the key statistics that will determine the FCT polls as follows:<\/p>\n
Registered Voters, 1,680,315
\nMale, 909,912
\nFemale, 770,403
\nPersons with Disabilities, 3,000
\nPolling Units, 2,822
\nRegistration Areas, 62
\nElective Positions, 68<\/p>\n
As the FCT heads to the polls on Saturday, INEC reaffirmed its commitment to delivering a free, fair, and credible election, urging political actors and voters alike to play their part in strengthening grassroots democracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke Barely 48 hours to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that the conduct of credible elections is a collective responsibility of all stakeholders, as preparations reach their final stage for the February 21, 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections. INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1475,3548,1181,280],"class_list":["post-11171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-collective","tag-preparations","tag-responsibility","tag-stakeholders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11171"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11172,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11171\/revisions\/11172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}