Bukola Afeni
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed claims that voters were migrated to new polling units during the 2026 FCT Area Council elections, clarifying that only split polling units were created to ease congestion.
In a statement signed by its Acting Director, Voter Education and Publicity (VEP), Wilfred Ifogah, the Commission explained that no voter was moved from their original polling unit. Rather, it created additional units in locations with over 1,250 registered voters to ensure a smoother voting process. The split polling units, it said, were situated a few metres away from the original units within the same premises.
INEC conducted elections on Saturday, February 21, 2026, for the positions of Chairman across the six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as well as for 62 Councillorship seats.
The results were announced late Saturday, except for Kuje Area Council, which was declared at about 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 22, 2026. The Commission attributed the delay to the difficult terrain of Kabi Ward, which slowed the final collation process.
According to the Commission’s Election Operations Dashboard, 45 per cent of polling units opened as at 8:30 a.m., while all polling units were confirmed open by 10:00 a.m. on election day. However, it acknowledged that some voters experienced difficulty locating their designated polling units.
INEC recalled that the Register of Voters was displayed at designated centres and split polling units four days before the elections to enable voters confirm their details and polling unit locations. It also stated that text messages and emails were sent to affected voters between February 18 and February 21, 2026, to remind them of their polling unit locations.
As at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 22, 2026, the Commission disclosed that 93 per cent of polling unit results had been uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal for public access.
While expressing concern over voter apathy, INEC noted an improvement compared to the 2022 Area Council election. It said 148,685 voters participated in 2022, representing 9.4 per cent of registered voters, while over 239,210 voters cast their ballots in the current election, representing approximately 15 per cent of the 1,680,315 registered voters in the FCT.
The Commission commended residents of the FCT for their peaceful conduct and cooperation throughout the electoral process, describing the turnout as a reflection of continued public trust in the democratic system.
