The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) has said more than 1.6 million voters have registered to participate in the forthcoming Federal Capital Territory Area (FCTA) Council elections scheduled for February 21, 2026.
The electoral umpire confirmed the number of voters on Tuesday by the FCT Resident Electoral Commissioner, Malam Aminu Idris, during the INEC Forum for Media Executives, Producers, Reporters and On-Air Personalities.
Speaking at the forum, INEC said the number of registered voters in the FCT increased to 1,680,315 following a recent revision of the voters’ register.
He noted that the commission had approved the creation of additional Registration Area Centres to ease logistics and improve the movement of personnel and election materials on polling day.
“Following the revision of the register of voters, the total number of registered voters in the FCT is now 1,680,315,” Idris said.
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According to him, sub-RACs have been established in Dutse Alhaji and Kubwa Wards of Bwari Area Council, as well as Gwarinpa and Kabusa Wards of the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
Idris also disclosed that elections would not be held in four polling units across the territory due to the absence of registered voters.
“There are three polling units in Garki Ward and one in Jiwa Ward where elections will not take place due to zero registration,” he said.
The REC said INEC had made significant progress in its preparations for the polls, including monitoring party primaries, publishing the final list of candidates, receiving non-sensitive materials and activating the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices.
“We have commenced the monitoring of public campaigns, taken delivery of non-sensitive materials, opened portals for observer accreditation and recruitment of ad-hoc staff, and activated BVAS devices in readiness for configuration,” Idris said.
He added that media accreditation would close on February 8, 2026, while the collection of Permanent Voter Cards at Area Council offices would continue until February 10.
Idris further disclosed that INEC would conduct a mock accreditation exercise in 289 polling units across the six Area Councils to test voter accreditation, voting and result upload processes.
“The purpose is to test-run the technologies that will be deployed on election day, from BVAS accreditation to voting and dummy results upload,” he said.
He urged the media to promote voter education and counter misinformation.
“Public confidence in elections is influenced not only by how the process is conducted, but also by how it is reported. We need accuracy over speed and facts over speculation,” Idris said.
Also speaking, the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mallam Mohammed Haruna, said the commission had acquired and batched nearly all non-sensitive materials required for the elections.
“We have acquired virtually all the non-sensitive materials required for the election and batched them according to the six Area Councils, 62 Wards and 2,822 polling units in the Territory,” Haruna said.
He said the printing of sensitive materials, including ballot papers and result sheets, was ongoing and could be completed ahead of schedule.
“As is our established practice, the Commission will, in the presence of party agents, security personnel, civil society organisations and the media, take delivery of these sensitive materials from the FCT Branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Wednesday, February 18, for distribution to Area Council offices ahead of the polls at 8:30 a.m. on February 21.
Adequate BVAS machines are being prepared for deployment to all the polling units in the Territory,” he said.
He noted that although Area Council elections resemble local government polls conducted by state electoral bodies, the FCT occupies a unique constitutional position.
“Section 299 of the Constitution says the FCT shall be treated as if it were one of the states. In practice, FCT Area Council elections are like governorship elections in the 36 states,” Haruna said.
He added that the forthcoming poll would be the first Area Council election conducted under the four-year tenure provided by the 2022 Electoral Act.
“No stone must be left unturned to ensure that the election is free, fair and credible,” he said.
Haruna appealed to the media to support voter mobilisation and professional election coverage.
“I would like to appeal to the media to use their platforms to educate and mobilise eligible voters to come out and vote. Your coverage should be informed by a sound understanding of the Constitution, Electoral Law and the Commission’s Guidelines,” he said.
He disclosed that INEC had completed 10 of the 13 key activities on the election timetable, with the remaining tasks being the publication of the Notice of Poll on February 7, the end of campaigns on February 19, and Election Day on February 21.
