FCT Polls: Low Turnout, logistics Lapses, Fragile Collation Stark Warning For 2027 — Yiaga Africa

Yiaga Africa has declared that the
low turnout, logistics lapses and
fragile collation witnessed in the Federal Capital Territory Area Council election held on Saturday is
a stark warning for 2027 general polls.

Yiaga Africa gave this indication in a statement on the ward collation of results in FCT polls, signed by its executive director, Samson Itodo and director programmes, Cynthia Mbamalu made available to LEADERSHIP on Sunday.

The civil society organisation had in its preliminary statement, said the FCT Area Council election was conducted in a largely peaceful atmosphere, and voters who arrived at polling units were able to cast their ballots without major disruption.

It said despite this, turnout was generally low, with many polling units recording limited participation, adding that delays in the deployment of personnel and materials, coupled with inadequate communication on polling unit relocations, undermined voter confidence and contributed to disenfranchisement.

Yiaga Africa said with the 2027 general elections fast approaching, such lapses are unacceptable and urged INEC to adopt a more detailed, projectised approach to logistics planning and execution, ensuring that operational frameworks are robust, timelines are strictly adhered to, and contingency measures are in place to guarantee efficiency and credibility in future elections.

The CSO which deployed observers to collation centres to observe the results collation process, noted that
the 2026 FCT Area Council election presented a mixed but cautionary signal ahead of the 2027 general elections.

While voting was largely peaceful and there was substantial compliance with results management procedures including high IReV upload rates, it said the ward-level collation stage remains the most fragile link in the electoral value chain.

According to Yiaga Africa, violent disruptions, delays, security lapses, and relocation of collation processes exposed weaknesses that threaten the integrity of results management.

It said the lessons from the FCT election must therefore drive urgent reforms in logistics, security coordination, and collation procedures.

The pro-democracy group stated that ward collation commenced between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm in 66% of the collation centres observed; an additional 10% began between 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm, while 3% commenced between 9:00 pm and midnight.

“In Kuje Central and Kabi wards of Kuje arec council, collation did not begin until the following morning.The primary causes of delay included: late arrival of materials from polling units, absence of collation at designated times, logistical failures in transporting sensitive materials, and reported intimidation of officials by political thugs that caused officers to await security escorts,” it said.

On transparency and posting of results, Yiaga Africa said: “in 80% of the ward collation centres observed, collation officers completed and publicly displayed the Notice of Results Poster (Form EC60E) for the chairmanship election.

“In 95% of ward collation centres that commenced collation, party agents were requested to countersign the result forms. ADC agents countersigned in 88% of centres observed, APC agents in 93%, PDP agents in 91%, and SDP agents in 59% of centres.”

It observed that copies of Form EC8B were distributed in 100% of the ward collation centres observed, however, disagreements with the declared results were recorded in 2% of the centres.

Yiaga Africa observers reported the presence of security officials in 98% of collation centres observed and noted incidents of intimidation, harassment, and violence at several ward collation centres.

The organisation commended INEC officials in several wards who showed courage and professionalism, carrying out their responsibilities despite intimidation and attacks.

It also commended vigilant citizens in affected wards who defended their mandate by insisting on compliance with established procedures and resisting attempts by political thugs to disrupt the collation of results.

“These critical incidents have significant implications for electoral integrity. Disruptions, intimidation, and relocating collation processes undermine the collation of election results and increase the risk of manipulation, or tampering with election results.

“It also raises legitimate concerns about the effectiveness of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) and the impact of the extensive deployment of security personnel during the elections. When result sheets are removed, collation is interrupted, or proceedings move to undisclosed or less accessible locations, transparency drops and observer oversight weakens.

“The use of force, destruction of property, and evacuation of officials and observers further diminish public confidence in the credibility of the process. Even when results are finalized, procedural shortcomings erode trust in the impartiality, security, and reliability of results management, especially at the ward collation stage, which remains the weakest links in the results value-chain,” the statement reads in parts.

It noted that the Electoral Act 2026 mandates the electronic transmission of polling unit results through the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

While overall upload rates reached 73% by the end of Election Day, Yiaga Africa observed temporary downtime on the IReV portal during the upload of results.

It said the disruption generated public suspicion and speculation, underscoring the sensitivity of the results transmission phase and asked INEC to provide a clear public explanation regarding the cause and duration of the downtime in order to strengthen transparency and public confidence in the IReV portal.

“As of 4:30 pm on Sunday 22 February, 2,641 chairmanship results and 2,542 councillorships result out of 2,822 polling units had been uploaded to the IReV portal, representing approximately 94% (chairmanship results) and 90% (councillorship results) upload rates respectively,” the statement added.

Yiaga Africa said the 2026 FCT Area Council election reaffirm that ward-level collation remains the most vulnerable and most consequential stage of Nigeria’s electoral process.

According to it, the will of voters expressed at polling units can only be protected if the chain of custody of results from polling units to ward and subsequently to local government collation centres is secure, transparent, and subject to effective oversight.

The CSO submitted that ahead of Ekiti and Osun gubernatorial elections and the 2027 general elections, INEC should strengthen its election deployment planning and logistics management to ensure timely deployment of materials and personnel, and effective communication to voters on polling unit redistribution.

It also asked INEC to conclude voter redistribution exercise and ensure that affected voters are informed well in advance of Ekiti and Osun governorship elections and the 2027 general elections to avoid confusion and potential disenfranchisement.

Yiaga Africa further urged the electoral body to strengthen the collation and results management process by ensuring strict adherence to procedures, timely transmission of results and consistent posting of result forms in polling units and collation centers to enhance citizens’ trust and confidence.

It called on security agencies to investigate allegations of collusion between security operatives and political thugs in incidents where ward-level collation was disrupted, and ensure that findings are made public as well as arrest and prosecute individuals who deployed violence to disrupt the collation process.

The group asked political parties to adequately train and support ward-level party agents with a particular focus on legal rights during collation, form authentication, and formal dispute procedures as well as refrain from deploying political thugs in the vicinity of collation centers and actively cooperate with security agencies to maintain a peaceful environment.