FCT Voter Register Hits 1.6m As INEC Steps Up Preparations For 2026 Area Council Polls

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that it has registered 1,680,315 voters in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) following a recent revision of the voter register.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for FCT, Malam Aminu Kasimu Idris, stated this on Tuesday during a media engagement forum organised by INEC for editors, producers, reporters, and on-air personalities, as part of its continuous stakeholder sensitisation efforts.

The REC said INEC was intensifying its preparations for the February 21, 2026 FCT Area Council elections, including the decongestion of large Registration Area Centres (RACs) in selected wards across Bwari Area Council and the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) to enhance efficiency on Election Day.

Also speaking at the forum, the Supervising National Commissioner for the FCT and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Malam Mohammed Haruna, emphasised the central role of the media in safeguarding Nigeria’s democracy.

He noted that credible elections are shaped not only by the integrity of the process but also by how the media reports on it.

Haruna urged media organisations to deepen voter education and ensure their reporting aligns with the Constitution, the Electoral Act, and the Commission’s guidelines.

While acknowledging that journalists may hold personal views, he stressed that such biases must never interfere with objective, factual, and professional coverage.

Providing an update on the Commission’s readiness, Haruna explained that INEC has successfully completed 10 of the 13 activities outlined in the election timetable.

A major achievement was the publication of the final Register of Voters on January 14, 2026, with copies already distributed to all political parties participating in the election.

The remaining activities include the publication of the Notice of Poll on February 7, the end of political party campaigns on February 19, and the election itself on February 21.

Haruna also disclosed that additional preparations not captured in the timetable were underway, including the accreditation of observers and journalists.

While the observer accreditation portal has closed, the media accreditation portal will remain open until February 8 to enable timely processing of accreditation cards.

On logistics, he confirmed that virtually all non-sensitive materials required for the election have been delivered and batched according to the six Area Councils, 62 Wards, and 2,822 Polling Units.

Sensitive materials such as ballot papers and result sheets will be printed ahead of time and formally received from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Abuja Branch, on February 18, in the presence of political party agents, security agencies, civil society organisations, and the media.

He added that BVAS machines were being configured and prepared for deployment to all polling units.

Haruna further explained that although Area Council elections share similarities with local government area polls conducted by state electoral commissions, Section 299 of the Constitution places the FCT on the same footing as a state.

This means the elections are conducted with the standards and scrutiny associated with governorship elections.

He noted that the FCT has a larger voting population than Bayelsa and Ekiti States, which naturally attracts both national and international attention.

Earlier in his remarks, FCT REC Malam Aminu Kasimu Idris described the media forum as a strategic platform for strengthening collaboration and aligning expectations between INEC and the media ahead of the elections.

He outlined several preparatory steps already taken by the Commission, including monitoring party primaries, publishing the final lists of candidates, tracking campaigns, delivering non-sensitive materials, activating and testing BVAS devices, engaging stakeholders, sensitising voters, collaborating with security agencies, and training election security personnel.

Idris also confirmed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Igu Ward in Bwari Area Council has been replaced following the death of the initial candidate, Zachariah James Danbaki, with Danbaki Titus emerging as the new nominee.

He announced that INEC will conduct a mock accreditation exercise in 289 selected polling units across the six Area Councils to test the BVAS accreditation process, voter flow, and dummy result uploads to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal. He urged the media to give the exercise wide publicity to ensure voter awareness and participation.

Idris added that elections will not be held in four polling units, three in Garki Ward and one in Jiwa Ward, due to the absence of registered voters.

In her goodwill message, the Chairperson of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council, Ms. Grace Ike, commended INEC for convening the forum, describing it as timely in an era where misinformation spreads faster than verified facts.

She reminded journalists that elections are often won and lost in the information space and urged them to prioritise accuracy over speed, reject hate speech, ensure fairness, and uphold professionalism in their coverage.

She also stressed the importance of journalist safety, calling on INEC, security agencies, political parties, and supporters to ensure the protection of reporters before, during, and after the elections.

Ike further encouraged INEC to maintain transparency and consistent communication to counter misinformation, noting that information gaps often fuel the spread of rumours and fake results.