The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed claims that voters were arbitrarily moved to new polling units during Saturday’s Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, clarifying that only split polling units were created to ease congestion.
In a statement signed by Wilfred Ifogah, Ag. Director of Voter Education and Publicity, the Commission said elections were successfully conducted on Saturday, February 21, 2026, for the six Area Council chairmanship positions and 62 councillorship seats across the FCT.
While results for most councils were announced late Saturday, the outcome for Kuje Area Council was declared at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 22, 2026.
The Commission expressed appreciation to FCT residents for their peaceful conduct during the polls.
“The Commission appreciates the residents of the FCT for their peaceful conduct and cooperation throughout the electoral process,” Ifogah stated.
Polling Units Opened Early, Clarification on ‘Split’ Units
According to INEC’s Election Operations Dashboard, 45 per cent of polling units had opened for voting by 8:30 a.m., while all polling units were confirmed open by 10:00 a.m. on Election Day.
However, the Commission acknowledged that some voters experienced difficulties locating their designated polling units.
Addressing concerns circulating in some quarters, INEC categorically denied migrating voters to different polling units.
“Contrary to the claim in some quarters that some voters were migrated to another/new polling units different from their original polling units, the Commission wishes to state categorically that voters were not migrated,” the statement read.
It explained that the Commission only created split polling units in locations with more than 1,250 registered voters to reduce overcrowding.
“What the Commission did was to create split polling units in large polling units with voters registration of over 1,250 voters to avoid congestion on election day. The split units are located some few meters away from the original polling units within the same premises.”
INEC recalled that it displayed the Register of Voters at designated centres and split polling units four days before the election to enable voters to confirm their details and polling unit locations.
It added that text messages and emails were sent to affected voters between Wednesday, February 18 and Saturday, February 21, 2026, to notify them of their updated polling locations.
The notifications, the Commission stressed, “were intended solely as reminders to assist them in identifying their current polling units.”
93% of Results Uploaded, Turnout Improves
Providing an update on result collation, INEC disclosed that as of 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 22, 2026, 93 per cent of polling unit results had been uploaded to its Result Viewing (IReV) Portal.
“Residents of the FCT and other interested members of the public can access results from the six Area Councils via the portal,” the statement added.
While expressing concern over voter apathy, the Commission noted a marked improvement in turnout compared to the previous election.
In the 2022 Area Council election, 148,685 voters participated, representing 9.4 per cent of registered voters. In the just-concluded poll, over 239,210 voters cast their ballots — approximately 15 per cent of the 1,680,315 registered voters in the FCT.
“The participation recorded across the six Area Councils is indicative of citizens’ continued trust in building democracy and the electoral system,” Ifogah said.
INEC also attributed the delay in announcing the Kuje Area Council result to logistical challenges in Kabi Ward.
“The delay in the results of Kuje Area Council is due to the difficult terrain of Kabi ward, which delayed the final collation of the Area Council results,” the Commission explained.
Reaffirming its commitment to credible elections, INEC thanked the electorate for their cooperation and participation throughout the process.
