INEC Reaffirms Credible Polls, Sets Stage for FCT Elections
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday reiterated its commitment to credible, transparent and inclusive elections as it engaged leaders of political parties on Day Two of its first-quarter 2026 stakeholders’ consultations in Abuja.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash O. Amupitan, SAN, described the meeting as a critical milestone, marking his first formal consultative engagement with political parties since assuming office. He said the dialogue, which followed earlier consultations with civil society organisations and the media, was aimed at deepening collaboration ahead of a busy electoral calendar.
A major focus of the engagement was the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections scheduled for Saturday, 21 February 2026. INEC disclosed that 1,680,315 registered voters are expected to vote across 2,822 polling units in the six Area Councils—Abaji, AMAC, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali. The polls will feature 570 candidates contesting chairmanship, vice-chairmanship and councillorship positions across 68 constituencies.
Professor Amupitan revealed that 10 of the 13 activities in the election timetable have been completed, adding that campaigns will end on Thursday, 19 February 2026. He assured political parties of INEC’s readiness, noting that non-sensitive materials have been deployed, electoral officers trained, and BVAS devices configured for voter accreditation and real-time upload of results to the IReV portal. A mock accreditation exercise is scheduled for Saturday, 7 February 2026, in 289 selected polling units across the FCT.
The Commission also confirmed the accreditation of 83 domestic and five foreign observer groups, alongside several media organisations, to monitor the elections.
Beyond the FCT polls, INEC announced that bye-elections will hold simultaneously on 21 February 2026 in Rivers State (Ahoada East II and Khana II constituencies) and Kano State (Kano Municipal and Ungogo constituencies). Attention is also shifting to the Ekiti State governorship election slated for 20 June 2026 and the Osun State governorship election fixed for 8 August 2026.
Looking ahead to the 2027 General Election, INEC disclosed that it has finalised the timetable and schedule of activities in line with the Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2022. The Commission urged the National Assembly to expedite amendments to the electoral legal framework to ensure certainty and stability ahead of the polls.
On voter participation, Professor Amupitan expressed concern over declining turnout, which dropped from 53.7 per cent in 2011 to 26.7 per cent in 2023. He announced plans for a nationwide voter revalidation exercise to clean up the register ahead of 2027, alongside the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), which has already added over 2.7 million new voters.
In a significant development, INEC announced the registration of two new political parties. The Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) was registered after meeting all constitutional and legal requirements, while the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) was approved in compliance with a Federal High Court order.
The INEC Chairman also warned political parties against internal leadership crises and excessive litigation, cautioning that such disputes erode public confidence and undermine democratic consolidation.
Speaking for political parties, the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Dr. Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, urged INEC to remain independent, firm and fair, while charging political parties to strengthen internal democracy and embrace IPAC’s dispute resolution mechanisms rather than resorting to the courts.
IPAC further called for reforms including mandatory real-time transmission of results, harmonisation of the electoral legal framework, and the scrapping of State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) in favour of INEC conducting all elections nationwide.
