The Administrative Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Abimbola Oladunjoye, has confirmed that the Commission is fully prepared for the February 21, 2026 Area Council elections.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE News, Oladunjoye said the Commission had concluded virtually all logistical and operational arrangements across the six Area Councils, 62 wards, and 2,822 polling units in the FCT.
According to him, all non-sensitive materials have been received, batched, and distributed to the Area Councils, while sensitive materials will be collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ahead of the election and transported directly for deployment.
He disclosed that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS) has been configured and thoroughly tested. A mock accreditation and election exercise conducted two weeks ago showed a 99.9 per cent success rate, with minor challenges attributed to voter identification of polling units rather than technological failure.
To address this, INEC plans to paste the voters’ register at polling units before election day to enable residents to confirm their designated locations. The Commission also encouraged voters to verify their polling units through its online portal.
On voter turnout, Oladunjoye noted that participation in previous FCT Area Council elections has averaged about 10 per cent of registered voters. With approximately 1.6 million registered voters in the FCT, the Commission anticipates a similar turnout, although it has intensified voter education and stakeholder engagement efforts to boost participation.
He added that INEC has engaged youth groups, persons with disabilities, and other community stakeholders to strengthen public confidence in the credibility and transparency of the electoral process.
Oladunjoye expressed confidence that the elections would be conducted smoothly across the FCT.
