No fewer than 1.6 million voters are expected to participate in the February 21 Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
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The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for the FCT, Malam Aminu Idris, disclosed that a total of 1,680,315 registered voters are on the roll for the elections across the six Area Councils. He made this known on Tuesday in Abuja while addressing media executives and journalists.
Idris said INEC had completed most of the critical processes required to ensure a hitch-free, credible and transparent election. He noted that following the revision of the voters register, the commission had approved measures to enhance operational efficiency on election day.
According to him, INEC has decongested large Registration Area Centres (RACs) by creating sub-RACs in Dutse Alhaji and Kubwa wards of Bwari Area Council, as well as Gwarinpa and Kabusa wards of the Abuja Municipal Area Council, to improve personnel movement and logistics.
The REC, however, announced that elections would not hold in four polling units across the FCT, three in Garki Ward and one in Jiwa Ward, due to zero voter registration during the last voter registration and revalidation exercise.
Idris further disclosed that INEC had made significant progress in monitoring party primaries, publishing final lists of candidates, receiving and batching non-sensitive materials, and activating Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices ahead of the polls.
Speaking at the forum, the National Commissioner and Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Mallam Mohammed Haruna, said the commission had procured and earmarked non-sensitive materials for the 2,822 polling units across the 62 wards in the FCT.
Haruna stated that INEC would take delivery of sensitive election materials from the FCT branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Wednesday, February 18, in the presence of party agents, security agencies, civil society organisations and the media. The materials will thereafter be distributed to Area Council offices ahead of the opening of polls at 8:30 a.m. on February 21.
“No stone must be left unturned to ensure that the election is free, fair and credible,” Haruna said.
The national commissioner also tasked media organisations with professionalism and responsible reporting, urging journalists to study electoral laws and adhere strictly to the Media Code of Conduct for Election Coverage.
He emphasised that integrity, fairness and objectivity must guide election coverage, warning against allowing personal biases to undermine public trust.
On preparations, Haruna said INEC was on course, having completed 10 of the 13 scheduled activities for the election. The remaining activities include the publication of the notice of poll on February 7, the end of political campaigns on February 19 and election day on February 21.
He added that sensitive materials, including ballot papers and result sheets, were being printed, while BVAS machines were already being configured for deployment.
Haruna also reminded media organisations that the INEC media accreditation portal would close on February 8, urging interested organisations yet to register to do so.
In his remarks, Idris reiterated INEC’s commitment to transparency and inclusiveness, stressing that credible elections could not be achieved by the commission alone.
He called on the media to help counter misinformation and fake news, noting that public confidence in elections is shaped by how the process is reported.
The REC also announced that INEC had approved Danbaki Titus as the replacement candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Igu Ward, Bwari Area Council, following the death of the party’s initial candidate, Zachariah Danbaki.
He further disclosed that a mock accreditation exercise would be conducted in 289 selected polling units across the six Area Councils to test the technology ahead of election day.
In a goodwill message, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council, Ms Grace Ike, urged journalists to prioritise accuracy, professionalism and safety in their coverage of the elections.
Ike warned that misinformation could undermine public trust and threaten peace, noting that elections are increasingly shaped by narratives in the information space.
“Elections are not won only at polling units; elections are also won and lost within the information space,” she said.
She cautioned journalists against trading truth for speed, urging them to verify information before publication and resist being used by desperate politicians.
The NUJ chairperson also called on INEC, security agencies, political parties and their supporters to respect the media and guarantee the safety of journalists and their equipment before, during and after the elections, stressing that intimidation or harassment of reporters would not be tolerated.
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