FCT polls: Voter migration claims untrue – INEC

Independent National Electoral Commission, on Sunday, announced that over 239,000 voters participated in the just-concluded Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections.

This it said represented about 15 per cent of the 1,680,315 registered voters.

Acting Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr Wilfred Ifogah, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, said the commission expressed appreciation to residents of the FCT for their peaceful conduct and cooperation throughout the electoral process.

According to INEC’s Election Operations Dashboard, 45 per cent of polling units had opened for voting as of 8:30 am on election day, while all polling units were confirmed open by 10:00 am.

INEC, however, acknowledged that some voters experienced difficulties locating their designated polling units.

Addressing claims in some quarters that voters were migrated to new polling units, INEC denied the allegation, clarifying that no voter was transferred from their original 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 what was done was the creation of split polling units in locations with over 1,250 registered voters to reduce congestion on election day.

“The split units are located a few meters away from the original polling units within the same premises,” INEC stated.

The commission recalled that it displayed the voter register at designated centres and split polling units four days before the elections to enable voters confirm their details and polling unit locations.

It added that text messages and emails were sent to affected voters from Wednesday, February 18, through Saturday, February 21, 2026, to notify them of the exact locations of their split polling units.

“These were intended solely as reminders to assist them in identifying their current polling units,” the commission said.

INEC further disclosed that as of 2:00 pm on Sunday, February 22, 2026, 93 per cent of polling unit results had been uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal, allowing residents and other interested members of the public to access results from the six Area Councils.

While expressing concern over voter apathy, the commission noted an improvement compared to the 2022 Area Council elections, where 148,685 voters, representing 9.4 per cent of registered voters, participated.

“In the current election, over 239,210 voters voted, representing approximately 15 per cent of the 1,680,315 total registered voters in the FCT,” the statement added.

INEC attributed the delay in announcing the Kuje Area Council result to the difficult terrain in Kabi Ward, which slowed the final collation process.

The commission said the level of participation recorded across the six Area Councils reflects citizens’ continued trust in the democratic process and the electoral system.