The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, has assured residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of a peaceful, transparent, and credible Area Council election scheduled for Saturday, February 21, 2026.
Speaking at a high-level stakeholders’ forum in Abuja on Wednesday, Prof. Amupitan said over 1.6 million registered voters will cast their ballots across 2,822 polling units, with 570 candidates contesting 68 seats.
He emphasized that elections are a shared responsibility and warned that INEC has no preferred candidate.
The Commission will deploy Bimodal Voter Accreditation Systems (BVAS) at all polling units, with results uploaded to the IReV platform.
To ensure transparency, INEC has accredited 89 observer groups and 700 journalists to monitor the process.
Prof. Amupitan also highlighted the role of security agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which will be on ground to curb vote buying and ensure safety during the elections.