The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Joash Amupitan, has pledged that Saturday’s Area Council elections in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory will be peaceful, transparent and credible.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja, Prof Amupitan said preparations were largely complete and stressed that successful elections required cooperation from political parties, security agencies, civil society groups, the media and voters.
“This engagement provides an opportunity for open and constructive dialogue as we approach Election Day,” he said. “While INEC is constitutionally mandated to conduct elections, their success depends on the cooperation, restraint and commitment of all stakeholders.”
Over 1.6 million voters expected
INEC said 1,680,315 registered voters would cast their ballots across 2,822 polling units in the six Area Councils of Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali.
A total of 570 candidates are contesting 68 constituencies, including chairmanship, vice-chairmanship and councillorship positions. The FCT Area Council election is the only local government poll conducted directly by INEC.
The commission said it had completed 11 of 13 scheduled activities, with campaigning due to end on Thursday night. Distribution of Permanent Voter Cards concluded earlier this month, with more than 106,000 cards collected during the Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
INEC has accredited 89 domestic and international observer groups, along with 700 journalists from 72 media organisations, to monitor the vote.
Officials confirmed that the upgraded Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) would be used in all polling units, with results uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) for transparency. A mock accreditation exercise conducted in selected polling units was described as successful.
To support election logistics, the commission said it had secured more than 1,100 vehicles, 620 motorcycles and 14 boats to transport personnel and materials. Polling stations are expected to open at 08:30 local time.
Prof Amupitan also warned against vote-buying, saying personnel from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) would be deployed to arrest offenders.
“Vote buying undermines democracy and will not be tolerated,” he said.
The FCT Police Commissioner, Miller Dantawaye, said security personnel would be deployed across polling stations and other strategic locations. He added that authorities had identified potential flashpoints and conducted planning sessions to ensure a swift response to any threats.
Residents were encouraged to vote without fear, with police promising adequate protection.
Meanwhile, the FCT Resident Electoral Commissioner, Aminu Kasimu Idris, said preparations began more than a year ago, including monitoring party primaries, publishing candidate lists and updating voter registers.
He said the voter register was being displayed again at polling units to help voters confirm their locations and avoid confusion experienced during previous elections.
Representatives of political parties, including the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), praised INEC’s transparency and pledged their commitment to peaceful elections.
The FCT coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Ateli Samson, said corps members serving as election staff had received extensive training and would carry out their duties professionally.
INEC said the stakeholders’ meeting was among its final consultations before the vote, and commissioners later met security agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security to review final arrangements.
The elections will determine leadership across the capital’s six Area Councils and are seen as an important test of Nigeria’s local democratic process.
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