By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says 1.6 million people have been registered to vote in the February 21 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections.
The FCT Resident Electoral Commissioner, Malam Aminu Idris, disclosed this on Tuesday, February 3, at the INEC Forum for Media Executives, Producers, Reporters, and On-Air Personalities in Abuja, ahead of the polls.
The INEC commissioner noted that the total number of registered voters in the FCT rose to 1,680,315 following a recent revision of the voter register.
He said: “Following the revision of the register of voters, the total number of registered voters in the FCT is now 1,680,315.”
Idris added that INEC has approved the decongestion of large Registration Area Centres to improve efficiency and the movement of personnel and materials on election day.
According to him, sub-RACs have been created in Dutse Alhaji and Kubwa Wards of Bwari Area Council, as well as in Gwarinpa and Kabusa Wards of the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
He also revealed that elections will not be held in four polling units across the FCT because no voters are registered in them.
“There are three polling units in Garki Ward and one in Jiwa Ward where elections will not take place due to zero registration,” he said.
Idris stressed that INEC is committed to maintaining an accurate and credible voters’ register for the forthcoming elections.
He listed the progress made by INEC in preparation for the election to include monitoring party primaries, publishing final lists of candidates, receiving and batching non-sensitive materials, and activating Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices.
“We have commenced the monitoring of public campaigns, taken delivery of non-sensitive materials, opened portals for observer accreditation and recruitment of ad-hoc staff, and activated BVAS devices in readiness for configuration,” Idris said.
He said accreditation of media organisations is ongoing and will close on February 8, 2026, while the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) at Area Council offices will continue until February 10, 2026.
He added that INEC will also conduct a mock accreditation exercise in 289 polling units across the six Area Councils to test technologies for voter accreditation, voting, and results uploaded to the INEC Results Viewing portal.
“The purpose is to test-run the technologies that will be deployed on election day, from BVAS accreditation to voting and dummy results upload,” Idris said.
The REC added that the list of affected polling units has been published on INEC’s website.
He urged the media to support voter education and counter misinformation.
He assured residents that INEC is fully committed to delivering “a peaceful, transparent, credible and inclusive” election in the FCT, stressing that success requires the partnership of a responsible and professional media.
