The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has intensified preparations for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council Elections and other key 2026 polls, in coordination with security agencies, as Nigeria gears up for what the Commission described as one of the busiest electoral years ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The announcement came during Day 3 of INEC’s first regular stakeholders’ meeting for 2026, held at the Commission’s Conference Room in Abuja, featuring high-level engagement with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
Speaking at the meeting, INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, described 2026 as a critical year requiring heightened security coordination, proactive intelligence gathering, and seamless inter-agency collaboration to ensure peaceful, credible, and violence-free elections.
“This is a very busy electoral year,” Prof. Amupitan said, noting that the rising tempo of electoral activities places increased responsibility on security agencies to safeguard citizens’ participation in the democratic process. He commended security agencies for their professionalism during the Anambra State Governorship Election held on 8 November 2025, describing the peaceful conduct of the poll as a major achievement despite the state’s history of election-related security challenges.
Attention has now shifted to the FCT Area Council Elections scheduled for Saturday, 21 February 2026. The exercise will involve 1,680,315 registered voters across 2,822 polling units in the six Area Councils. Key preparations—including the delivery of non-sensitive materials, training of Electoral Officers and Election Security Personnel, and configuration of BVAS devices—have been completed, while ad-hoc staff are undergoing final training. A mock accreditation exercise will also be conducted on 7 February 2026 in 289 selected polling units across the FCT.
On the same day, INEC will conduct bye-elections in Ahoada East II and Khana II State Constituencies in Rivers State, as well as Kano Municipal and Ungogo State Constituencies in Kano State, underscoring the need for vigilant security deployment.
Looking ahead, preparations are ongoing for the Ekiti State Governorship Election on 20 June 2026 and the Osun State Governorship Election on 8 August 2026, alongside plans for a nationwide voter revalidation exercise ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The National Security Adviser and ICCES Co-Chair, Nuhu Ribadu, represented by Abdullahi Hassan, Director of Internal Security at the NSA, praised security and law enforcement agencies for their performance during the Anambra election. He assured that the Nigerian Police Force, as the lead agency for election security, will collaborate with other security agencies to prevent disruptions, deploy adequate personnel to polling units and high-risk areas, and restrain politicians with violent tendencies in accordance with the law.
Also represented at the meeting, Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun reaffirmed the Force’s commitment to ensuring all elections nationwide are violence-free, peaceful and credible. CP Abayomi Shogunle, speaking on his behalf, emphasised that protection for INEC staff, facilities, and electoral materials will continue throughout the election cycle.
The meeting highlighted the shared commitment of INEC and security agencies to uphold electoral integrity while ensuring that citizens can exercise their democratic rights safely and without intimidation.
