Issued: 12:30pm – Saturday, 21st February 2026
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room deployed observers and its Election reporting App from Citizens to also report their experience of the election. Situation Room also received reports from partner organisations – Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), CLEEN Foundation and Inclusive Friends Association who were also present in the Situation Room.
Situation Room notes that the FCT Area Council Elections began with a peaceful atmosphere that preceded election day and has continued until now.
Logistics and commencement of poll: Reports from across the FCT from our networks of observers and partners showed a relatedly late opening of polls with an average time of 9:15am in many of the polling units observed. In places like Kwali Area Council, INEC personnel and material arrived on time and voting began early. While we acknowledge timely opening of polls in a very few voting locations, we note that there was late opening of polls, in many voting locations owing to late arrival of INEC staff and materials.
Turnout: Residents were seen going about their normal businesses during early hours of voting mostly in AMAC. However, turnout began slowly with people taking their time to come out and queues now being seen in many polling units in Kuje, Kwali, Gwagwalada and Abaji Area Councils. Voters were also seen trying to locate their polling units which had been moved to nearby polling units. Although, some voters acknowledged receiving text messages from INEC on the eve of the election, they were unable to verify the locations due to the short notice given.
Malfunctioning of BVAS: The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was reported to have performed efficiently with a one-minute average turnaround time for accreditation of a voter in majority of the polling units. However, there were two reports of malfunctioning of the BVAS were reported in Gwako town/Primary School II & IV Gwako, Gwagwalada and PU143 Open Space, opposite Okada Park by Gate post Navy Town, City Centre, Abuja.
Election Security: Situation Room observers reported a significant presence of security personnel at PUs, ranging from the Nigeria Police, Civil Defence, Immigration Service, Fire Service etc Situation Room also observed that they displayed a high level of professionalism and were very courteous. Although there were a few reports of intimidation and harassment in Grade 1 Area Court Rubochi, Kuje, Naharati Sabo School II, Rimba/Ebagi and PU3 UNG. Liman/UNGUWAR LIMAN 1, Abaji Central and Kpasele JSS Giri II, Gwako Gwagwalada where a voter came to the polling unit with a cutlass and the youths charged at him. However, the situation was swiftly handled by the security agents who took him away.
Conduct of Party Agents: There was a noticeable presence of party agents in many of the polling units visited. Although not all the parties were represented at the same time, agents were visible at in the polling units. In PU026, Kayada Primary School, Kuje a party agent was seen wearing a party agent tag and also wearing an INEC Assistant Presiding Officer (APO) jacket.
Vote buying: Vote buying was observed in many polling units visited. In few a places, it was openly done in some polling units such as PU008, 056, 057 and 058 Gidan Mangoro Ward of AMAC where votes traded with as much as N10,000 each. In some other places, votes buying was discreet but observed.
Person with Disability: Most polling units visited did not have Assistive Materials. The Form EC30E (PWD) for the deaf was visible in most polling units observed but the braille ballot guide and magnifying glasses were not deployed. In Karimajiji – a disability colony, none of the assistive materials as mentioned above including the Form EC30E was deployed. Some of the voters with disability seen in PU052, Mombolo Street, Wuse also did not have access to assistive materials.
Conclusion: So far, we commend the INEC FCT Help Desk for their prompt response to issues brought to their attention from the Situation Room. We call on all stakeholders to maintain the calm observed in the political environment and call on the security agencies to continue to maintain professionalism as they have already displayed as we head to the close of polls and collation.
SIGNED:
Mma Odi
Co-Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
Celestine Odo
Co-Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
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