The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has affirmed its readiness to conduct the FCT elections, confirming delivery of non-sensitive materials and are At the moment being batched at each Area Council.
The Commission has also concluded the training of Electoral Officers and their Assistants and the INEC/ICCES collaborative training of Election Security Personnel.
The INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan, gave the update at the first regular media consultative meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.
“Recruitment of Adhoc Election officials has been concluded and the Training of Trainers took place on Monday 2nd February, 2026 in preparation for the training of Adhoc Personnel commencing on the 6th of February, 2026 in the FCT, Kano and Rivers States.
“Furthermore, BVAS devices are being configured for accreditation and upload of results to the IReV portal, and sensitive materials will be delivered a day before the election.” Amupitan said.
He also announced that there will be a mock accreditation on Saturday, 7th February 2026, in 289 selected Polling Units (PUs) across the six Area Councils.
The selected PUs will be made available on the Commission’s website. While 83 domestic and five (5) foreign observers have been accredited for the FCT council elections, the online accreditation for journalists intending to cover the polls remains ongoing until 8th February 2026. All interested media organisations are hereby enjoined to register before the portal closes.
Also on 21st February, 2026, the Commission will conduct bye-elections in Ahoada East II and Khana II State Constituencies of Rivers State.
The vacancies in Ahoada East II and Khana II arose from the resignation and death of the elected members, respectively. In Ahoada East II, voting by 41,085 registered voters will take place in 87 (eighty-seven) polling units (PUs) across six wards, while in Khana II, 71,865 registered voters are expected to vote in 155 polling units across eight wards.
Similarly, the INEC will be conducting bye-elections on the same day for the Kano Municipal and Ungogo State Constituencies of Kano State as a result of the death of the two serving members.
In the Kano Municipal constituency, 330,228 registered voters will vote in 630 polling units (PUs) across 13 wards, while in Ungogo constituency, 205,418 registered voters will vote in 384 polling units (PUs) across 11 wards. Ten political parties are participating in both bye-elections.
Furthermore, in compliance with Section 28(1) and (2) of the Electoral Act, 2022, the Commission, on 25th June, 2025, announced that the Ekiti State Governorship Election will be held on 20th June, 2026, across 2,445 polling units in the 16 LGAs of the state.
Of the 13 activities outlined in the election timetable, eight (8) have already been completed. In addition, the Osun State Governorship Election is scheduled for Saturday, 8th August, 2026.
For that election, the third activity in the approved timetable is presently underway.
On upcoming general elections, he said Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 empowers the Commission to issue a notice of election not later than 360 days before the date of the poll.
While the National Assembly is currently working on amendments to the Electoral Act, the Commission has made its submission as required.
“We are mindful of the growing public interest and anticipation surrounding the release of the timetable and wish to assure the media, political parties and the Nigerian public that the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Election has been finalised by the commission in full compliance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and the Electoral Act, 2022. Having said that, we seek your support in urging the National Assembly to expedite action on the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act.” he said.
Amupitan, also noted that. credible register of voters remains the bedrock of free, fair and transparent elections, saying, “No electoral process can command public confidence without trust in the integrity of its voters’ register.”
Nigeria’s national register, first compiled ahead of the 2011 General Election, has since been continuously updated and deployed in the General Elections of 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023, as well as in several off-cycle governorship and bye-elections. As of the 2023 General Election, the register stood at 93,469,008 voters. However, persistent challenges —including duplicate registrations, registration by non-citizens, deceased voters and incomplete or inaccurate records— continue to generate legitimate concerns.
“Such anomalies undermine public confidence in the electoral process. In response, the Commission will embark on a thorough clean-up with a view to further sanitising and strengthening the integrity of the register. Accordingly, the Commission will soon embark on a nationwide Voter Revalidation Exercise ahead of the 2027 General Election.” Amupitan assured.
Speaking further, he said, “In the first phase of the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration exercise conducted from 18th August to 10th December 2025, the Commission registered a total of 2,782,587 eligible voters. The second phase commenced on 5th January 2026 and will run until 17th April 2026.
“The entire CVR exercise is scheduled to span one year and will be concluded on 30th August 2026. We are encouraged by the strong public response to the exercise, which affirms the continuing belief of Nigerians in the democratic process and in the efforts of the Commission to ensure that every eligible citizen is afforded the opportunity to register and vote.
“However, those who engage in double registration will be identified, removed from the voters’ register and barred from participating in future elections. Double registration is against the law, and INEC will no longer condone it. Nobody should register twice because our system will detect it. We will not just detect it; those involved in double registration will be removed from the register.”
On party registration, he said “You will recall that the Commission received a total of 171 letters of intent from associations seeking registration as political parties. The associations were assessed in line with Section 222 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), Section 79(1), (2) and (4) of the Electoral Act, 2022, as well as Clause 2 of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties, 2022. Several of the Associations were unable to fulfil the constitutional requirements and the requirements of the Electoral Act, 2022, as well as the Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties. The successful association(s) will soon be announced by the Commission. “
