By Felix Khanoba
A civic election observer group, Yiaga Africa, has raised concerns over logistical lapses, late commencement of voting and incidents of vote buying in Saturday’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, even as it described the exercise as largely peaceful.
The elections, conducted on Saturday, February 21, 2026, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), were held to elect chairmen and councillors across the six area councils.
Presenting the group’s preliminary statement in Abuja on Saturday, Yiaga Africa said its trained and accredited roving observers were deployed across the 62 wards to monitor opening procedures, accreditation, voting and counting.
The statement jointly signed by Yiaga Africa’s Executive Director, Samson Itodo, and its Director of Programs, Cynthia Mbamalu, noted that the election was conducted in a largely peaceful atmosphere, with voters who turned out able to cast their ballots without widespread disruption.
However, the group expressed concern over poor voter participation across most polling units.
“Overall, the election was conducted in a largely peaceful atmosphere. Voters who presented themselves at polling units were afforded the opportunity to exercise their franchise without widespread disruption. Notwithstanding this enabling environment, voter turnout was generally low, with most polling units recording poor turnout,” the statement read.
The group said logistical challenges significantly affected the timely commencement of polling, particularly in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
“As of 9:00 a.m., set-up activities were still ongoing in the majority of polling units observed, indicating that essential preparatory procedures had not been completed within the timeframe prescribed by electoral guidelines,” Yiaga Africa stated.
It added that in AMAC, especially in Wuse and Gwarinpa wards, several polling units opened well behind schedule, with accreditation and voting in many instances beginning around 10:00 a.m.
Yiaga Africa also reported isolated cases of missing materials. In Polling Unit 004, Wuse Ward, Zone 2 Primary School, the voter register was initially unavailable and was only produced after observers raised concerns and voters objected.
In parts of Abaji Area Council, voting cubicles were reportedly not observed in some polling units, while an ink pad required for the voting process was missing in one location.
The group further highlighted confusion arising from the redistribution of voters to newly created polling units without adequate prior notice.
While acknowledging INEC’s effort to notify affected voters via SMS, Yiaga Africa said many of the messages were delivered on Election Day, sometimes hours after polling had commenced.
“The lack of timely and effective communication generated confusion at several polling locations, as numerous voters spent over an hour attempting to ascertain their designated polling units,” the group said, warning that the development may have discouraged participation and undermined orderly queue management.
It also expressed concern over “significant disparities in voter distribution within the same polling locations,” describing the imbalance as a threat to the coherence and reliability of the Commission’s polling unit expansion framework.
Yiaga Africa disclosed that some polling units closed before the official 2:30 p.m. closing time, contrary to guidelines which require polling units to remain open until 2:30 p.m. or until the last voter on the queue has voted.
The group also observed heavy security deployment in certain locations, noting that in some instances, it impeded the movement of accredited observers and created barriers for voters.
On electoral malpractice, Yiaga Africa said: “The persistent menace of vote buying once again manifested during the election. Yiaga Africa observers documented incidents of vote buying at polling units, underscoring the continued vulnerability of the electoral process to monetary inducement.”
It added that despite prior assurances and directives issued by INEC to security agencies to identify and apprehend both vote buyers and sellers, the practice reportedly continued in several locations.
Yiaga Africa therefore called on INEC to ensure that Form EC60E (People’s Results Sheet) is posted at polling units and that all polling unit result sheets (Form EC8A) are uploaded to the IReV portal using the BVAS.
“This measure is critical to strengthening transparency, building citizens’ trust in the election management process and reducing suspicion of manipulation,” the group said.
It also urged INEC officials to conduct collation and declaration of results with “the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and professionalism.”
The group called on security agencies to remain impartial and limit their role to safeguarding voters, election officials and materials, without compromising the credibility of the process.
Yiaga Africa further appealed to political parties, candidates and their supporters to refrain from disrupting the electoral process.
Yiaga Africa said it would continue to monitor the collation process at ward and Area Council levels, as well as track uploads on INEC’s results portal.
“The Watching The Vote project is ‘Driven by Data – For All Nigerians – Beholden to None!’” the statement concluded.
