The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that results of the forthcoming Area Council elections will be transmitted electronically in real time from polling units.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), gave the assurance on Tuesday after inspecting the commission’s level of preparedness in Kuje, Gwagwalada and Bwari Area Councils ahead of the February 21, 2026 elections.
He explained that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) would be deployed for both voter accreditation and result upload.
“BVAS is capable of accrediting and also of uploading and transmitting the results. So definitely the results will be transmitted,” he said.
Amupitan expressed satisfaction with the level of readiness across the councils, noting that Kuje reported 99.9 per cent preparedness, Gwagwalada 90.8 per cent, and Bwari 100 per cent.
“The report they gave us, I’ve verified that they are correct… So it means that there should be no excuse for any form of malfeasance. The election, it is hoped, will go very well,” he stated.
According to him, both sensitive and non-sensitive election materials have been batched, inspected and secured in storage facilities, while security personnel and election officials have been directed to report early to Registration Area Centres (RACs) for timely deployment.
He stressed that early distribution of materials would enable voting to commence by 8:30 a.m. and conclude on schedule.
“Set out early so that materials get to polling units on time and voting should start at 8.30am… begin counting before darkness and upload results promptly,” Amupitan said.
The INEC chairman added that all results would be uploaded through the Result Viewing Portal (IReV), with recent adjustments requiring proper data entry and cross-checking at collation centres to ensure accuracy.
Addressing concerns over voter apathy, he said the commission was committed to rebuilding public confidence in the electoral process.
“We want to do everything possible to meet the aspirations of Nigerians… and we will perform our responsibilities to redeem confidence that is a little bit deficient,” he said.
Electoral officers in the three area councils also confirmed their readiness, reinforcing INEC’s position that the FCT council elections would be conducted in a transparent and credible manner.
