The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has taken a major step to enhance voter participation in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by extending the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) to all 62 wards. This initiative is part of preparations for the FCT Area Council election scheduled for Saturday, 21 February 2026, and reflects the commission’s established approach to off-cycle polls.
Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, explained in a statement on Friday that the devolution aligns with policies previously applied in other states. Similar ward-level measures, he noted, were adopted ahead of the Edo and Ondo governorship elections last year, as well as in Anambra State for its forthcoming governorship poll.
Physical in-person registration, initially confined to the FCT office and the six Area Council offices, has now been decentralised to all 62 wards, creating a total of 69 registration centres across the territory.
The ward-level registration exercise will begin on Monday, 29 September 2025, and conclude on Wednesday, 8 October 2025.
To ensure completeness, INEC will suspend the online pre-registration option in the FCT from Monday, 15 September 2025. This is to allow those who started the process online to finalise it at physical centres, since online pre-registration alone is not valid.
Voter registration in the FCT will halt completely on 8 October 2025, in line with Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022, which requires INEC to end registration no later than 90 days before an election. The timeline falls exactly within this legal framework.
Registration will resume after the Area Council election, with both online and in-person options available until August 2026, at which point the nationwide CVR will pause ahead of the 2027 General Election.
INEC has urged eligible citizens without voter cards to take advantage of this ward-level opportunity to register. Citizens who registered elsewhere in Nigeria can transfer their voter records to the FCT, while residents of the FCT can move their registration within the territory if they wish. The commission also stressed that double or multiple registration is a serious offence punishable by law.
Details of all registration centres, including addresses, are available on INEC’s website and official channels.
This initiative builds on INEC’s efforts to address persistent electoral challenges in the FCT. According to commission data from the 2023 General Election, the FCT had 1,570,307 registered voters, of whom 1,476,451 collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) a collection rate of 94 percent. Nationally, Nigeria recorded 93,469,008 registered voters, showing the FCT’s significant contribution to the country’s electoral roll.
However, despite these strong registration and PVC collection figures, past FCT Area Council elections have consistently recorded low voter engagement. The 2022 Area Council elections, held on 12 February 2022, were marked by widespread apathy, logistical challenges, and security concerns, leading observers to describe turnout as “abysmal.” The All Progressives Congress (APC) won five chairmanship seats, while the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) secured the chairmanship of Gwagwalada Area Council.
Earlier elections, such as the 2013 FCT Area Council polls, also suffered from low participation, with several polling units reporting minimal voter presence. These historical trends highlight the difficulty of sustaining voter enthusiasm in the FCT, even when registration campaigns have been successful.
By decentralising registration to the ward level, INEC aims to make the process more accessible and convenient, reducing barriers for residents in this diverse territory. This move could help counter the long-standing trend of voter apathy in the FCT, especially as the population continues to expand and demand stronger local representation.
The FCT occupies a unique place in Nigeria’s democratic landscape: as the administrative hub of the country, it is directly overseen by INEC rather than a state commission. Strengthening voter rolls here not only supports local governance but also reinforces broader democratic goals.
Ultimately, the success of this initiative will depend on whether greater access translates into higher voter turnout.
The 2026 FCT Area Council elections will provide the first real test of whether ward-level registration can reverse the cycle of disengagement and ensure more citizens exercise their rights.
