Abuja Residents Head to the Polls for Area Council Elections

Africa, Politics

ABUJA, NIGERIA (NPA) — Voters in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, will head to polling stations tomorrow to elect chairmen for the six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), including the Abuja Municipal Area Council.

Unlike in Nigeria’s 36 states, where local government elections are conducted by state electoral commissions, the Abuja council polls are organized and supervised directly by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The 2026 Abuja Area Council elections will be the first overseen by the recently appointed INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan. The conduct of the polls is widely regarded as a litmus test for his leadership and a precursor to the credibility of the 2027 general elections.

Tomorrow’s exercise will cover 2,822 polling units, with approximately 1.6 million registered voters expected to participate.

Since assuming office in October 2025, Professor Amupitan has pledged to deliver free, fair, and transparent elections, emphasizing the restoration of voter confidence by ensuring that every ballot truly counts.

The Abuja Area Council elections also come in the wake of controversies and protests surrounding recent amendments to Nigeria’s 2022 Electoral Act, passed by both chambers of the National Assembly and signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. READ HERE