From Victor Osula, Abuja
Civil society organisation, Yiaga Africa, has called for urgent reforms by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), warning that ward-level collation remains the most fragile and consequential stage of Nigeria’s electoral process, following the 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, held on Saturday, February 18, 2026.
The Area Council Polls were held on Saturday, February 21, across the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory.
In a statement on Sunday, Yiaga Africa said findings from its observers deployed to 58 of the 62 ward collation centres across the FCT revealed persistent logistical lapses, low voter turnout and security-related disruptions, despite largely peaceful voting at polling units.
The organisation noted that while voters who arrived at polling units were generally able to vote without major disruption, participation was low in many locations. In the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), the late deployment of election officials and materials led to the delayed commencement of polls at several polling units.
According to Yiaga Africa, ward collation commenced between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm in 66 percent of the centres observed, while others began between 6:00 pm and midnight, and some not until the following morning. The delays were attributed to the late arrival of materials from polling units, logistical challenges in transporting sensitive materials, poor communication, and intimidation of officials by suspected political thugs, which in some cases forced officers to await security escorts.
On transparency, the group reported that in about 80 percent of ward collation centres observed, collation officers completed and publicly displayed the Notice of Results Poster (Form EC60E) for the chairmanship election. Party agents were requested to countersign result forms in 95 per cent of centres where collation commenced, though levels of participation varied among political parties.
Yiaga Africa confirmed the presence of security personnel in 98 percent of ward collation centres, but raised concern over incidents of intimidation, harassment and violence recorded in parts of Gwagwalada, Kwali and Kuje Area Councils. In some cases, disagreements over results escalated into unrest, leading to the discharge of tear gas, vandalism of vehicles believed to be associated with INEC, evacuation of officials and observers, and relocation of collation to alternative venues.
The organisation warned that disruptions, forced relocations and removal of result sheets undermine transparency, weaken observer oversight and increase the risk of manipulation, stressing that ward-level collation remains the weakest link in the electoral value chain.
On electronic transmission of results, Yiaga Africa acknowledged high upload rates to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) but expressed concern over temporary downtime experienced during uploads, which it said generated public suspicion. As of 4:30 pm on election day, approximately 94 per cent of chairmanship and 90 per cent of councillorship results had reportedly been uploaded.
Yiaga Africa urged INEC to strengthen logistics planning, improve communication with voters, ensure timely transmission and posting of results, and conduct an independent post-election audit of the electronic transmission system ahead of forthcoming elections.
The group also called on security agencies to investigate alleged collusion with political thugs and prosecute perpetrators of election-related violence, while urging political parties to properly train their agents, refrain from deploying thugs around collation centres and prioritise voter mobilisation and civic education.
“The 2026 FCT Area Council elections present a cautionary signal ahead of the 2027 general elections,” Yiaga Africa said, warning that failure to urgently address weaknesses at the ward collation stage could further erode public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.
