President Bola Tinubu has urged voters, security agencies, and Independent National Electoral Commission officials to maintain order during Saturday’s elections in the Federal Capital Territory, Rivers, and Kano states.
The polls are scheduled for February 21, 2026, just days after Tinubu signed the Electoral Act 2026 into law.
Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, issued a statement on Friday.
The president urged political parties, candidates, and supporters to avoid violence, inflammatory statements, and actions that could harm the electoral process.
He warned against high-handedness, intimidation, or any acts that could disenfranchise voters or erode public trust, stressing that security personnel are present to protect lives, property, and the sanctity of the ballot.
Tinubu said, “Fellow Nigerians, I assure you that the Federal Government under my administration will continue to support institutions responsible for delivering free, fair, and credible elections.
“To all residents of the FCT, Kano, and Rivers, I commend your civic consciousness. I am confident that these elections will reflect the will of the people and further strengthen our democratic journey as a nation.”
He also asked INEC to take all essential steps to boost voter trust, including timely accreditation, smooth voting processes, accurate collation, and fast transmission of results, in accordance with the 2026 Electoral Act.
INEC will conduct elections in the FCT’s six area councils, with 1,680,315 registered voters over 2,822 polling units, as well as bye-elections in Rivers and Kano states.
In Rivers State, bye-elections will be held in the Ahoada East II and Khana II seats to fill vacancies caused by the resignation and death of sitting legislators.
Elections will be held in Kano Municipal, with 330,228 voters across 630 voting units, and Ungogo constituency, with 205,418 voters across 384 polling units, following the deaths of two members of the State House of Assembly.
The Electoral Act of 2026 includes various innovations, including the formal formulation of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and provisions for electronic transfer of results to INEC’s Result Viewing webpage, while manual collation remains a fallback option in places with inadequate network access.
The law, which sparked dispute, namely over the hybrid transmission mechanism, also permits INEC to use manually completed Form EC8A as the principal basis for collation and declaration of results when electronic transmission is disrupted due to network or communication issues.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, stated that the commission has completed major preparations, such as the distribution of non-sensitive materials, the training of election officers and security personnel, and the setup of BVAS devices.
The commission has approved 83 domestic and five foreign observation organizations to monitor the elections.
The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, enforced movement restrictions within the FCT from 8:00 p.m. on February 20 to 6:00 p.m. on February 21, 2026, to maintain a peaceful election environment.
