President Bola Tinubu has called on voters, security agencies, and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to maintain order and civility during elections scheduled for Saturday, February 21, 2026, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Rivers, and Kano states.
The elections come just days after Tinubu signed the Electoral Act 2026 into law. In a statement released on Friday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President urged eligible voters to exercise their franchise without fear, emphasizing that democracy thrives in an atmosphere of calm, tolerance, and mutual respect.
He appealed to political parties, candidates, and their supporters to avoid violence, inflammatory rhetoric, and actions that could compromise the credibility of the polls. Tinubu also warned against intimidation or any acts that could disenfranchise voters, stressing that security forces are deployed to protect lives, property, and the integrity of the ballot.
“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,” Tinubu said. “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.”
The President also called on INEC to ensure smooth accreditation, voting, collation, and prompt transmission of results to bolster voters’ confidence, in line with the 2026 Electoral Act.
In the FCT, elections will cover all six area councils, with 1,680,315 registered voters across 2,822 polling units. Bye-elections will also be held in Rivers and Kano states to fill legislative vacancies. In Rivers, elections will take place in Ahoada East II and Khana II constituencies, following the resignation and death of sitting lawmakers. In Kano, polls are scheduled for Kano Municipal (330,228 voters across 630 polling units) and Ungogo (205,418 voters across 384 polling units), following the deaths of two State Assembly members.
The Electoral Act 2026 introduces reforms such as statutory codification of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic transmission of results to INEC’s Result Viewing portal, while retaining manual collation as a backup in areas with poor network coverage. The law also allows INEC to rely on manually completed Form EC8A as the primary basis for collation and declaration of results when electronic transmission is disrupted.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, confirmed that major preparations have been completed, including delivery of non-sensitive materials, training of electoral officers and security personnel, and configuration of BVAS devices. The commission has accredited 83 domestic and five foreign observer groups to monitor the polls.
To ensure a peaceful electoral environment, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike imposed movement restrictions from 8:00 p.m. on February 20 to 6:00 p.m. on February 21, 2026.
ELIJAH ADEYEMI
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