TINUBU URGES PEACEFUL CONDUCT AHEAD OF FCT, RIVERS, KANO POLLS
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
President Bola Tinubu has called on voters, security agencies and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct themselves peacefully and orderly during Saturday’s elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Rivers and Kano states.
The polls, scheduled for February 21, 2026, are coming days after the President assented to the Electoral Act 2026.
In a statement issued Friday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu urged all eligible voters to exercise their civic rights without fear, stressing that democracy flourishes in an atmosphere of calm, tolerance and mutual respect.
He appealed to political parties, candidates and their supporters to shun violence, inflammatory rhetoric and actions capable of undermining the credibility of the electoral process.
The President also warned against high-handedness, intimidation and any conduct that could disenfranchise voters or erode public trust, noting that security personnel are deployed solely to safeguard lives, property and the integrity of the ballot.
“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, expressing confidence that the outcomes would reflect the will of the people.
He further urged INEC to ensure timely accreditation, smooth voting, accurate collation and prompt transmission of results in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
INEC is set to conduct elections across the six area councils of the FCT, involving 1,680,315 registered voters across 2,822 polling units. The commission will also hold bye-elections in Rivers and Kano states.
In Rivers State, the bye-elections will take place in Ahoada East II and Khana II constituencies to fill vacancies resulting from the resignation and death of sitting lawmakers.
In Kano State, elections will be held in Kano Municipal, with 330,228 voters across 630 polling units, and in Ungogo constituency, which has 205,418 voters across 384 polling units, following the deaths of two members of the State House of Assembly.
The Electoral Act 2026 introduces key reforms, including the statutory backing of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and provisions for electronic transmission of results to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal, while retaining manual collation as a fallback in areas with poor network coverage. The law also permits the use of manually completed Form EC8A as the primary basis for collation where electronic transmission is disrupted.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, said the commission had concluded major preparations for the polls, including distribution of non-sensitive materials, training of electoral and security personnel, and configuration of BVAS devices. He added that 83 domestic and five foreign observer groups have been accredited to monitor the elections.
Meanwhile, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has imposed movement restrictions within the territory from 8:00 p.m. on February 20 to 6:00 p.m. on February 21 to ensure a peaceful electoral environment.
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