Nigeria’s February 21 FCT Area Council elections, which saw the All Progressives Congress (APC) win five out of six council polls, were expected to serve as a litmus test for the amended Electoral Act 2026 and a preview of the 2027 general elections. However, the exercise has instead ignited a far-reaching debate over logistics, technology, voter confidence and the implications of retaining manual collation provisions in the 2026 law.

Conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the FCT polls were the first major electoral exercise since President Bola Tinubu signed the amended Electoral Act into law last week. While the election was largely peaceful, reports of late openings, malfunctioning Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, confusion over polling unit relocation, alleged vote buying and delayed uploading of results to the IReV portal have raised serious questions about the country’s preparedness for 2027.

Observers from Yiaga Africa, under its Watching the Vote initiative, reported that many polling units did not commence accreditation and voting at the official time. In its preliminary statement, the group noted that as of 9:00 a.m., set-up activities were still ongoing in the majority of polling units observed, indicating that essential preparatory procedures had not been completed within the timeframe prescribed by electoral guidelines.

In parts of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), particularly Wuse and Gwarinpa wards, accreditation reportedly commenced after 10:00 a.m., with officials still arranging materials well past the official start time. Yiaga Africa also documented isolated cases of missing election materials. In Polling Unit 004, Wuse Ward, Zone 2 Primary School, the voter register was initially unavailable and was only produced after concerns were raised.

In Abaji Area Council, some polling units reportedly lacked voting cubicles, while an ink pad required for voting was missing in at least one location. The organisation further raised concerns about the redistribution of voters to newly created polling units without timely communication. Although INEC reportedly sent SMS notifications to affected voters, many received the messages on Election Day, in some cases hours after polling had commenced.

Security concerns and voter intimidation allegations also emerged. In Bwari Area Council, tear gas was reportedly fired near a polling location, forcing voters to disperse before voting could begin. A caller on a live radio programme described chaotic scenes, saying: “They tear-gassed us; they don’t want us to vote. People are crying. People fasting. People that managed to come out, all of them don’t want to come out now.”

Security personnel reportedly denied responsibility, and no official clarification had been issued as of press time. Elsewhere, voters alleged ethnic profiling during accreditation at a polling unit in Saburi Village, Gwa Gwa Ward, AMAC. A video circulating online showed an intending voter claiming that “once it sees an Igbo name, it would reject,” referring to the BVAS device.

An INEC ad-hoc staff member at the unit, however, reassured voters that the malfunction was technical and not targeted at any ethnic group, urging patience as efforts were made to restore functionality. Normalcy was said to have gradually returned after the glitch was resolved.

Perhaps the most contentious issue arising from the FCT polls was the delayed upload of results to INEC’s Results Viewing (IReV) portal. Although voting in many polling units concluded before 3:00 p.m., uploads did not begin until evening. As of 9:00 p.m., uploads were still ongoing, with Kwali Area Council chairmanship results at 56.72 per cent completion and Gwagwalada at 65.68 per cent.

The delay immediately triggered suspicions among some stakeholders, who argue that real-time transmission is central to electoral transparency. Former INEC National Commissioner, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, speaking on television, dismissed suggestions that network coverage remains a major obstacle to electronic transmission. “Technology is not our problem,” he said. “Regrettably, ahead the president mentions something like that. And that is what some senators who were opposed to the electronic transmission of results alluded to. They forget or mischievously don’t recall that we have passed that stage.”

He recalled that during deliberations in the 8th National Assembly, INEC and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) presented evidence of extensive network coverage. “The NCC, which is the body in charge of that, came and said we had more than 93 percent coverage,” he stated. “A technical committee was set up between INEC and the NCC… and that committee came up with a report that with 2G, 3G and 4G – as at that time, that’s eight years ago – there was more than 93 percent coverage. And provisions could be made for those blind spots.”

Osaze-Uzzi warned that allowing room for manual incident forms could open the door to manipulation. “It makes nonsense of the whole thing because we’re back to the dark days of the incident forms because the law allows for it. They do all manner of manipulation in the incident forms,” he said.

Former INEC Commissioner, Mike Igini, also raised concerns about the potential implications for 2027. Recalling his experience during the 2023 elections, Igini said: “I would have been a dead man by now. My colleague in Kano, his entire family was wiped out, because we’re trying to do the right thing for our country.”

He warned that the combination of manual collation provisions and delayed electronic uploads could endanger electoral officers in future polls. “At the polling units, presiding officers’ lives are going to be in danger,” he said. “Because where Nigerians are gathered, and the results of the polling unit have been announced, and everyone could look at his telephone and see network, but the presiding officer says that there is no network, you are going to put the life of that presiding officer in danger.”

He added: “Meanwhile, the children of all the political elite are not going to be at the polling unit, it is the youth Corpers that are going to be there.”

Activist Randy Peter Akah was even more direct in his criticism, alleging that the amended Electoral Act could be used to influence the 2027 outcome. “The Electoral Act that Tinubu hurriedly signed is to pave the way for the manipulation of the 2027 election,” he said. Referring to the FCT polls, he added: “You use your fingers to count the number of people who came out to vote, because people have lost confidence in the system. And it’s deliberate.”

He further argued that collation centres remain vulnerable points in the electoral chain. “That’s why they are insisting on manual collation, because that collation centre is the centre of rigging,” he said.