INEC Explains FCT Polling Unit Confusion, Says No Voters Were Moved In 2026
When citizens lose precious minutes on Election Day searching for where to vote, confidence in the process takes a hit, and INEC says that was the real problem in the FCT council polls, not last-minute changes.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has clarified that no voters were migrated to new polling units ahead of the February 21 Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), dismissing claims of last-minute reshuffling that allegedly disrupted voting.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, INEC explained that the “split polling units” being debated were created as far back as February 2022 under its Expansion of Voters’ Access to Polling Units initiative, aimed at reducing congestion at overcrowded voting points. Nationwide, the exercise saw over 56,000 new polling units created, with 6.7 million voters redistributed from congested centres.
In the FCT alone, 411 polling units were decongested, with about 580,000 voters spread across 1,156 nearby voting points.
The Commission stressed that no fresh migration of voters took place in 2026, noting that the split polling units are located just metres away from original locations within the same premises, designed to ease accreditation and speed up voting using additional BVAS devices.
INEC acknowledged that some voters still struggled to locate their polling units during the mock election, largely due to the 2022 redistribution.
To address this, the Commission said it sent targeted text messages and emails to affected voters in the days leading up to the poll, while also urging citizens to verify their polling details using its online locator.
The electoral body encouraged voters to confirm their polling units ahead of future elections to avoid last-minute confusion, reiterating its commitment to improving service delivery and the voting experience.
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