FCT polls peaceful, but INEC late, BVAS fail — CSOs

By Abubakar Yunusa

The Civil society organisations monitoring the Federal Capital Territory area council election, Public Private Development Center (PPDC),in partnership with Bridging Social Inclusion Gaps Initiative ( BISIGI),said the exercise remained peaceful and largely credible, but raised concerns over late arrival of electoral officials and malfunctioning technology.

They said there was no violence, disruption or breakdown of law and order across the six area councils of the FCT.

Speaking during a preliminary election briefing in Abuja, the Executive Director of BISIGI said observers recorded general calm at polling units, dismissing reports of violence in Kuje as misinformation.

“With what we have seen so far, there is normalcy. No violence, no disruption. We believe the election will be free, fair and credible,” she said.

However, he faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission for failing to deploy officials early, noting that accreditation was meant to begin at 8:30am but INEC staff were absent at several polling units as at 9am.

“If voting is scheduled to start at 8:30am and end at 2:30pm, but officials arrive by 10am, many voters will be disenfranchised,she said .

Chidi urged INEC to either deploy on time or extend voting hours where delays occurred.

Also speaking, the Head of Programmes at PPDC, Aniekwe Chimeze Ogechukwu, said the organisation’s situation room was receiving real-time reports from monitors across the FCT, revealing operational lapses in several locations.

She said elections had yet to commence in some area councils, while the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) failed in others, describing the situation as “very critical” ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“At Lugbe Primary School, voters are waiting and there is already tension because INEC officials are not on ground. BVAS are not working, and this will distort the process,” she said.

According to him similar delays were recorded in Nyanya, where voting had not started as at 10:40am due to BVAS failure, and in Bwari, where polls had not commenced as at about 9:55am.

“This is not a good start for INEC. If this persists at the state level, what happens during presidential elections?” he asked.

The groups said they had observers deployed across all the area councils, adding that voter turnout could not yet be accurately assessed as of 11:30am, despite claims of low participation.

They attributed early reports of low turnout to heavy security deployment and movement restrictions, describing it as a factor capable of suppressing voter participation.

“People are willing to vote. They are at the polling units. The problem is not citizens but logistics.

“We urged Nigerians to continue to participate in elections as the only way to choose accountable leaders’,Ogechukwu said