Abuja, Feb. 26, 2026 (NAN) A Coalition of Civil Society Groups has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies on the peaceful conduct of Feb.21 FCT elections.
The coalition described the exercise, especially in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), as peaceful, credible and a reflection of the people’s will.
Mr Boluwaji Adeyemi, Head of the Coalition, gave the assessment while presenting the group’s observation report on the exercise at a news conference on Thursday in Abuja.
Adeyemi said that in spite of a generally low voter turnout across the 12 wards of the council, the election was conducted without any form of disruptions or violent incidents.
”Observers arrived as early as 7:10 a.m. to monitor opening procedures, accreditation, voting, and counting.
”We observed that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines worked perfectly, and the voters’ registers were available in all polling units visited.
”The conduct of INEC showed significant improvement when compared to previous elections. Cases of vote-buying and security breaches were minimal,” he said.
Adeyemi also lauded the professionalism and neutrality displayed by security agencies, including the Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
According to him, the results announced by INEC and cited by the coalition, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Christopher Maikalangu, emerged winner after polling 40,295 votes.
”The results for other top contenders showed the African Democratic Congress (ADC) scored 12,109 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) got 3,398 votes.
“The Social Democratic Party (SDP) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) polled 2,185 and 1,694 votes, respectively,” he said.
He, however, urged INEC to further improve its logistics arrangements and ensure early commencement of polls in future exercises.
”INEC should carry out extensive education to raise voter awareness, while political parties must actively engage in voter mobilisation to address the trend of diminishing turnout.
”The overall conduct of this election is well-accepted by the residents of AMAC,” he said.
He also recommended continuous training for polling officials on the effective configuration and use of accreditation devices to sustain the gains recorded. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
APA/FEO/KAE
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Edited by Francis Onyeukwu/Kadiri Abdulrahman
