The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that over 1.5 million voters in the Federal Capital Territory have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of the Area Council elections scheduled for Saturday, February 21, 2026.
In a statement signed on Thursday by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information & Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, INEC said that as of February 10, a total of 1,587,025 voters out of 1,680,315 registered in the FCT had collected their PVCs, representing a 94.4 per cent collection rate, with 93,290 cards still uncollected.
According to the commission, Abaji Area Council recorded 75,517 collected PVCs out of 79,471 registered voters (95.0%), Bwari Area Council had 276,360 of 295,711 (93.5%), Gwagwalada recorded 196,184 of 208,057 (94.3%), Kuje had 144,109 of 148,286 (97.2%), Kwali registered 99,774 of 107,203 (93.1%), and Municipal Area Council recorded 795,081 of 841,587 (94.5%). INEC noted that several registration areas had collection rates exceeding 99 per cent, reflecting strong grassroots engagement across the territory.
“The Commission commends voters in the FCT for their responsiveness and cooperation throughout the Continuous Voter Registration and PVC collection exercises. The impressive figures indicate strong citizen readiness to participate in the electoral process,” the statement read.
INEC reiterated that only duly registered voters in possession of valid PVCs will be allowed to vote and assured that all arrangements have been made for a free, fair, and credible election.
The elections, covering six Area Councils in the FCT — Abuja Municipal, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Abaji, and Kwali will see voters elect six chairmen and 62 councillors. The campaign period, which began in September 2025, concludes today.
Earlier on Thursday, Nyesom Wike, the FCT Minister, announced a work-free day on Friday and imposed a movement restriction from 8 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday ahead of the elections.
Wike said the measures, approved by President Bola Tinubu, were intended to allow residents to travel to their communities and ensure smooth voting. He also urged citizens to actively participate in the polls.
