The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections will take place on Saturday, February 21, 2026.
INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu made this announcement on Wednesday during a consultative meeting with political parties in Abuja.
According to Yakubu, the elections will be conducted in all designated polling units across the 68 constituencies to elect six Area Council Chairmen and 62 Councillors. This marks the end of the tenure of the current officeholders, who were elected in the February 2022 polls.
Yakubu provided a detailed timeline for the election process, beginning with the publication of the official election notice on February 26, 2025.
Party primaries are scheduled to take place from June 9 to June 30, 2025, while the candidate nomination portal will open on July 21, 2025, and close on August 11, 2025.
The final list of candidates is set to be published on September 22, 2025, with campaign activities commencing two days later and concluding at midnight on February 19, 2026.
The INEC chairman also emphasized transparency in the election process, revealing that the commission would upload the detailed election timetable, schedule of activities, and constituency list to its website before the end of the consultative meeting.
Hard copies of these documents, alongside INEC’s 2022 regulations and guidelines for political parties, were distributed to party representatives.
Yakubu further addressed plans for the Anambra State Governorship election slated for November 8, 2025. Political parties are expected to conduct their primaries between March 20 and April 10, 2025, and submit their schedules of activities to INEC.
He urged non-compliant parties to meet this deadline to avoid last-minute challenges in resource and personnel deployment for the polls.
The INEC chairman reiterated the commission’s commitment to ensuring smooth electoral processes, adding that plans for nationwide Continuous Voter Registration and outstanding bye-elections would be announced in due course.