By Danjuma Amodu | February 20, 2026
The stage is set for Saturday’s chairmanship and councillorship elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with over 1.5 million voters having collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) across the six area councils.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a total of 1,680,315 voters were registered in the FCT, with 1,587,025 PVCs collected, representing collection rate of 94.4 per cent. The commission commended voters for their responsiveness and cooperation, noting that several Registration Areas recorded PVC collection rates exceeding 99 per cent.
Last-Minute Political Shake-Up Rocks FCT Elections
A total of 68 elective positions are being contested — six chairmanship seats and 62 councillorship roles across the six area councils. The final hours before the election witnessed dramatic political shifts, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairmanship candidate for AMAC, Zadna Dantani, withdrawing from the race less than 24 hours before the election. Dantani has thrown his weight behind the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Christopher Makaleng, citing the intervention of Minister Nyesom Wike as a factor in his decision.
Similarly, PDP’s Bwari chairmanship candidate, Julius Adamu, has stepped down in favour of APC’s Joshua Musa. However, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has warned against external influence, with its 2023 presidential candidate, Adewole Adebayo, urging residents to resist imposed leadership.
“We are the ones who will stay here. Government will come and go,” Adebayo said while campaigning for SDP’s AMAC candidate, Obinna Simon, popularly known as MC Tagwaye.
Minister Wike has declared Friday a work-free day and imposed a restriction of movement from 8 pm on Friday to 6 pm on Saturday to ensure smooth conduct of the elections. In a special broadcast, Wike urged residents to participate actively in the election, conduct themselves peacefully, and respect the outcome of the polls.
