Yiaga Africa has identified a series of operational lapses and integrity concerns that marred the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections held on Saturday, February 21, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a preliminary statement on the exercise, the civic organisation cited the late opening of polling units, redistribution of voters without adequate notice, incidents of vote buying and heavy security deployment as key issues observed during the polls.
It stated that while the elections were conducted in a “largely peaceful atmosphere,” the process was affected by logistical lapses and administrative shortcomings that may have undermined voter participation and public confidence.
The group, which deployed trained observers across the six Area Councils under its Watching the Vote (WTV) initiative, said reports received as of 1:00 p.m. on election day pointed to the delayed commencement of voting in several locations.
“Observers reported a delayed commencement of polling in several polling units, primarily attributable to logistical inefficiencies and, in some instances, election security–related challenges,” Yiaga Africa stated.
According to the report, as of 9:00 a.m., set-up activities were still ongoing in the majority of polling units observed, particularly in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), where accreditation and voting in some areas did not begin until about 10:00 a.m.
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Yiaga Africa also flagged issues with the deployment of materials, stating that while critical materials such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices were largely available, it noted that in one polling unit in Wuse Ward, the voter register was not initially available and was only produced after observers and voters raised concerns.
It added that some polling units lacked voting cubicles, while an ink pad was reportedly missing in one location.
The organisation expressed serious concern over the redistribution of voters to newly created polling units without prior notice.
It said that although the INEC sent SMS notifications to affected voters, many messages were delivered on election day.
“The lack of timely and effective communication generated confusion at several polling locations,” the group said, noting that some voters spent over an hour trying to confirm their polling units.
It warned that such lapses contributed to congestion, poor queue management and “potentially discouraging voter participation.”
Yiaga Africa further reported that some polling units closed before the official 2:30 p.m. deadline, contrary to guidelines requiring units to remain open until closing time or until the last voter in the queue had voted.
Security deployment also came under scrutiny as the group said it observed heavy security presence in certain locations, which, in some cases, restricted access for accredited observers and voters.
“Observers further noted that the heightened security presence created barriers for citizens attempting to access polling units to exercise their right to vote,” Yiaga Africa said.
Vote buying, the organisation stressed, remained a persistent challenge.
“The persistent menace of vote buying once again manifested during the election,” Yiaga Africa said, noting that its observers documented incidents of monetary inducement at polling units despite prior directives to curb the practice.
Despite these concerns, the group acknowledged that voters who were able to access polling units were generally allowed to cast their ballots without widespread disruption.
However, it emphasised that turnout was “generally low,” with most polling units recording poor participation.
Yiaga Africa clarified that it did not deploy its Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) methodology for the election and that its statement was limited to process observation rather than statistical verification of results.
The organisation added that it would continue to monitor the collation process and release further findings at the end of the results collation.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X
