The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the updated Register of Voters for the upcoming Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council election, scheduled for February 21, 2026. The total number of registered voters has increased to 1,680,315, as continuous voter registration has resumed in Anambra State. INEC announced through its Director of Voter Education
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the updated Register of Voters for the upcoming Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council election, scheduled for February 21, 2026. The total number of registered voters has increased to 1,680,315, as continuous voter registration has resumed in Anambra State.
INEC announced through its Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs Victoria Eta-Messi, that FCT Resident Electoral Commissioner Malam Aminu Idris shared the figures at a meeting with political parties.
The FCT REC reported that registered voters for the 2023 election totalled 1,570,307 before national registration. This number has since increased due to the CVR exercise, which started with online pre-registration on August 18, 2025, and physical registration across the country on September 29, 2025.
Mallam Idris explained that to comply with Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act, 2022, the CVR was suspended in the FCT on October 12, 2025, to allow the Commission to revise the Register of Voters for the Area Council Election ahead of its coming election in which 62 councillorship seats and six chairmanship positions are expected to be filled after the election.
He stated, “The revision process, carried out pursuant to Section 10(6) of the Electoral Act, involved biometric de-duplication of the register, its display for claims and objections, and the compilation of a supplementary list arising from the exercise. The total number of registered voters in the FCT increased from 1,570,307 recorded in 2023 to 1,680,315, adding that detailed statistics were made available to political parties at the meeting.”
The commission added that to prepare for the FCT area council election, it has already carried out several tasks, such as monitoring party primaries, publishing final candidate lists, starting campaign monitoring, receiving non-sensitive materials, activating the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), educating and sensitising voters, engaging stakeholders, and working with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
The FCT REC also announced that the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for newly registered voters, as well as those who applied for transfer or updates during the CVR exercise, had been delivered to the FCT, and that the Commission would announce the PVC collection start date in due course.
The commission also announced the resumption of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise in Anambra state after its suspension on July 20, 2025, ahead of the state off-cycle gubernatorial election, which was conducted on November 8, 2025.
The commission had suspended the CVR exercise in the state to clean up the voters’ register, as well as produce and distribute Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of the November 8, 2025, governorship election in the state.
According to INEC, with the resumption of the CVR exercise in Anambra state, citizens are expected to visit the commission’s headquarters and 21 Local Government Area offices to register, update their records, apply for replacement of lost or damaged PVCs, and change their voting locations ahead of the 2027 general election.
INEC Continuous Voter Registration
The Independent National Electoral Commission commenced the first phase of the Continuous Voter Registration across the country on August 18 in preparation for the 2027 general election. The exercise began with the online pre-registration, while the physical, in-person registration began a week later, on August 25, across all local government area offices and designated registration centres across the country.
The commission concluded the first phase of the exercise on December 10, 2025, announcing in a statement that 9,891,801 Nigerians had initiated online pre-registration during the first phase. Of this figure, INEC reported that 2,572,054 registrations were fully completed nationwide as of November 28, 2025, comprising 1,503,832 online completions and 1,068,222 physical registrations.
Further checks revealed that, based on the data revealed by the electoral commission, Osun State ranked highest among other states in terms of the number of completions of online and physical registration, with 200,251, while Ondo State had the lowest total at 17,200.
Meanwhile, the electoral body has resumed the nationwide continuous voter registration (CVR) exercise on January 5th, 2026, marking the start of the second phase of the process.
According to the commission, states such as Lagos have 119,885 completed registrations, while Borno has 118,323 completed registrations. The FCT also showed high engagement, with 106,855 completed registrations, followed by Jigawa with 104,970. Other states with significant turnout include Zamfara, which reached 95,885.
However, Ondo State has the lowest total at 17,200, followed by Cross River with 16,270, Abia with 15,263, and Taraba with 19,877. Ebonyi is also on the lower end, with 29,845, while Enugu has 41,106, placing it in the group of states with low figures.
Higher than the above states is Bayelsa, which records 44,585 completed registrations, followed by Yobe with 51,671 and Adamawa with 55,003.
The commission said the interval between the two phases was used to carry out statutory activities required by law, including the display of the register of voters for claims and objections.
