Ahead of the Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections and other by-elections scheduled for Saturday, 21st February 2026, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,Prof Joash Amupitan has called on security agencies to strictly enforce the law and ensure peaceful polls.
INEC Chairman made the call at the first regular meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, held at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Professor Amupitan described 2026 as a busy electoral year, featuring Area Council elections, by-elections and off-cycle governorship polls, noting that electoral activities will continue to build momentum towards the 2027 General Election.
He said the development places greater responsibility on security agencies to intensify planning, deployment, intelligence gathering and inter-agency coordination to guarantee safe, credible and peaceful elections.
The INEC Chairman commended security agencies for their role in the successful conduct of the Anambra Governorship election and urged them to replicate the same level of professionalism in the forthcoming polls.
Responding on behalf of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the Director of Internal Security at the Office of the NSA, Hassan Abdullahi, assured that adequate security personnel would be deployed to ensure a hitch-free election.
Track up
Security agencies also vowed to resist attempts by overzealous politicians and their supporters to undermine the conduct of the Saturday, 21st February 2026 elections.
