VOTING has commenced across polling units in Kuje Area Council as residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) elect new chairmen and lawmakers for the city’s six area council today, Saturday, February 21.
Prospective voters were seen forming orderly queues awaiting accreditation and voting as officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) attended to the crowds.
Baba Adamu who was the second person to cast his vote at the Central Primary School polling unit, described the atmosphere as peaceful, and expressed delight with voters turnout.
“In Kuje Central Ward, we are peaceful people. We believe it will go well,” Adamu said.
The INEC scheduled the election to begin across the city at 8:30 a.m., with only registered voters with valid Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) eligible to vote.
Earlier, at the Kuje Collation Centre, election officials were observed receiving last-minute briefings before boarding vehicles conveying them to their polling units, while electoral materials were sorted and dispatched in batches.
The commission had earlier confirmed readiness for the poll, deploying the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to all polling units to enhance transparency and real-time result management.
The FCT Police Command had also imposed restriction on movement across the city from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to ensure a peaceful exercise, while security personnel were deployed to polling locations, collation centres, and different part of the nation’s capital.
The restriction forms part of broader security arrangements for the election taking place simultaneously across the six area councils namely Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali.
However, vehicles were moving, and businesses were open from the early hours before security officials started restricting movement at 9:11 a.m.
Residents across the FCT are voting to elect chairmen and councillors who will oversee grassroots administration in the Territory.
INEC disclosed that more than 1.58 million PVCs were collected ahead of the election.
The election covers 2,822 polling units across 62 wards, where voters are choosing leaders for six area councils and 62 councillorship seats.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.