FCT Election: Independent National Electoral Commission Moves to Prevent Operational Setbacks

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that it will not entertain excuses capable of undermining the credible conduct of this Saturday’s FCT Area Council election.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, issued the warning during a meeting with leaders of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) in Abuja.

He stated that the success of the election would depend significantly on the timely and efficient movement of materials and personnel across the six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory.
“The Commission expects sound and serviceable vehicles in line with agreed specifications under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the unions,” he said.
According to the INEC Chairman, the Commission will deploy about 1,132 vehicles to facilitate the movement of election materials for the exercise, which will cover 2,822 polling units spread across 10 wards in five Area Councils and 12 wards in the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
Prof. Amupitan expressed concern over past experiences involving vehicle deployment during elections, citing situations where unserviceable vehicles were presented and agreed arrangements were not fully honoured.
In one instance, he noted, the Commission had to activate alternative arrangements to prevent operational disruptions.
He stressed that INEC would not accept excuses—whether deliberate or inadvertent—that could jeopardise the timely delivery of both sensitive and non-sensitive materials to Registration Area Centres (RACs) and polling units.
“Our goal is for voting to begin at 8:30 a.m., and for that to happen, materials must reach polling units by 7:00 or 7:30 a.m., which means vehicles must depart Registration Area Centres as early as 6:00 a.m.,” he stated.
The Chairman also directed Electoral Officers in the FCT to closely monitor the execution of logistics agreements at the Area Council level, noting that they would serve as the Commission’s representatives in ensuring compliance.
Highlighting the national and international attention on the election, Prof. Amupitan described the FCT as “the heart of Nigeria,” urging all stakeholders to demonstrate patriotism and commitment to safeguarding electoral materials.
He further called on the unions to utilise their internal disciplinary mechanisms to ensure strict adherence to the Commission’s guidelines, particularly in preventing diversion or hijacking of election materials.
Responding, the Director of Legal Services for NURTW, Mercy Ibeh, acknowledged that the concerns raised by the Commission were familiar issues that regularly form part of engagements between the unions and electoral authorities.
She explained that the union had, over several months, held extensive discussions with the FCT office of INEC to identify challenges and propose workable solutions.
Referring to operational challenges encountered during the Anambra election, she said the union had formally communicated its concerns to INEC at the time, noting that some of the issues were beyond the union’s control.
She expressed optimism that the discussions and solutions proposed at the current meeting would address many of the earlier challenges.
She also appealed for support to strengthen the union’s transport capacity, stating that improved access to serviceable vehicles would enhance performance during elections.
In his remarks, the FCT Chairman of NURTW, Abdullahi Dauda, assured the Commission of the union’s readiness to fulfil its obligations.