As the Independent National Electoral Commisson gets set to conduct elections into the six Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory on Saturday, Friday Olokor takes a look at the high stakes, the politics of the 2027 general election, tension among contenders and political parties and reports that the FCT has become a symbolically elevated battleground that cannot be ignored by politicians as Abuja is regarded as a morale boost and measure of national sovereignty.
Although elections to fill vacancies in all the six Area Council seats for the chairmanship and councillorship seats are held off-season, the February 21, 2026 exercise in the Federal Capital Territory are special because the FCT has no state government or state electoral commission and so residents vote under stringent rules as if it’s a federal contest and what observers describe as a kind of experiment in directly administered local democracy.
Documents obtained indicate that the election will involve 1,680,315 registered voters in 2,822 polling units spread across the six Area Councils of Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali. A total of 570 candidates are contesting 68 constituencies for the positions of Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen as well as 62 Councilorship seats, comprising 10 wards each in five Area Councils and 12 wards in the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
