The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended online pre-registration of voters in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
This will be effective from Monday, September 15, 2025.
The Commission explained that the decision would allow all applicants who began the process online to complete their registration at designated physical centres to finalize their applications.
With the adjustment, voter registration will now be carried out physically across all 62 wards in the FCT, in addition to the existing offices in the six Area Councils and the Commission’s headquarters, bringing the total number of centres to 69.
According to INEC, the ward-level registration exercise will run from Monday, September 29, to Wednesday, October 8, 2025. The process will then be suspended in line with Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022, which requires registration to close no later than 90 days before an election.
It would be recalled that the FCT Area Council election has been fixed for Saturday, February 21, 2026.
INEC further disclosed that both online and in-person registration will resume after the election and continue until August 2026, when the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) will be put on hold ahead of the 2027 General Election.
In a statement signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, the electoral body urged residents to take advantage of the new arrangement.
“We appeal to all eligible citizens who are not registered voters to seize the opportunity of the devolution of the exercise to ward level in the FCT to register,” the statement read.
The Commission reminded the public that registered voters may also transfer their registration to any part of the FCT or from other states. It warned, however, that multiple registration remains an offence punishable under the law.
Details of the ward registration centres have been uploaded to INEC’s website and official platforms.
