By Perpetua Onuegbu
The CLEEN Foundation, q civil society organisation, is calling on stakeholders to safeguard the integrity of the upcoming FCT Council Election, scheduled for February 21, 2026.
The organisation made this call in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Peter Maduoma on Friday in Abuja.
He emphasised that local government elections are crucial to strengthening democracy and urges all parties to ensure a peaceful, lawful, and transparent process.
“The integrity of this process will signal whether local governance remains accountable to the people or drifts further from them,” the CLEEN Foundation warns.
“We will observe the election, focusing on security agency conduct, voter safety, and rights protection.
“The CLEEN Foundation will also track developments and collect real-time reports from deployed observers to ensure immediate response to any incidents.
According to the organisation the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has made extensive preparations, including training ad-hoc staff and deploying approximately 11,288 polling officials across 2,822 polling units.
“Security agencies, operating under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, are also ready to ensure a secure environment.”
However, the CLEEN Foundation said it had identified potential hotspots, including Abuja Municipal Area Council, Bwari Area Council, and Gwagwalada and Kuje Area Councils, due to factors such as population density, political competition, and security risks.
The organisation therefore called on security agencies to maintain neutrality, respect human rights, and ensure a visible but non-intimidating presence.
The CLEEN Foundation also urges political parties and candidates to refrain from violence, hate speech, and inducement of voters, and to respect the rules of the electoral process.
“We encourage citizens to participate peacefully, obey lawful instructions, and report suspicious activities through appropriate channels.
“Peaceful elections are a collective responsibility, requiring cooperation among security agencies, political actors, the media, civil society, and citizens.” (NAN)
