By Gabriel Ameh
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed allegations of result manipulation at Kuroko Health Centre Polling Unit in Yangoji Ward, Kwali Area Council, during the recent Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council election.
In a press statement signed by the Resident Electoral Commissioner for the FCT, Aminu K. Idris, on February 24, 2026, the Commission described as “untrue and misleading” claims circulating online that the polling unit recorded 1,219 votes for a political party despite having only 345 registered voters and 213 accredited voters.
According to INEC, the controversy arose from a clerical error made by the Presiding Officer while recording the score of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Commission explained that after sorting and counting the ballots, the Presiding Officer initially entered 122 votes for the APC. However, during reconciliation, an overcount of one ballot was identified. A recount was subsequently conducted openly at the polling unit, leading to a correction of the figure to 121 votes.
INEC stated that the erroneous digit was cancelled and corrected in both numerical and written formats on the result sheet. The official result uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) reflects 121 votes not 1,219 as alleged on social media.
The Commission further confirmed that party agents present at the polling unit signed the corrected result sheet. The same figure was recorded in the Ward Collation Form EC8B and used during collation at both the ward and Area Council levels.
BVAS and IReV Safeguards
INEC emphasized that its result management framework, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the IReV portal, makes the alleged manipulation technically impossible.
The Commission explained that Presiding Officers are required to upload images of completed Form EC8A to IReV and input party scores directly into the BVAS device. The system automatically validates entries to ensure total votes do not exceed the number of accredited voters and that figures are mathematically consistent.
In the Kuroko polling unit case, INEC noted that 213 voters were accredited, while the APC secured 121 votes. The total votes recorded were consistent with accreditation data and successfully passed BVAS validation checks.
According to the Commission, if a figure such as 1,219 had been entered, the BVAS device would have automatically rejected it, flagged over-voting, and prevented the result from being finalized.
INEC reiterated that the FCT Area Council election was conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act and its guidelines.
The Commission urged the public and media commentators to verify information using official records before drawing conclusions that could undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
Reaffirming its commitment to transparency and accountability, INEC stated that while genuine human errors may occur, they are promptly investigated and corrected in line with established procedures.
