“Wike Interfered With FCT Council Election” –  TMG, CISLAC

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Thumbs down FCT, Kano, Rivers Polls

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, and its partner,  Transition Monitoring Group, TMG, have  warned against the continued erosion of public confidence and trust in Nigeria’s electoral process  and democratic order.

This is as they  roundly condemned what they  described as widespread subtle manipulations and political interference by political actors, and general voters apathy that characterized last weekend’s  FCT council polls ,and by-elections in Kano and Rivers states.

The advocacy groups also raised serious concern over logistical shortcomings and other inadequacies that dogged the conduct of  the elections.

In a statement on Sunday February 22, 2026, from  Executive Director Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, CISLAC and TMG, while acknowledging the peaceful nature of the polls, however decried the existence of several avoidable challenges, which, in the end, marred the exercise.

Particularly, the group condemned the disturbing incident of political interference and manipulation of the polls, warning that such dangerous anti-democratic postures have tended to undermine, and even erode public trust in the system.

The Civil Society groups blamed the growing trend of voter apathy, and low turn out of voters, during last weekend election on lack of public confidence and trust.

According to CISLAC/TMG, when citizens no longer turn out to exercise their civic responsibilities, then, it is no longer an election, but a selection process.

The groups expressed serious concern that during last weekend polls, voter turnout was generally low, with many polling units recording abysmal participation.

According to them, in some polling units, there were reported cases of as small as only ten voters turning up to exercise their civic duties.

They  warned that persistent voter apathy and unchecked growing public distrust, have the dangerous potential of threatening the nation’s democracy.

The advocacy groups also emphasized the challenges that were faced during the exercise including late deployment.of electoral personnel and materials, leading to the disenfranchisement of not a few voters.

According to them, there were widespread instances of voter suppression, particularly against women and the vulnerable groups, most especially in high-density areas.

According to the advocacy groups, there were many documented cases of women and the elderly being subjected to economic intimidation with a view to discouraging them from participating in the elections.

The groups expressed serious disappointment with the conduct of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Minister Nyesom Wike, who it accused of interference in the conduct of the FCT Council polls.

The civil society groups  noted that the Minister’s presence at several polling units during the election was intended to, and successfully intimidated voters and even electoral officials.

They described the visit as patently inappropriate, and anti-democratic, insisting that the development greatly undermined the credibility of the exercise.

According to CISLAC/TMG, the  Minister being not a registered voter in the FCT, with no clearly assigned constitutional role in the conduct of the polls, was not supposed to be seen within the polling units.

The groups, therefore, urged President Tinubu to, as a matter of urgent importance, educate Government officials on the need to refrain from actions capable of eroding public trust and confidence in the country’s electoral process.

They expressed the fears that the continued interference and manipulation of by public officials may in the end weaken both domestic and international confidence in the credibility of future elections in the country.

This is as groups  once again condemned the imposition of curfew, particularly on the FCT before, and during the elections.

They  attributed the long period of movement restrictions, as part of the reasons for the general low voter turnout witnessed during the exercise.

Citing reports from election observers, they noted that many voters could not vote because of their inability to access their polling unitswhich were arbitrarily relocated .

“Incidents of vote-buying were also observed in some areas, underscoring the continued vulnerability of the electoral process to monetary inducement” CISLAC/TMG  noted .

The groups called on INEC to conduct the collation and declaration of results with the highest standards of integrity , transparency ,and professionalism ..

They  equally urged security agencies to ensure that their operatives assigned election duties operate strictly within the confines of extant rules and regulations .