By OBUNIKE OHAEGBU

The recently conducted FCT Area Council elections have again exposed the disturbing reality of electoral manipulation in Nigeria. Despite the enormous resources deployed by the ruling APC, the figures emerging from several polling units show that the people voted differently from what the official declarations suggest.

One polling unit result sheet now widely circulated provides a striking illustration of how electoral fraud can be detected through simple arithmetic and careful examination of official records.

This document is not a rumour. It is an official INEC Statement of Result of Poll from Polling Unit (Form EC8A) from the 2026 FCT Area Council Elections – Kwali Chairmanship.

Polling Unit Identification Details

The official result sheet contains the following details:

State: FCT

State Code: 37

Area Council: Kwali

Area Council Code: 05

Registration Area (Ward): Yangoji

Ward Code: 02

Polling Unit: Koroko Primary Health Centre

Polling Unit Code: 017

Election: Kwali Area Council Chairmanship Election

Date: 21 February 2026

Presiding Officer: Dianna Hannah

Election Status: Contested

This is therefore a clearly identifiable polling unit with traceable electoral documentation.

The Official Figures Recorded

According to the same official result sheet:

Number of Registered Voters: 345

Number of Accredited Voters: 213

Number of Ballot Papers Issued: 213

Number of Unused Ballot Papers: 132

Number of Spoilt Ballot Papers: 0

Number of Rejected Ballot Papers: 2

Total Votes Cast: 213

Total Valid Votes: 211

The figures are internally consistent.

213 ballots issued.

213 votes cast.

211 valid votes.

2 rejected votes.

Everything adds up perfectly.

Until one reaches the party scores.

Votes Recorded for Political Parties

The recorded results include:

LP: 0 votes (Zero)

AA: 0 votes (Zero)

ADC: (Recorded as the leading opposition vote in the unit)

ADP: 17 votes (Seventeen)

APC: Recorded with altered figures

PGA: 0 votes (Zero)

APM: 8 votes (Eight)

NNPP: 0 votes (Zero)

PDP: 71 votes (Seventy-One)

Total Valid Votes: 211

The arithmetic clearly shows the distribution of votes among parties within the limits of accredited voters.

The Impossible APC Figure

Yet the same polling unit has been reported elsewhere as showing APC scoring 1,212 votes.

This is mathematically impossible.

Only 213 people voted

Only 211 votes were valid

But APC was credited with 1,212 votes.

This is nearly six times the total number of accredited voters.

No democratic process can produce such a result.

This is not a mistake.

It is mutilation.

What the Figures Reveal

The polling unit result sheet shows a normal voting pattern:

Some parties scored zero

Some scored small numbers

PDP scored 71 votes

Other parties shared the remaining votes

The pattern is typical of a competitive election.

Nothing on the official polling unit sheet suggests an APC landslide.

Nothing suggests overwhelming dominance.

Instead, the figures suggest a competitive race in which the ADC performed strongly and emerged as a major electoral force.

Decamping Could Not Deliver Victory

In the build-up to the elections, many governors and politicians defected to the APC. The expectation was that such high-profile defections would translate into overwhelming electoral victory.

It did not.

Despite the decamping wave, the APC still had to rely on questionable methods to produce the desired outcomes.

State Power Was Not Enough

Reports from the field indicated the heavy presence of:

Armed security personnel

Police units

Other state-backed enforcement agencies

Even with the intimidating deployment of state power, the ruling party still struggled to secure genuine electoral support.

Instead, what followed were disturbing reports of:

Tear-gassing of voters

Disruption of polling activities

Snatching of result sheets

Interference with collation processes

These actions reveal a troubling pattern: when the votes cannot be won legitimately, the results are altered.

Money Could Not Buy the Election

Large sums of money were reportedly deployed in attempts to induce voters.

Yet the electorate still demonstrated resistance.

Despite the bags of money spent, the APC still needed the despicable and untidy mutilation of results to claim victory in what should have been a simple local council election.

If such extreme measures are required for a council election, Nigerians must ask what will happen during national elections.

Forced Political Alignments Failed

The last-minute withdrawal of the PDP candidate and the alignment of PDP structures with the APC were expected to weaken opposition resistance.

Even that did not produce a convincing victory.

Instead, reliance was still placed on manipulation of results.

The False Narrative of Missing Agents

To justify the outcome, APC media handlers quickly circulated the claim that ADC had no agents in 60% of polling units.

But the same APC relied on:

Tear-gassing of voters

Snatching of result sheets

Interference with polling processes

A party that truly won an election does not need to seize result sheets.

A party confident of victory does not need to disrupt voting.

The Strategy of Voter Discouragement Has Failed

The objective of these tactics is clear: to discourage Nigerians from voting.

If citizens believe their votes will not count, they may stay at home.

But that strategy is failing.

Despite intimidation and manipulation, Nigerians continue to come out to vote.

The determination of the electorate remains stronger than the machinery of manipulation.

Lessons for 2027

As Nigeria looks toward the 2027 general elections, one lesson is already clear:

No single individual can defeat the APC alone.

Opposition elements who claim that only their candidate can win are mistaken.

Victory in 2027 will require:

Unity

Strategic cooperation

Mutual respect among stakeholders

The ADC must ensure that all major stakeholders have a meaningful stake in the project.

The Nike Lake Example

I still recall the spirit of cooperation that emerged from the 2019 alliance discussions at Nike Lake Resort in Enugu.

That model demonstrated that when leaders came together in good faith, political transformation became possible.

I could recall clearly that no sitting governor attended that meeting. It was essentially a gathering of political leaders and stakeholders who believed in the necessity of a broad national coalition.

As a matter of fact, it was even alleged that the then Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi was not comfortable with that alliance effort, yet the discussions still held and produced a spirit of unity that remains instructive today.

That experience demonstrates an important lesson: political change does not always begin from the corridors of power; it often begins from committed stakeholders determined to reshape the future.

A similar consensus among key leaders today would be powerful enough to reshape Nigeria’s political future.

Internal Attacks Help the APC

Anyone within the ADC who spends time attacking fellow stakeholders is indirectly working for the APC.

Disunity is the greatest weapon of the ruling party.

Unity is the greatest weapon of the opposition.

Even the “City Boys” Needed Force

Despite the confidence projected by the APC and its so-called “City Boys,” the party still relied on:

Armed intimidation

Tear gas

Result manipulation

To claim victory in a council election.

That fact alone shows that the political tide in Nigeria is changing.

The Duty of Citizens

Finally, history has shown that evil triumphs in politics when citizens stay away from their civic duty of voting.

Democracy depends on participation.

When the people refuse to vote, they surrender power to those who manipulate the system.

Nigerians must therefore remain committed to the electoral process despite the obstacles.

Participation is the strongest weapon against manipulation.

The Road Ahead

The ADC leadership must remain focused and consistent.

The resistance of the Nigerian electorate is real.

The appetite for change is growing.

The manipulation witnessed in the FCT elections shows that the ruling party understands the threat it faces.

And that threat is the Nigerian voter.

2027 Is the Goal

The struggle continues.

The mandate of the people cannot be permanently suppressed.

Truth has a way of surfacing, even through manipulated figures.

And when numbers expose falsehood, democracy takes a step forward.

APC is our collective political adversary, and all democratic forces must work together to remove it from power in 2027.

2027 remains the goal.

•Obunike Ohaegbu, A Village Boy writing from Anambra State.

Update news