Elections into the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, were held on 21 February. Coming on the heels of the amended Electoral Act 2026, they were more than a routine democratic exercise. As a test-run of the Act, and a litmus test for the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, they were, indeed, telling. The outcome showed that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) swept the polls by winning five chairmanship seats in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Kuje, Bwari, Abaji and Kwali, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won the Gwagwalada Area Council. The political parties, 17 in all, participated with 637 candidates. There is no report yet in the public space of how the 62 councillorship seats wer...