The 2026 FCT Area Council elections have once again exposed a troubling contradiction in Nigeria’s opposition politics: the appetite for office without the discipline of structure, vigilance, and presence.
In the Federal Capital Territory, where political awareness is relatively high and electoral stakes are significant, the absence of visible and coordinated leadership from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on election day raised serious questions. Reports from several polling units suggested weak agent deployment, poor monitoring, and a vacuum of party direction at critical moments. In contrast, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) appeared more structured and aggressive in mobilization.
Elections are not won by press statements or social media enthusiasm. They are won at polling units. They are defended through trained agents, coordinated logistics, voter protection mechanisms, and rapid response structures. Where voter apathy was already evident, the absence of a visible opposition presence only deepened public disengagement. Many supporters who showed up expecting guidance reportedly found confusion instead.
A potential game changer was also underutilized. The VoteGuard App deployed by Coalition for the Protection of Democracy (COPDEM) was designed to function as an independent, parallel IReV-style reporting mechanism for public information on election outcomes. In theory, if fully deployed across polling units, VoteGuard could have enabled real-time transmission of results directly from agents on the ground, creating a transparent parallel record and strengthening post-election accountability.
However, incomplete deployment of ADC party agents meant that this tool could not be maximized. Technology cannot substitute for physical presence. An app cannot transmit results where there are no trained agents to upload them. Had VoteGuard been comprehensively utilized, real-time documentation of results might have strengthened public confidence, clarified discrepancies more quickly, and provided a stronger evidentiary basis for any legal or civic response.
If credible, independently documented results had been available in real time across the FCT, public scrutiny would have been sharper and organized civic engagement easier to mobilize within lawful and constitutional boundaries. Transparency empowers citizens; absence of structure weakens them.
But the central issue is not merely the loss of the 2026 FCT elections. Political contests are won and lost. The deeper question is: what lesson has been learned, and who is called to account for what?
Accountability must begin within party structures. Who was responsible for agent recruitment and deployment? Who handled logistics and training? Who monitored turnout data in real time? Who ensured communication between ward coordinators and central command? Where gaps existed, they must be openly acknowledged and corrected. Without internal evaluation and reform, defeat becomes cyclical rather than instructive.
Opposition politics cannot operate on seasonal activism. You cannot campaign passionately for candidates and then disappear when it is time to defend the vote. You cannot seek to unseat a dominant party through rhetorical resistance while neglecting the operational groundwork required on election day. Political parties are not pressure groups; they are institutions that must function like electoral machines.
At the same time, ruling party structures must not substitute grassroots engagement with complacency. If the APC hierarchy believes its dominance is secure without deep community accountability, it risks widening the gap between leadership and the electorate. Sustainable politics — for any party — demands constant grassroots presence, transparency, and responsiveness.
The FCT elections should serve as a wake-up call across party lines. Democracy matures not merely through victory or defeat, but through honest post-election reflection, structural correction, and a renewed commitment to credible participation.
Democracy is not defended in absentia. It is defended in the polling unit — and strengthened when institutions are willing to learn, reform, and be held accountable.
