INEC prepares for Voter registration, concludes polling units expansion

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC says it has concluded the task to create additional polling units across all states in Nigeria.

The Commission said a comprehensive list of the new polling units would be published next week.

The Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, said these when he received a new fire engine deployed to the commission by the Federal Fire Service.

Reports say the Commission commenced the conversion of existing voting points and voting point settlements into full polling units, a move, it said, was to address the issue of overcrowding during the election.

“We earlier assured Nigerians that we shall conclude work on the expansion of voter access to polling units and make the new polling units available to citizens ahead of the Continuous Voter Registration. I am glad to report that we have accomplished this task for the first time in 25 years,” Yakubu stated.

According to him, details of the locations of registration centres and the procedure for the commencement of online registration will also be made available after a series of regular consultative meetings with stakeholders next week.

Speaking on the deployment of the fire engine to the commission, Yakubu explained that the gesture came at a time the commission had suffered 42 attacks on its facilities nationwide in which 18 incidents resulted from arson and three more by a combination of arson and vandalisation.

He said, “It will be recalled that concerned by these incidents, the commission convened an emergency meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security last week.”

NP/Confidence Okwuchi