Polling units expansion won’t give advantage to any state, says INEC

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared that the expansion of polling units will not confer any advantage to any State of the Federation.
The electoral body equally disclosed that no Voting Point will be moved from one Local Government to another.
The effort, the Commission explained, will only help in decongesting existing polling units, degrading overcrowding, aid increase of voter turnout and improve the quality of legal services rendered by the Commission.
The National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education of INEC, Barr Festus Okoye said this at the INEC/IFES workshop on validation of the Commission’s voter Education manual yesterday in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.
Similarly, the Commission has reiterated its determination to surmount whatever the challenges may be, in order to conduct elections that will receive the overwhelming endorsement of majority of Nigerians at all times.
The Commission, Okoye said, has prioritized the changes and innovations that will be cascaded to the conduct of off-season Governorship elections and the 2023 general election.
Stating that the changes and innovations will be challenging, he said that they (changes)are necessary to enhance the standard of our electoral process.
According to Barr Okoye, “The Commission has prioritized the changes and innovations that will be cascaded to the conduct of off-season governorship elections and the 2023 general election.
“The changes and innovations will be challenging but they are necessary to enhance the standard of our electoral process.
“The Commission is therefore poised to surmount whatever the challenges may be, in order to conduct elections that will receive the overwhelming endorsement of majority of Nigerians at all times.
“At each stage of the envisioned changes, the Commission will endeavor to consult widely and build a national consensus around the changes and innovations in the electoral process.
“Expansion of access to polling units
consultation and building of national consensus around the expansion of access to polling units and the movement of voting points to unserved and underserved areas as stand-alone Polling Units are currently going on.
“In the next few days, the Commission will conclude the consultative phase and release clear guidelines for the movement of Voting Points to decongest the existing ones.
“It is pertinent to explain here that no Voting Point will be moved from one Local Government to another.
“It is also important to underscore the fact that the expansion of polling units will not confer any advantage to any State of the Federation other than decongesting existing polling units, degrading overcrowding, aid increase of voter turnout and improve the quality of legal services rendered by the Commission.
“The primary object of all this is to make the voting experience more pleasant and less tedious for Nigerians”, he said.