INEC creates 56,872 new polling units in Nigeria

After several failed attempts in the past, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has created 56,872 (Fifty Six Thousand, Eight Hundred and Seventy Two) new polling units across the nation.

This brings to 176,846 the number of full-fledged polling units in the county.

Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who spoke on Wednesday in Abuja, said the development is in line with the commission’s objective to give eligible voters access to polling units.

While giving a breakdown, Prof Yakubu said a total of 749 polling units were removed from inappropriate locations and relocated to appropriate locations.

He also said that 232 polling units were removed from private locations such as mosques, churches, shrines etc and moved to more appropriate locations.

He said others were also moved because of the challenges of distance, inaccessibility and security.

“After wide-ranging consultations with stakeholders, the 56,872 voting points were converted and added to the existing 119,974 polling units.

 “Consequently, the commission is glad to report that 25 years since the current polling units were created in 1996, the hard nut has been cracked after several unsuccessful attempts as Nigeria now has 176,846 full-fledged polling units,” he said.

He said that the adequacy and accessibility in numbers and locations across the country were some of the challenges that had to be addressed in the interest of credible elections.

Prof Yakubu also noted that the establishment of voting points and voting point settlements across the states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT0 to the several unsuccessful attempts to create additional polling units.