After 25 years: INEC to create 57,023 new polling units, battles external forces

THE logjam over the bid by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to create additional 57, 023 polling units from the existing 119, 973 across the country appears settled.

Credible sources told Nigerian Tribune that the stage is apparently set for the exercise after futile manoeuverings by some influential forces to truncate the move, ostensibly for narrow interests.

It will be the first successful exercise by the electoral body in the country in 25 years barring any further arm-twisting and gerrymandering over the crucial issue.

Multiple sources disclosed that the INEC resolved to adopt a lower and upper limit threshold in the quest to create the additional polling units spread across the country.

Hitherto, many of the existing polling units accommodated more than 1,500 voters based on the voter register, with consequent severe challenges and difficulties on Election Day.

According to the sources, the INEC eventually settled for the application of 500 lower limit and 750 upper limit in the process of disaggregation.

By implication, the lower limit for any polling unit moving forward, will be 500 registered voters, with no unit having more than 750 registered voters.

The issue of creating the additional polling units was reportedly opposed by some forces within the commission, with support from powerful external forces, who were determined to skew the distribution of additional polling units in an unscientific manner in favour of some states.

A similar plot by those forces frustrated the creation of 30, 000 new polling units during the tenure of the immediate past leadership of INEC, as the powerful forces bent on hijacking the process wanted more than 21, 000 of the overall figure allocated to the North, with a little over 8, 000 polling units going to the entire southern part of the country.

In the course of the intense intrigues that characterised the earlier stages of the ongoing process, it was gathered that whereas the INEC had been used to a 750 lower limit and 1000 upper limit threshold, some stakeholders were pushing for a lower limit threshold of 1000 and upper limit of 1,999, despite the dire consequence of a number of states losing many polling units.

“The direct implication of this would have been possible chaos on Election Day and a scenario whereby most voters would be disenfranchised,” some experts contacted on the matter last night asserted.

“For instance, polling units that would have been lost if the 1,000 minimum and 1,999 upper thresholds had been applied, would have been Lagos, 2,895; Osun, 400; Ekiti, 160; Oyo, 1,078; and Delta: 1,012 (all these would have been lost).”

Further checks confirmed that that the INEC finally affirmed its authority on the process at the flag off of the process on April 19, 2021, setting the stage for the overall exercise. It was learnt that in a memo dated April 20, 2021 from the INEC secretariat to Secretary/INEC, with the number INEC/DE/ No:72/2021, titled Decision extract on the Amendment of the threshold for the conversion of voting points to Polling Units,” stated inter alia.

“The Commission at its meeting held on Tuesday, 20th April, 2021, deliberated on the above subject and approved as follows: a. The adjustment of the lower and upper thresholds for Voting Points from 750 and 1000 to 500 and 750 respectively b. That the ICT and Electoral Operations Departments and the State and Local Government Area offices of the Commission should adopt these new thresholds in implementing the ongoing programme of expanding voting access to polling units.

“You may wish to refer the extract to all Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and Directors for information and necessary action, please.”

Signed by Director, Commission Secretariat, Maryam Iya Musa, the document was directed to all Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and directors. One of the sources stated: “The voting point platform, as widely known and accepted by stakeholders, was based on lower and upper thresholds of 750 and 1,000 registered voters, respectively. “They were used in 2011, 2015 and 2019 and that is why their conversion to independent polling units to decongest existing polling units appear to be the reason why Nigerians have accepted the initiative.”

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