INEC increases polling units in Akwa Ibom to 4,354

AKWA IBOM State Independent National Electoral Commission in ( INEC) has converted 1,374 existing voting points to full fledged polling units, thereby bringing the number of polling units to 4,354 in the state.

The state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner ( REC), Mike Igini, disclosed this at the weekend during a meeting with stakeholders on expansion of voter access and creation of new polling units at Ibom Hall in Uyo.

Igini explained that the exercise was arrived at through data- driven and based on demographic and spatial consideration, stressing that the exercise was not done based on individual quest or political influence.

He said the creation of polling units was last done about 25 years ago, adding that registered voters had increased geometrically as of 2021, while polling units had remained static.

The REC told stakeholders that the exercise was not done to deprive any section of the state, but to allow voters unrestrained access to polling units on elections day.

He added that to address the problems, the commission, in pursuant to its powers under Section 42 of the Electoral Act, established adequate polling units in each registration area and allocate voters to them.

Igini stated that INEC decided to convert the existing 1,374 voting points to polling units, which brought the number of polling units in the state to 4,354, adding that the entire process was data- driven and based on demographic and spatial considerations.