The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Ogun State on Monday, May 10, 2021, said it has created additional 1,832 polling units as part of its voter access expansion.
With this new development, Ogun State, which hitherto had 3,210 polling units, will now have a total of 5,042 polling units.
Abdulganiy Raji, the state resident electoral commissioner, disclosed this at a stakeholders meeting held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Raji said it was expedient to create additional polling units because of the declining voter access to voting centres in the state.
The Ogun REC described the exercise as “long overdue”, explaining that difficulty in accessing the location of polling units, distance, and the emergence of new settlements or estates had forced the commission to create new polling units.
According to him, all these had contributed to low voter turnout during elections, violation of election regulations and guidelines, violence, and insecurity.
He said INEC had at a meeting on April 20th deliberated over the subject and approved the lower and upper thresholds for voting points to 500 and 750 voters respectively.
“On the basis of this, additional 1,832 polling units were marked for creation from existing polling units within the threshold. This brings the number of units in Ogun state from the existing 3,210 to 5,042,” he said.
He disclosed that INEC will commence the continuous voters’ registration exercise on Monday, June 28, 2021.
Source: Vanguard
