Senate Committee on INEC expresses reservation over additional polling units

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(Nigeria) The Chairman, Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Sen. Andy Uba, has expressed the committee’s reservations over planned creation of additional polling units across the country.
Uba told newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday that although the committee was not questioning INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega's decision to create additional polling units, the timing was wrong.
He said the plan to create additional polling units was a good idea because it would decongest polling units.
The committee chairman said that when created, the polling units would have 500 voters each thereby making the process of voting less cumbersome.
Uba, however, urged Jega to suspend the idea till a better time.
``We have sent a letter to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, and we expressed our reservations over the planned creation of additional polling units across the country. What he is doing is good but the timing is wrong,’’ he said.
He also refuted claims by some people that the INEC chairman had an ulterior motive, adding that ``there is no ulterior motive in it that is not the issue’’.
Uba said the committee’s advise was because ``we are close to an election year and we have so many displaced people in the North-Eastern part of the country.”
The Senate, through its committee on INEC, on September 23 sent a letter to Jega advising him to suspend the planned additional polling units.

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