The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has commenced the conversion of existing voting points to Polling Units across Local Government Areas in Rivers State.
Resident Electoral Commissioner, INEC, Rivers State Obo Effanga, in a statement which was signed on his behalf by the Head, Voter Education and Publicity, Mark Usulor, said, staff of the Commission are now being deployed to the field to identify the locations of Polling Units (PUs) that already have voting points (VPs) with a view to converting such voting points to stand-alone PUs, based on the template approved by the Commission.
He stated that those Staff shall also proceed to identify locations for the siting of the new polling units, relying on scientifically generated data on the concentration of voters in the existing polling units. The commission clarified that no new or additional polling units will be created outside the conversion of existing voting points whose identity and locations are already established by the Commission.
As conditions for the expansion, Effanga called on members of communities in Rivers State to cooperate with INEC staff deployed for this important assignment by granting them unfettered access to all facilities and locations where the exercise will take place, warning against the clamour for new polling units as such efforts will end in futility following the need to adhere strictly to INEC’s guidelines for the exercise.
