By Awaal Gata
Abuja
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended its proposed creation of additional polling units across the country.
A press statement by the Commission’s Secretary, Mrs. Augusta C. Ogakwu, after officials of the Commission met in Abuja yesterday, said the plan was suspended because of the controversies that trailed it.
Blueprint recalls that in August, INEC announced plans of creating 30,000 additional polling units across the country before next year’s elections.
Following the announcement, some aggrieved parties protested, saying that it was a plot to favour a section of the country based on the numbers allocated to regions.
A number of individuals and groups also took INEC to court over the issue.
However, Mrs Ogakwu said the issue was overheating the polity, and it became important for the Commission to suspend it for now.
She said: “Taking everything into consideration, especially the controversy over creation of additional polling units that has been overheating the polity, and the apparent inadequacy of time for the exercise, the Commission took a decision to suspend the exercise until after the 2015 general elections.”
Sh, however, disclosed that the Commission would continue with the use of Voting Points, where necessary, to mitigate population pressure in overcrowded polling units during the forthcoming elections.
According to her, polling units will also be relocated from “unsuitable locations” and INEC, in the same vein, will ensure that they are located in enclosures such as classrooms, rather than in open spaces.