Ahead of the 2023 polls, Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that it has created an additional 6,390 polling units across Oyo State since the last elections in 2019.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr Rahmon Tella, who disclosed this to governorship candidates and security chiefs at a peace accord signing meeting in Ibadan, added that 340,938 new valid voters have also been registered.
Tella was explaining the improvements which the commission has brought to the election process since after the last general election, assuring stakeholders that INEC was fully prepared to make the 2023 election free, fair and credible if politicians and other stakeholders play their roles according to rules.
He said the new polling units, which have brought the total to 6,390 in the state, were aimed at widening access to voting exercise for citizens both in existing and new communities across the state.
According to him, the additional polling units were created in areas where existing units were overpopulated and new communities springing up in towns and cities. With the development, voters will no longer face the hardship of having to travel back to where they used to live before casting their votes.
On new registrants, Tella explained that though a total of 396,229 applicants completed fresh registration, about 340,938 were valid.
He said: “Out of the completed 396,229 fresh registration, about 340,938 remained valid registrants, having about 55,291 (14%) invalid registrants in totality.”
With the additional registrants, total registered voters in Oyo State, which was 2,934,107 in 2019, has now increased to approximately 3,175,045 for the 2023 election.
Tella reiterated that a total about 743,693 permanent voter cards were yet to be collected.
