We discovered 19 illegal polling units in Akwa Ibom, INEC claims

The Independent National Electoral Commission says it has discovered 19 illegal polling units in Akwa Ibom State.

It said that the illegal polling units were variously located in hotels, church and mosques, among other ludicrous places.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Mike Igini, disclosed this at the Enlarged Stakeholders’ Forum in Uyo.

The REC said that the illegal polling units were in Obot Akara and Uyo Local Government Areas, adding that some of the polling units were located in hotels, church, and mosques, among others.

He said that INEC found that the polling units concerned were located in violation of its guidelines; adding that there was the need to relocate and rename some polling units in the state.

Igini urged the people not to see the relocation of the polling units as a creation of new polling units, stressing that no new polling units had been created.

The REC cautioned politicians who might have plans to rig the 2019 general elections to desist, warning that the “INEC of today has evolved beyond rigging.”

Igini said INEC had “advanced to a level where everything is tracked.“

“We must conduct an election that will be accepted by the people without recourse to the tribunals. We have done it elsewhere and we will do it here.

“You are going to have little or minimal petitions. Election is a time where the independence and integrity of institutions like INEC, security agencies and judiciary are tested.”

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi, pledged the neutrality of the Police to ensure that all forms of intimidation on the electorate were eliminated during and after the exercise.