By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has issued further clarification on the controversy surrounding split polling units in the February 21 Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), amid growing concerns from opposition parties.
In a statement on Tuesday, signed by Adedayo Oketola, Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman the electoral body insisted that no voter was migrated to new polling units in 2026, contrary to allegations from some political actors who claimed last-minute changes disenfranchised voters.
INEC acknowledged that while the election was successfully conducted, some voters experienced difficulty locating their designated polling units on Election Day, a development opposition parties have cited in questioning the transparency of the process.
The Commission explained that the disputed “split polling units” were not newly created but date back to February 2022 under its Expansion of Voters’ Access to Polling Units initiative. According to INEC, the exercise added over 56,000 polling units nationwide, raising the total from 119,972 to more than 176,000.
To populate the new units at the time, the Commission said about 6.7 million voters were redistributed from roughly 12,000 congested polling units to about 17,000 less crowded ones across the country. In the FCT alone, 411 polling units were decongested, with approximately 580,000 voters moved to 1,156 polling units.
Despite the clarification, opposition figures have maintained that the difficulties experienced by voters, particularly in locating their voting points — could have affected turnout and confidence in the exercise.
INEC, however, stressed that no fresh migration occurred in 2026 and that split polling units merely represent additional voting points within the same premises, typically only a few metres from the original units. The measure, it said, is designed to ease accreditation, reduce overcrowding in polling units with more than 1,250 registered voters, and speed up voting.
The Commission further disclosed that after observing persistent voter confusion during a mock election in the FCT, it sent text messages and emails between February 18 and 21, 2026, to affected voters to help them identify their correct locations.
Reiterating its commitment to improving electoral service delivery, INEC urged voters to verify their polling details ahead of elections using its online Polling Unit Locator and, where possible, physically visit their polling units before Election Day.
