The Imo State House of Assembly yesterday condemned the 30,000 new polling units created by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saying it was heavily lopsided to favour the North in the race for the 2015 presidential election.
The INEC had created the additional 30,000 polling units across Nigeria in order to decongest other polling units and to make it easier for voters to cast their votes bringing the total number of polling units now in the country to 150,000.
But, in a motion sponsored by the member representing Isiala Mbano State Constituency, Simeon Iwunze and supported by all the members of the House, the lawmakers rejected the additional polling units, saying out of the 30,000 new units, nearly 22,000 was given to the North while the entire South got only 8,000.
The House, which resumed sitting after three months recess, called on the Federal Government to prevail on the INEC to stop the on-going review of the voters’ register in the state and distribution of the permanent voters’ card till the polling units were adequately distributed amongst states on number of registered voters.
According to Iwunze, “this wicked action by Prof. Attahiru Jega” was meant to rig the 2015 election in favour of the north and made the South East awfully inferior to other geographic zones.
He stated that the only consideration more polling units would be created in any given area was the number of registered voters and not the population of that area.
In this guise, Iwunze lamented that whereas the least populated state in South East, Ebonyi, had nearly 900,000 registered voters higher than the Federal Capital Territory that had about 800,000 registered voters in 2011, there was no justification that INEC should allocate 1200 additional polling units while the entire South East was merely allocated 1100 additional polling units.
He wondered why Igbo leaders should keep quiet about the “wicket action” by the INEC, saying if it was an Igbo that took the action, trouble would have ensued in the country over it.
The lawmaker recalled how the former chairman of the National Population Commission, NPC, Eze Festus Odumegwu, was booted out from office for only making comments that condemned the errors in the nation’s census system in the past and urged the federal government to revisit Jega’s.
Also speaking, the deputy speaker and member representing Oru West State Constituency, Donatus Ozoemena lamented that the INEC’s action was meant to put the Igbo at a disadvantaged position, adding that whatever happened in the country was always done to cheat the Igbo.
According to him, the Igbo still have five states as against six and seven by other zones, less number of local government areas and even in the federal appointments, adding that INEC’s action had shown that Igbo had no stake in the country.
The members for Mbaitoli, Ikeduru and Ezinihitte Mbaise State Constituencies, Victor Ndunagu, Samuel Anyanwu and Obioma Ekennia respectively, expressed surprise that since that action was taken by the INEC, no other House of Assembly in the South East nor any Igbo leader had raised an eyebrow about that action.
They alleged that that action was meant to stop the South East from getting the additional state recommended for the zone by the just conclude National Conference.
