Nigeria: Are There 190,000 Polling Units in Nigeria As Former APC Chieftain, Bwala, Claimed?

2 August 2022
Daily Trust (Abuja)
By Hajara Hussaini

Daniel Bwala, a former special adviser on Legal Matters to Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, has claimed there are about 190,000 polling units in Nigeria.

The lawyer, who recently dumped APC, also maintained that a minimum of three party agents per party are required at the polling unit.

"There are about 190k polling units in Nigeria. A party needs a minimum of 3 agents in each polling unit; 570k human beings in total.

"That's structure existing not on social media. Anyway, it will be clearer as we approach elections. Insult is not a substitute for structure," he wrote in a tweet on Monday.

One Adeyemi commented, "So it's no longer one agent per polling unit, it's now three? Keep changing the narratives."

Verification

Checks by Daily Trust revealed that Bwala got his statistics wrong.

According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) website, there are only 176,846 polling units in Nigeria. The number of polling units has not gone beyond this since the commission converted 56,872 voting points and voting settlements into polling units in 2021 from 119,974 polling units. The move was made as part of preparations for the 2023 general elections.

Therefore, the actual number of approved polling units in Nigeria is 176,846, contrary to "about 190,000" claimed by Bwala.

Also, the minimum of agents allowed per polling unit is one and not three. However, political parties who have the financial capability and manpower have the liberty to deploy more agents per polling unit as they deem fit.

Conclusion

Daily Trust can confirm that Bwala's claim on Twitter are not true.

This Fact Check was produced in partnership with the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD).

Read the original article on Daily Trust.

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