BY now, it must be abundantly clear to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that its proposed allocation of extra polling units to the various states of the federation is unpopular and has been rejected by the generality of Nigerians.

The INEC had created additional 30,000 polling units bringing to 150,000 the total for the whole nation. Its intention, according to the Chairman of the electoral body, Prof. Attahiru Jega, was to increase the number of polling units to areas where voter turnouts have lately been noted to be bigger than the prescribed maximum number of voters per unit. But the sharing of the new units defied INEC’s self-defined logic and put out the Commission as though it had a ploy to shortchange some parts of country while favouring the others ahead of the 2014 general elections.

Since this issue became a subject of public discourse, large sections of the country have come out fully against it. These include political parties and interests, geopolitical groups, civil society groups and a broad spectrum of public commentators. Most of them have admitted that INEC’s intention to make polling units available to ease the pains of electors is noble, but the manner of allocation and the timing so close to the general polls demand that the idea be suspended for now.

We are happy that the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has dutifully waded into this contentious matter. In a letter titled: “Creation of Polling Units by INEC” and signed by the Chairman of the Committee on INEC, Senator Andy Uba, the Senate advised the Commission to postpone the project till after the election given the unfavourable response to it from the public and the short time before the next big elections. Senate sources added, however, that should the Commission go ahead with the programme it will be forced to issue a formal resolution against it.

We are fully in support of the call for the postponement of this scheme. After the election, the Commission can repackage it, ensuring equitable and acceptable distribution. We are now in a democracy, and the voice of the people must be respected when public institutions sustained on public funds make policies that will fundamentally affect the lives of the people.

We already have too much on our plate with the Boko Haram crisis and the usual flutters that go with transitional elections. We do not want to add to it an attempt to impose an unpopular measure that could precipitate unpleasant consequences.

The INEC should address itself to the residual matters that people always complain about on polling days, such as late arrival of electoral materials and officers. The Commission should not bite off more than it can chew.