The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has directed voters to send SMS to any of its dedicated lines in order to locate or confirm their polling units for the 2023 general election.
INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu stated this in a message to Nigerians on Friday in Abuja.
Yakubu advised voters to text their voting states, last name, and the last six digits of their Voter Identification Number (VIN) to any of the lines- 09062830860, 09062830861, for example FCT Magaji 445322.
He stated that INEC had implemented a number of innovations facilitated by technology to make voting more credible and transparent in the 2023 general election.
Yakubu also stated that INEC had improved voter access to polling units by establishing 56,872 new polling units in order to provide Nigerians with a more pleasant election day experience.
“As I have said repeatedly, the right to vote can only be exercised where there is a place to vote.
“Arising from the recent mock accreditation exercise nationwide using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), some voters turned up at the wrong polling units.
“This happened both in cases where voters have been migrated to other polling units by the commission and even where they voluntarily chose new voting locations during the last Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
“We believe that there could be other voters in the same situation. This challenge must be addressed so that it does not happen on election day,” he said.
Yakubu added that in order to ease the process, the commission was sending bulk phone text messages (SMS) to Nigerians voting in new polling units.
He said that similarly, the register of such voters for each state had been sent to the Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) for publicity, particularly through messages in local languages.
“Furthermore, the commission is offering two unique ways by which all voters can locate and confirm their polling units before election day.
“This can be done by sending a normal text message or by simply visiting our website.
“The detailed procedure is attached to this message and also uploaded to our website and social media platforms,” he said.
Yakubu said that registered voters could also send inquiries to INEC public outreach platforms shown in the attached procedure.
He urged all eligible voters to confirm their voting locations, ahead of election day.
“In doing so, you would be contributing to our avowed commitment to deliver credible, inclusive, transparent elections,” Yakubu said.
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