Having bowed to the pressure from sections of the country, INEC suspended the creation of 30,000 poling units.

But the decision to suspend it is only a temporary measure until after the 2015 general elections.

The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Gombe State northeast Nigeria speaks on this and other issues in a chat with Correspondent Godfrey Obemeata.

INEC had in August disclosed plans to create 30,000 additional polling units for the 2015 general elections, a proposal which did not go down well a number of groups from sections of the country.

These groups based their argument on the disparity in the distribution of the said polling units where the North will have 21,000 as against the 8.000 in the south of the country.

INEC’s sudden U-turn will now douse the tension generated by the controversy, albeit temporarily.

Prof. Istifanus Dafwang is the Gombe INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner.

In the northeast of the country, thousands have been displaced due to the violence mainly in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States.

On the fate of the many eligible voters now taking refuge in Gombe State, this is what the Resident Electoral Commissioner has to say.

Even though the Electoral body is yet to lift the embargo on political campaigning, campaigning by aspiring candidates is fast gathering pace all over the country.

And on INEC’s failure to enforce the laid down directive, Prof. Dafwang seems to admit that its hands are tied.

According to the INEC timetable, the Presidential and National Assembly Elections are slated to hold on February 14, 2015 while the governorship and State assembly elections will hold on February 28.