The Independent National Electoral Commission has said it will mobilise over 1.4 million ad hoc personnel, largely from the National Youth Service Corps, for the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, disclosed this during a courtesy visit by a high-level delegation of the commission to the NYSC headquarters in Abuja, describing corps members as central to the conduct of elections in Nigeria.
According to a statement issued by the commission on Monday, Amupitan said the engagement was beyond a routine visit, noting that it was a deliberate effort to appreciate the scheme’s long-standing support for electoral processes.
He said, “Corps members have consistently formed the backbone of INEC’s election operations since 1999, serving as presiding officers and registration area officers across polling units nationwide.”
The INEC boss revealed that the commission would require 707,384 corps members for the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, and another 707,384 for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly polls slated for February 6, 2027.
He added that additional personnel would be deployed for off-cycle governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states, as well as bye-elections in Nasarawa, Enugu, Rivers, Ondo, Kebbi, and Kano states.
Amupitan recalled that during the 2023 general elections, about 1.2 million ad hoc staff were engaged, with over 70 per cent—nearly 850,000—drawn from corps members and student volunteers.
He commended the corps members for their patriotism, discipline, neutrality, and digital competence, particularly in operating the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System.
“In many states, corps members accounted for nearly 90 per cent of registration area officers and presiding officers, safeguarding the integrity of the ballot across 176,846 polling units,” he said.
Acknowledging the risks associated with election duties, the INEC chairman assured that the commission would strengthen insurance, welfare, and security arrangements for corps members engaged in electoral assignments.
Responding, NYSC Director-General, Olakunle Nafiu, described the partnership between both institutions as enduring and strategic.
He said corps members remained “credible, reliable, patriotic, and easily trainable manpower,” adding that the scheme was committed to supporting INEC in delivering credible elections.
Nafiu also called for improved welfare, compensation, and insurance packages for corps members deployed for election duties, stressing that better support would boost morale and efficiency.
He noted that the exit of the last batch of millennials from the scheme would usher in a new generation of digitally savvy Gen Z corps members whose ICT skills would enhance modern electoral operations.
The NYSC boss assured that the scheme would fully mobilise its members and administrative personnel to support INEC in the successful conduct of the 2027 elections.
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