The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to deploy more than 1.4 million ad hoc personnel, most of them drawn from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.
The disclosure was made by Professor Joash Amupitan, INEC Chairman, during a strategic courtesy visit by a high-level INEC delegation to the NYSC headquarters in Abuja.
The planned deployment marks a significant increase from the 1.2 million ad hoc personnel engaged during the 2023 general elections.
The INEC delegation, which included National Commissioners, directors, senior aides, and the Secretary to the Commission, was received by the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, alongside members of the scheme’s management team at the Yakubu Gowon House in Abuja.
Speaking during the visit, Amupitan praised corps members for their continued contribution to Nigeria’s electoral process, describing them as disciplined, patriotic, neutral, and technologically competent, particularly in operating the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
According to him, corps members played a critical role in safeguarding the integrity of the 2023 elections.
“In many states, corps members accounted for nearly 90 per cent of Registration Area Officers and Presiding Officers. They protected the sanctity of the ballot across 176,846 polling units nationwide,” he said.
The INEC chairman also acknowledged the risks associated with election duties and assured the NYSC leadership that the commission would improve insurance coverage, welfare packages, and security arrangements for corps members participating in future elections.
INEC noted that corps members have remained central to election operations since 1999, serving mainly as presiding officers and registration area officers across polling units nationwide.
The commission revealed that more than 70 per cent of the 1.2 million ad hoc personnel deployed during the 2023 elections — approximately 850,000 individuals — were corps members and student volunteers.
Providing further details on preparations for the 2027 elections, Amupitan disclosed that INEC would require 707,384 corps members and ad hoc personnel for the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027.
Another 707,384 personnel will be deployed for the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections slated for February 6, 2027.
He added that additional manpower would also be needed for off-cycle governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states, as well as bye-elections in Nasarawa, Enugu, Rivers, Ondo, Kebbi, and Kano states.
INEC recently revised the timetable for the 2027 general elections, fixing the presidential and National Assembly polls for January 16, 2027, following the repeal of the Electoral Act 2022 and the introduction of the Electoral Act 2026.
Under the revised timetable, governorship and State Assembly elections will now hold on February 6, 2027, instead of March 6.
Earlier this year, INEC informed the National Assembly that it would require N873.78 billion to conduct the 2027 general elections, in addition to N171 billion earmarked for operations in 2026.
The proposed budget represents a sharp increase from the N313.4 billion spent on the 2023 general elections.
