The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to deploy over 1.4 million ad hoc staff, largely drawn from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), for the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, disclosed this during a strategic courtesy visit to the NYSC headquarters at Yakubu Gowon House in Abuja, where he led a high-powered delegation of National Commissioners, directors, and senior aides.
The delegation was received by the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, alongside members of the scheme’s senior management team.
Speaking during the meeting, Prof. Amupitan described the visit as more than a routine engagement, calling it “a mission of profound gratitude” to an institution that has remained central to the conduct of elections in Nigeria.
He noted that corps members have consistently formed the backbone of INEC’s election workforce since 1999, particularly serving as Presiding Officers and Registration Area Officers across polling units nationwide.
According to the INEC chairman, the commission deployed about 1.2 million ad hoc staff during the 2023 general elections, with more than 70 per cent — nearly 850,000 personnel — made up of corps members and student volunteers.
Providing details of preparations for the 2027 elections, Amupitan revealed that INEC would require 707,384 corps members for the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, and another 707,384 personnel for the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections fixed for February 6, 2027.
He added that additional personnel would also be needed for off-cycle governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states, as well as bye-elections expected in Nasarawa, Enugu, Rivers, Ondo, Kebbi, and Kano states.
The INEC chairman commended corps members for their patriotism, neutrality, discipline, and technological competence, particularly in operating the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
“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.
Amupitan also acknowledged the risks associated with election duties and assured the NYSC leadership that INEC was committed to improving welfare packages, insurance coverage, and security arrangements for corps members deployed during elections.
Responding, NYSC Director-General Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu praised the long-standing partnership between the two institutions, describing corps members as “credible, reliable, patriotic, and easily trainable manpower.”
He assured INEC of the scheme’s continued support in delivering free, fair, and credible elections across the country.
Nafiu further noted that the outgoing generation of millennials in the scheme would soon be replaced by digitally skilled Gen Z corps members whose ICT proficiency would further strengthen modern electoral operations.
He, however, appealed for better welfare, compensation, and insurance packages for corps members participating in election assignments, stressing that adequate support would motivate them to continue serving the nation diligently.
The NYSC Director-General reaffirmed the scheme’s commitment to mobilising corps members and administrative personnel for the forthcoming elections as part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy.
