INEC To Deploy 1.4m Ad-hoc Staff For 2027 Elections – Amupitan

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it plans to deploy about 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units for the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja when he received a Pre-Election Assessment Mission (PEAM) delegation of the International Republican Institute (IRI).

Amupitan said the Commission had commenced full-scale preparations for the 2027 elections following the successful conduct of the recent Ekiti and Osun governorship elections.

He described the IRI mission, which is in Nigeria from August 11 to 21, as timely, particularly as public campaigns and rallies for the 2027 elections are scheduled to officially begin on Wednesday, August 19.

According to him, INEC has been using recent off-cycle elections and legislative by-elections as “live operational stress tests” for its technology, logistics and security arrangements.

He said the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the real-time display of polling unit results through the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal had recorded upload rates of more than 98 per cent in recent off-cycle elections.

Amupitan said the Commission would continue to strengthen its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and audit of the voters’ register through the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) to eliminate duplicate records.

He also listed logistics optimisation and improved early deployment of personnel and materials among the Commission’s priorities ahead of the 2027 polls.

The INEC chairman said the Commission was working to ensure polling units opened on time nationwide, while strengthening partnerships with transport unions to improve the movement of electoral personnel and materials.

He added that INEC was expanding its inclusivity framework to improve access to polling units and provide specialised assistance for persons with disabilities, pregnant women, nursing mothers and elderly voters.

Amupitan, however, acknowledged security challenges, electoral violence, vote-buying, hate speech, disinformation and foreign information manipulation and interference as major threats to the electoral process.

He said INEC was working with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), as well as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to enforce electoral laws and tackle campaign finance violations and electoral offences.

The chairman also disclosed that INEC would participate later on Tuesday in the signing of the First National Peace Accord on Issue-Based Campaigns organised by the National Peace Committee.

He said the accord would help promote political civility ahead of the 2027 elections.

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Amupitan assured the IRI delegation of INEC’s transparency and cooperation during its assessment mission and ahead of the international election observation mission for the 2027 general elections.

“INEC holds no preference for any political party or candidate,” he said.

“Our sole mandate is to serve as an uncompromising, impartial umpire dedicated to delivering a free, fair, credible, transparent, and inclusive election that reflects the sovereign will of the Nigerian people.”

The IRI delegation is led by Ambassador Jendayi Frazier, a former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and former US Ambassador to South Africa.