By Opeyemi Adelakun
The Independent National Electoral Commission has said it will deploy approximately 1.4 million ad hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide for the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Tuesday during a meeting with the International Republican Institute’s Pre-Election Assessment Mission delegation at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
The delegation was led by former United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Jendayi Frazier.
Amupitan said the scale of the deployment reflected the extensive logistical requirements of conducting the 2027 elections.
“In 2027, INEC will deploy a workforce of approximately 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel across more than 176,000 Polling Units nationwide,” he said.
The INEC chairman said the commission had commenced implementation of its operational roadmap for the elections, including Continuous Voter Registration and a comprehensive audit of the voter register.
He said the commission would deploy its Automated Biometric Identification System to detect and remove duplicate voter records and ensure the accuracy of the register.
Amupitan added that INEC was strengthening its logistics operations through early deployment frameworks and partnerships with transport unions to ensure polling units opened on time.
He said the commission would also improve access to polling units and provide specialised assistive devices for persons with disabilities, pregnant women, nursing mothers and elderly voters.
According to him, recent off-cycle elections provided INEC with an opportunity to test its technology, logistics and security arrangements ahead of the 2027 polls.
He noted that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and electronic transmission of polling unit result sheets through the INEC Result Viewing portal recorded upload rates above 98 per cent in recent off-cycle elections.
“Technology has permanently closed the door on legacy voting vulnerabilities, ensuring that the ballot box alone determines electoral outcomes,” Amupitan said.
However, he acknowledged that security threats, electoral violence, vote-buying, hate speech, disinformation and foreign information manipulation remained major challenges to the electoral process.
He said INEC was working with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, as well as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, to address the threats.
Amupitan also disclosed that INEC would participate in the signing of the First National Peace Accord on Issue-Based Campaigns by presidential candidates under the auspices of the National Peace Committee.
He said the IRI delegation’s visit, which began on August 11 and is expected to end on August 21, was timely as public campaigns for the 2027 general elections were scheduled to commence on Wednesday.
The INEC chairman said the commission welcomed international election observation missions as institutional partners whose assessments and recommendations could help strengthen Nigeria’s electoral process.
He assured the delegation of INEC’s transparency and cooperation ahead of the elections.
“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,” he said.
Leave a Reply