The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says over 1.4 million members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) will be deployed for the 2027 general election.
Joash Amupitan, INEC chairman, spoke on Monday when he paid
a courtesy visit to Olakunle Nafiu, the director-general of the NYSC, at the
Yakubu Gowon House.
Amupitan said the meeting with the NYSC senior management
team was an honour, adding that he was not just on a formal courtesy visit, but
on a mission of profound gratitude.
He said corps members have participated in most election
cycles since 1999, and that INEC cannot conduct elections in Nigeria without
the NYSC.
“As the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), I am honoured to have the opportunity to discuss our
collaborative efforts toward ensuring a seamless and credible electoral process
in Nigeria,” he said.
“You provide the heartbeat of our field operations. When we
speak of election manpower, we are essentially speaking of your corps members.
They are the most dedicated, educated, and patriotic election duty staff we
have, and their presence at the polling units brings a level of neutrality and
public confidence that is irreplaceable.
“They form the backbone of our election processes,
especially as ad hoc staff, whose dedication, discipline, and patriotism are
critical to the success of our elections.”
Amupitan explained that for the 2023 election exercise, INEC
deployed approximately 1.2 million ad hoc staff, noting that it was a
staggering fact that over 70 percent of that massive workforce were drawn from
the ranks of the NYSC and student volunteers.
Speaking on the workforce required for the forthcoming 2027
elections, the chairman said over 1.4 million ad hoc staff would be engaged,
with corps members being in the majority as usual.
“For the 2027 general election, we would need 707,384 ad hoc
staff (corps members) for the Presidential and National Assembly election on
January 16, 2027; the same number would be required for the Governorship and
Houses of Assembly election on February 6, 2027, making a total of 1,414,768,”
he said.
“For the Ekiti State and Osun State governorship elections
and the bye-elections in Nasarawa, Enugu, Rivers, Ondo, Kebbi and Kano states,
we will need 52,446 corps members.”
The INEC chairman said in many states, corps members
accounted for nearly 90 percent of the registration area officers and presiding
officers.
“These young Nigerians did not just facilitate voting; they
protected the sanctity of the ballot in 176,846 polling units across the most
difficult terrains of this country,” he said.
“It was the digital proficiency of your corps members that
ensured the seamless performance of our bimodal voter accreditation system
(BVAS), proving they are the tech-savvy backbone of our modern democracy. Their
resilience ensured that the democratic process in the Anambra and FCT council
polls remained uninterrupted despite local complexities.”
He also acknowledged that the contribution of the corps
members had often come at a heavy price, noting that the commission does not
take this for granted.
He said the commission remained committed to working with
the NYSC and security agencies to ensure that safety protocols are strictly
enforced to protect every corps member on duty.
“We are constantly refining our insurance and welfare
packages to reflect the value we place on their lives,” he said.
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