Written by
Ishioma Appiah-Yeboah
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, says it will deploy more than one point four million members of the National Youth Service Corps for the 2027 general election.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, disclosed this during a courtesy visit to the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, at the NYSC headquarters in Abuja.
Professor Amupitan described the partnership between INEC and the NYSC as critical to the success of Nigeria’s democracy, noting that the electoral body cannot conduct elections in the country without corps members.
According to him, corps members remain the backbone of INEC’s field operations because of their neutrality, discipline, and dedication during elections.
He revealed that for the 2027 polls, INEC would require more than seven hundred thousand corps members each for the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, and the Governorship and State Assembly elections billed for February 6, 2027.
The combined figure, he said, brings the total number of corps members expected to participate in the elections to over one point four million.
The INEC chairman also disclosed that additional corps members would be deployed for off-cycle governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states, as well as bye-elections in Nasarawa, Enugu, Rivers, Ondo, Kebbi, and Kano states.
Reflecting on the 2023 general election, Amupitan said INEC deployed about one point two million ad hoc staff, with nearly eight hundred and fifty thousand drawn from the NYSC and student volunteers.
He added that corps members played a major role in protecting the integrity of the electoral process across more than one hundred and seventy-six thousand polling units nationwide.
The INEC chairman further praised the digital competence of corps members, especially in the operation of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, during recent elections.
He, however, acknowledged the risks often faced by corps members during election duties and assured that INEC would continue working with security agencies to strengthen safety measures and improve welfare packages for election personnel.
In his response, the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, reaffirmed the scheme’s commitment to supporting INEC in delivering credible elections.
He described corps members as reliable, trainable, and digitally savvy manpower capable of contributing meaningfully to the electoral process.
The NYSC DG also promised continued collaboration with INEC ahead of the 2027 general elections and other off-cycle polls across the country.