INEC ready to deploy over 1.4m personnel for 2027 elections – Official

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it would deploy 1,414,768 ad hoc personnel for the conduct of the 2027 general elections, highlighting the massive manpower requirement for Nigeria’s largest electoral exercise.

This was disclosed by the acting Chairman of INEC, Prof Rhoda Gumus, on Tuesday when she received the African Union (AU) pre-election assessment mission, led by former Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister, Demeke Mekonnen, at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

Gumus said the commission was preparing to deploy more than 1.4 million personnel across 176,846 polling units nationwide as the voter population approaches 100 million.

“We are preparing to accredit and facilitate voting for a voter population rapidly consolidating towards the 100 million mark, deployed across 176,846 polling units and supported by ad hoc staff workforce that is exceeding even 1.4 million personnel,” she said.

INEC had earlier disclosed that it would require 707,384 ad hoc staff for each of the two election dates, bringing the total to 1,414,768 personnel.

The commission deployed about 1.2 million ad hoc personnel during the 2023 general elections, with more than 70 per cent of the workforce, nearly 850,000 personnel, drawn from members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and student volunteers.

Gumus said the scale of the 2027 exercise required the commission to place particular emphasis on operational readiness, training, logistics and the deployment of technology.

She said INEC was seeking technical assistance from the AU in digital training, including the expansion of e-learning tools, digital simulation models and standardised ICT training protocols to ensure uniform operational competence among election personnel.

​”The Commission highlights the following key areas where technical, institutional, and electoral assistance from the African Union would be invaluable:

​Ad hoc workforce digital training methodologies suggests scaling interactive e-learning tools, digital simulation models, and standardised ICT training protocols for over 1.4 million ad hoc staff to ensure uniform operational compliance across all the polling units.

Gumus said the Electoral Monitoring and Support Centre would also require further strengthening as INEC’s operational tracking and early-warning mechanism ahead of the elections.

“The commission also wants support in tackling election-related misinformation and disinformation, including technical assistance on artificial intelligence-driven deepfake detection and rapid-response strategic communications.

She added that recent off-cycle elections had provided the commission with an opportunity to test and refine its electoral procedures ahead of 2027.

According to her, the August 15, 2026 Osun state governorship election recorded early polling-unit opening rates exceeding 94 per cent, while the commission also assessed the performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), logistics and inter-agency security coordination.

She said INEC was also working with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and implementing the Continuous Voter Registration exercise to strengthen the voters’ register ahead of the 2027 polls.

“Through our strategic collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission and the implementation of our continuous voter registration portal, we have systematically integrated National Identification Numbers to audit, verify, and clean our national voter register, ensuring that Africa’s largest democratic identity roll enters the 2027 polls with unassailable integrity.”

However, she acknowledged that deploying more than 1.4 million personnel across a country as geographically vast and operationally complex as Nigeria presented significant logistical, technological and security challenges.

Speaking earlier, leader of the AU delegation mission, Demeke Mekonnen, said the Mission would assess Nigeria’s preparedness across the entire electoral cycle, including pre-election, election-day and post-election processes.

Mekonnen identified voter registration, logistics, funding, security, inclusion, transparency, accountability and public trust among the issues the mission would examine during its September 13 to 19 assessment.

He said the mission would engage INEC and other stakeholders to identify gaps and recommend possible remedies ahead of the elections.

The former Ethiopian deputy prime minister stressed that the credibility of an election depended on its transparency, fairness, accountability and public confidence in the electoral process.

He also identified security as a critical component of election management, particularly given the scale of Nigeria’s electoral operations.

“The purpose of this mission, our task is just a supportive mission… You know, as a minimum standard, the election process has to be credible, transparent, fair, and the landscape also again has to be fair to all players… inclusive, and that… should be really acceptable within that standard.

“So, considering this, we’re here to check and to hear from your side the overall preparations, preparedness, how would INEC assess its overall readiness for the 2027 general elections, and what are the main remaining risks and gaps.

“The other one is, as you know, the logistics and related issues. Logistical and operational activities are the most crucial in managing such election in this great country in terms of population, in terms of geography, and in terms of multiple characters. So, what are the most significant logistical challenges and how is INEC addressing them?

“The other one is the funding issue for this general election. I think, has INEC received adequate and timely funding through parliament for all the election process?

“This is a really very important one. To be credible, to be fair and to be transparent, the necessary resource is very crucial, on time.”