The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) reports that about 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 during a courtesy visit to Olakunle Nafiu, the NYSC director-general, at the Yakubu Gowon House in Abuja.
He said the meeting with the NYSC senior management team was an honour, and that he was on a mission of sincere gratitude rather than a formal courtesy visit.
He stated that corps members have participated in most election cycles since 1999 and that INEC cannot hold 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, INEC deployed almost 1.2 million ad hoc staff, with more than 70% of the manpower coming from the ranks of the NYSC and student volunteers.
Speaking on the manpower needed for the next 2027 elections, the chairman stated that around 1.4 million ad hoc staff would be hired, with corps members constituting 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 stated that in many states, corps members made up almost 90 percent of 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 corps members’ contributions have often come at a high cost, stating that the commission does not take this for granted.
He said that the commission remains dedicated to working with the NYSC and security agencies to ensure that safety protocols are rigorously followed to protect every corps member on assignment.
“We are constantly refining our insurance and welfare packages to reflect the value we place on their lives,” he said.
