The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) on Friday disclosed move to recruit over 1.4 million ad-hoc staff in preparation ahead of the 2023 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, in a keynote address delivered at the launch of Yiaga Africa Election Result Analysis Dashboard (ERAD) Report on Electronic Transmission of Results in the 2022 Ekiti and Osun Governorship Elections in Abuja.
Mahmood said number of ad-hoc staff to be deployed by INEC for the 2023 general election is above number of personnel of both the military and police, which indicates the magnitude of the election exercise.
He said: “How many ad-hoc staff are we going to employ at polling unit level for the 2023 general elections? Is over 700,000, so that is 1.4 million ad-hoc staff at polling unit level for the 2023 general elections – the national and state elections, that is excluding our regular staff and other categories of other ad-hoc staff as collation and returning officers.
“The number of ad-hoc staff to be deployed by INEC for the 2023 general election is more than the combined strength of the police and armed forces in Nigeria.
“This gives you an idea of the size of what we are dealing with when it comes to election management in the country.
“Also, hands on training may be required to ensure that all those involved throughout the value chain of the exercise are fully ready for what is bound to be a major outing during the 2023 general election. It is actually going to be a major test for us and for the nation and we are bracing for that.”
He also maintained that the commission has increased transparency and confidence of Nigerians in the election result management process in the country.