Africa Today News, New York, has learned through reliable sources that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will enlist the services of 40,000 Ad hoc staff members for the governorship elections taking place on November 11, 2023, in Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi states.
The tenure of the sitting Governor of Imo State is scheduled to come to a close on January 14, 2024, whereas the terms of the Governors in Kogi and Bayelsa states will end on January 26, 2024, and February 13, 2024, respectively.
In 2019, the commission allocated approximately 24,000 temporary personnel for the Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections, which occurred on November 16.
In preparation for the off-cycle elections scheduled for November, INEC initiated the recruitment of ad hoc staff by opening its portal on August 31.
Attempts to ascertain the number of ad hoc staff that the commission intends to deploy were unsuccessful.
Read also: INEC Has Betrayed The Trust Of Nigerians – Osinbajo’s Aide
The commission has disclosed that Bayelsa state holds 2,244 polling units, while Kogi state is home to 3,508 polling units, and Imo State boasts 4,758 polling units.
With a combined total of 10,510 polling units across these three states, the commission will assign one presiding officer and three assistant presiding officers to each unit, resulting in a deployment of 42,040 ad hoc staff.
In addition to the Presiding Officers (POs) and Assistant Presiding Officers (APOs), the commission has designated Supervisory Presiding Officers who will be responsible for the administration of various polling units.
INEC has confirmed that all non-sensitive materials have been delivered to the three states.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, told our correspondent, ‘We have supplied all the non-sensitive materials needed for the elections and they are now being batched for the various Registration Areas in the states.’
The process of collecting Permanent Voter Cards kicked off on September 11, 2023, and is slated to end on October 9, 2023.