The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has formally requested the deployment of over 1.4 million Corps members for the 2027 general election saying the NYSC members remain an integral part of the election umpire’s assignment.
The Commission’s Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan said this when he paid a visit to NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu at the Corps’ headquarters in Abuja on Monday.
Amupitan explained that 707,384 corps members would be required for the Presidential and National Assembly election scheduled for January 16, 2027, and the same number for the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly election on February 6, 2027 — bringing the combined total to 1,414,768.
An additional 52,446 corps members would be needed for the Ekiti and Osun Governorship Polls and bye-elections in Nasarawa, Enugu, Rivers, Ondo, Kebbi, and Kano states.
The figures represent a substantial jump from the 2023 general election, where INEC deployed approximately 1.2 million ad-hoc staff with over 70 per cent — nearly 850,000 individuals — drawn from the NYSC ranks and student volunteers.
Amupitan says Corps members accounted for nearly 90 per cent of registration area officers and presiding officers in many states during the 2023 cycle.
Beyond 2027, Amupitan says the commission is preparing for off-cycle governorship elections in Ekiti on June 20 and Osun on August 16, which he described as a critical litmus tests for INEC’s innovations before the 2027 general election.
Responding, the Director General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Nafiu recalled that the memorandum of understanding between the two organisations was finalised in 2011 and had been periodically renewed as he pledged NYSC’s support for both the 2027 General Elections and the upcoming off-cycle polls.
The D.G also noted that Corps members were credible, reliable and easily trainable, adding that the imminent transition from millennial to Generation Z corps members — known for their digital proficiency — would further benefit INEC’s technology-driven accreditation systems.
(Editor: Anoyoyo Ogiagboviogie)
