The Independent National Electoral Commission has said it would deploy forty six thousand, eighty four ad-hoc staff for the November 11 governorship poll in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo states.
The INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu who disclosed this at a meeting with Residents Electoral Commissioners in Abuja on Friday, stated that accredited national and international organisations will deploy eleven thousand observers for the off-cycle election.
Mahmood said “While we are leaving no stone unturned in other areas of preparations for the Governorship elections, the Commission plans to deploy a total of 46,084 regular and ad hoc staff for the election.
“We have so far accredited 126 national and international organisations collectively deploying 11,000 observers for the election.”
Yakubu also added that the eighteen political parties participating in the governorship election would deploy over one hundred and thirty seven agents made up of over one hundred and thirty polling and over seven thousand collation agents.
He noted “Such massive deployment requires a secure environment which is beyond our immediate responsibilities as we said repeatedly, we are concerned about the prevailing insecurity and election-related violence in the three States. We have been reassured of adequate deployment by the security agencies.”
The commission expressed deep concern over the rising state of insecurity and election-related violence across the three states while noting that such massive deployment requires a secure environment which is beyond its immediate responsibilities.
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