The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has disclosed that it would deploy no fewer than 20,000 ad-hoc staff for the conduct of the September 19 governorship poll in Edo State.

 The revelation was made by Professor Bolade Eyinla, the Technical Advisor to INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu,  who during a virtual meeting with journalists in Edo organized by the International Press Council, IPC, on the role of journalists in Edo election.

 Eyinla disclosed that the recruitment of the 20,000 ad-hoc staff would be done through INEC’s portal which he said had been opened revealing that the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members serving in Edo would constitute a larger percentage of the number of the ad-hoc staff, while the rest would be selected from the INEC ad-hoc recruitment portal. In his words:

 “The youth corps members will constitute the larger percentage because they will be deployed mostly as presiding officers. The online recruitment is essential to create a database of election workers toward the conduct of the election.”

“Also ongoing is the training of all security personnel to be deployed for the election. INEC has also come up with a code of conduct and rules of engagement for the security agencies.”

“The code of conduct and rules of engagement will be distributed to all the security personnel deployed for the election to guide them properly.”