The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it would require 530,538 security officers to for the peaceful conduct of the 2023 elections. 

INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu, who stated this on Tuesday during a briefing at the Chatham House in London, said that the electoral body also required 707,384 electoral officials for the exercise. 

“For the 2023 general elections, the commission requires at least 707,384 presiding and assistant presiding officers, about 17,685 supervisory presiding officers, 9,620 collation/returning officers as well as 530,538 polling unit security officials, making a total of 1,265,227,” Mr Yakubu said. 

INEC had slated February 25, for the presidential and national assembly elections, while governorship and state assembly elections were fixed for March 11.

The electoral body also stated that 18 political parties have fielded candidates for the presidential poll. 

Speaking further, Mr Yakubu said that the electoral body was adequately preparing its officials for their roles as polling officials, and supervisors for the exercise. 

“These are not staff of the commission and must be painstakingly recruited and trained to ensure that they are both fit-for-purpose and non-partisan. 

“However, the greatest number of election officials in Nigeria are these temporary or ad hoc staff recruited principally from among young Nigerian university and polytechnic graduates enrolled in the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps, students of tertiary institutions, staff of federal agencies and university lecturers,” the INEC chair said.  

He said that the security challenges in the country posed a great threat to achieving credible elections. 

According to him, violence has also made election deployment difficult especially where some of the attacks were directed at the electoral process and its offices. 

Despite this, the INEC chairman further stressed that the electoral body was going ahead with the 2023 general elections as earlier scheduled.