The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has said the commission is working with security agencies to secure the 750,000 ad hoc staff to be deployed for the February general elections.
Jega, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Kayode Idowu, in a telephone interview on Friday said the recruitment of electoral officers for the exercise was ongoing.
He said, “People are applying online and the commission needs about 750,000 staff for the elections. It is not going to be just National Youth Service Corps members because they, alone, cannot provide that. Students of federal tertiary institutions are also going to be among (them).”
According to Idowu, the priority of the commission has always been the security of its ad hoc staff.
He stated incidents of brutality against its staff by high-handed security operatives, as witnessed during the 2011 polls, would be prevented.
Idowu said, “Even before electoral workers are allowed to embark on their assignments, their security has been arranged for. We are working very closely with security agencies in that regard. That is why we are hopeful that the kind of things that happened in 2011 will not happen again.
“Don’t forget that is part of the reason we are using Permanent Voter Cards this time. We don’t expect that those who are underage would have possession of PVCs anyway. Using the PVCs will be a way of discouraging that kind of thing from happening.”
source: nigerianeye
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