Ahead of governorship in Bayelsa, Kogi, and Imo states, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday said it has recorded a shortfall of 6,154 adhoc staff for the conduct of the November 11 election.

The Commission, however, assured that the ad-hoc officials would be sourced from neighbouring states. INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, stated this at a two-day workshop on Election Reporting, Ethical Practices, Safety, and Conflict Sensitivity in Election Coverage in Akwanga, Nasarawa State.

Yakubu, represented by the National Commissioner, Prof. Kunle Ajayi, said the shortfall was observed at the close of online application for the recruitment of adhoc staff for the Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi governorship elections.
Yakubu did not state the reason for the shortfall.

He said: “Adhoc staff portal for the off-cycle governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States was opened on August 31, and closed October 2, at 12midnight.

“The summary of successful applicants shows that Bayelsa and Kogi have full complement of all categories of adhoc staff, while Imo has a shortfall of 6,154. The shortfall will be sourced from the neighbouring state,” Yakubu said.

Speaking further on the Commission’s preperations for the three states, he said all non-sensitive materials required for the polls had been deployed to the states.

He added that 55 media organisations, comprising 914 personnel had applied through the Commission’s portal for coverage of the elections as of October 13. He also said printing of party agents tags would commence on October 16.

“The Registration Area Center (RAC) and Collation Center assessment is completed. The engagement with RAC officials on Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for RAC management in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa has been completed. The Pre-Election Planning technical workshop (PEP) for Electoral Officers (Eos), Assistant Electoral Officers (AEOs), and Head of Units (HoU), for the states had been completed.

While warning against rising cases of misinformation, Ajayi stated that fake news was capable of having a negative impact on the management of elections in Nigeria if not nipped in the bud.

Ajayi described as distasteful, its experience with fake news, hate speech and misinformation during the 2023 general elections.

He said, “I would like at this juncture, to draw the attention of the media to a crucial issue that poses a serious threat to the election process in Nigeria. That is the issue of fake news.

“The Commission’s distasteful experience with fake news in the 2023 General Elections has shown that, if not nipped in the bud, fake news can become the bane of election management in Nigeria.

“The alarming prevalence of misinformation, ‘fake news’, hate speech, and the weaponization of disinformation has become very worrisome to the Commission.”