morganaBLE Politics/elections
The moves come ahead of the deadlines set by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the submission of polling agents’ names, with parties expressing determination to meet the requirements and protect their electoral interests.
Kano —
Political parties are stepping up preparations to deploy thousands of polling agents across the country’s 176,846 polling units ahead of the 2027 general elections, as they seek to protect their votes and strengthen their presence at the grassroots.
The ruling All Progressives Congress, African Democratic Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, Nigeria Democratic Congress and other political parties said they were working out strategies to ensure adequate representation at polling units nationwide.
While some parties plan to rely on their existing political structures, loyalists and financially capable candidates to recruit and deploy agents, others are exploring partnerships with organised labour and volunteers to achieve nationwide coverage.
The preparations include identifying credible party members, training officials on the recruitment and registration process, mobilising volunteers and making financial arrangements to sustain the exercise.
The moves come ahead of the deadlines set by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the submission of polling agents’ names, with parties expressing determination to meet the requirements and protect their electoral interests.
INEC, in accordance with Section 43(1) of the Electoral Act 2027, has fixed December 10, 2026, as the deadline for political parties to submit the names of their polling unit agents to electoral officers at the local government level for the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027.
The commission also fixed January 6, 2027, as the deadline for submitting agents’ names for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections scheduled for February 6, 2027.
Under the electoral process, polling agents play an important role in monitoring proceedings at polling units, observing the accreditation and voting processes, witnessing the counting of ballots and protecting their parties’ interests during the collation of results.
For the APC, preparations are centred on leveraging its nationwide political structures and engaging committed members and supporters to ensure that no polling unit is left without representation.
Speaking during an interview with Punch Newspaper, the APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, said the party was working towards meeting all INEC deadlines for submitting the names of its polling agents.
He said the party would engage political stakeholders, committed members and supporters to protect its interests during the elections.
“Our party is a party of law and order. Everything is going smoothly, and we are working in accordance with the electoral umpire’s timetable. We are aware of the deadlines and are working toward meeting all of them,” he said.
Ibrahim explained that the party would prioritise credible individuals who were familiar with its political activities and committed to protecting its votes.
He added that those appointed would be card-carrying members, supporters or individuals committed to ensuring that the party was not deprived of its votes through electoral malpractice.
“We will engage credible individuals who are committed to protecting democratic values. Beyond that, I can tell you that, given the APC’s presence across the nooks and crannies of the country, the party will have polling agents across all polling units in the country to ensure that our votes are adequately protected,” he added.
The PDP, on its part, said it had commenced training party officials on the recruitment and uploading of polling agents as part of efforts to achieve comprehensive coverage of polling units.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, said the training started at the national level and would be extended to state, ward and polling unit structures.
He explained that state leaders had already been invited for a meeting where they were trained on the procedures for uploading polling agents.
“Last week, we invited state leaders to a meeting, where we also trained them and other party officials on the process of uploading polling agents. The training was conducted at the national level. Those trained will, in turn, train others at the state level, who will further cascade the training to the ward and polling unit levels,” he said.
Mohammed said the party was also mobilising members nationwide to ensure that it had representatives at every polling unit and across all elective positions.
He added that the party leadership had directed its various organs to identify credible, patriotic and competent members who could effectively carry out the responsibility.
According to him, the PDP has the political structures, personnel and financial capacity required to deploy agents across the country.
“We will also mobilise agents across the country, as the PDP is a national political party. Our aim is to ensure that we have agents in every polling unit and for all elective positions,” he stated.
The African Democratic Congress is also considering a combination of party structures and volunteer support to achieve its polling unit coverage target.
A senior member of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment on the matter, said the party was already documenting the names of individuals expected to serve as polling agents.
He explained that the party leadership and campaign team were working on the arrangements, adding that candidates at different levels would also contribute to mobilising agents.
According to him, the party intends to deploy agents within its available capacity while engaging competent volunteers to complement its efforts.
“The party leaders and campaign team, especially the department saddled with this responsibility, are already looking into it and documenting the names of people who will serve as polling unit agents.
“The important thing you must know is that these agents will be mobilised by the party leadership and candidates across all levels. In some instances, where the party leadership’s capacity is limited, volunteers, especially those who are competent and understand the electoral process, will also be engaged to man the polling units and protect the interests of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and other candidates of the party across the board,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party is banking on its relationship with organised labour to provide polling agents across the country without incurring significant recruitment costs.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, said it had reached an understanding with the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress to deploy their members as polling unit agents during the 2027 elections.
He described the two labour centres as institutional and constitutional members of the party, adding that their members would provide the manpower required to monitor the elections.
Asogwa said the arrangement would enable the party to achieve nationwide coverage, with the services of the labour members provided free of charge.
He recalled that during the 2023 general elections, the NLC and TUC had offered to provide polling agents across approximately 176,000 polling units, but the party’s then leadership rejected the proposal.
He said the current leadership, headed by Senator Nenadi Usman, had renewed engagement with organised labour and secured an understanding on the deployment of its members.
“The Labour Party will be using the members of the organised labour, notably the NLC and the TUC, who are institutional and constitutional members of the party as our polling unit agents. And their services shall be rendered free of charge,” he said.
“In 2023, the two platforms approached the then leadership of the Labour Party, appealing for their members to be used as polling unit agents in 176,000 polling units across the federation for free. But the past leadership of the party refused that overture.
“Today, the current leadership of the Labour Party led by Senator Nenadi Usman has gone to engage organised labour, and that understanding to use their members as polling agents is currently in place.”
The arrangement, if fully implemented, could give the Labour Party access to an extensive pool of potential polling agents, particularly in communities where its traditional party structures may be limited.
However, the success of the various strategies will depend on the parties’ ability to identify suitable personnel, complete the registration process within INEC’s deadlines and ensure that their agents are adequately prepared for election-day responsibilities.
With the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, parties have limited time to finalise their lists and put the necessary logistics in place.
The subsequent governorship and state assembly elections on February 6 will also require additional coordination, as parties will need to ensure that their agents are available to monitor the contests across the states.
As the election approaches, the growing emphasis on polling unit representation underscores the importance political parties attach to monitoring the voting process and safeguarding their electoral interests.
For the parties, the challenge is no longer simply identifying supporters willing to serve as agents, but building a reliable network capable of maintaining effective representation across thousands of polling units on election day.
