A total of 17,000 ad hoc staff would be recruited by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the October 10, governorship election in Ondo State.
Of the figures, 15,000 would be members of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) while the remaining 2000 would be staff of federal tertiary institutions to be engaged as supervising presiding officers, collation and returning officers.
National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC) of INEC, Mr. Festus Okoye, disclosed this at a one day workshop organised for journalists on Election Processes and Procedures
Okoye insisted that voting at the Ondo and Edo elections would commenced by 8:30am and close by 2:30pm.
He lampooned a legal practitioner, Mr. Femi Emodamori, who issued an open letter asking the electoral body to publish personal details of Ondo Deputy Governor and candidate of the Zenith Labour Party, Agboola Ajayi.
Okoye said Emodamori need to be trained on how to get certified true copies of candidates’ credentials from the electoral body.
He said the Commission has never denied anybody that applied properly for copies of details of candidates.
Okoye cautioned journalists against announcing election results saying such powers reside with the Returning Officers.
He also warned against making attempts to find out how voters voted during the polls.
The INEC Commissioner said the commission was prepared to conduct the election in line with COVID-19 protocols in partnership with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Okoye stated that basic Personal Protective Equipment including face mask, sanitisers, infrared thermometers and disinfectants would be made available at polling units for its staff.
On the call for the replacement of some Commissioners, Okoye explained that experienced matters in the operation of INEC.
He said asking all INEC Commissioners to leave at once was detrimental as new ones would have to spend about two years to learn how the electoral body operates.

By Osagie Otabor