2027: Parties mobilise armies of polling agents

Political parties are intensifying efforts to establish their presence across the country’s 176,846 polling units ahead of the 2027 general elections, recruiting party loyalists, mobilising volunteers, and preparing to deploy agents to protect their votes.

The ruling All Progressives Congress, African Democratic Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, Nigeria Democratic Congress, and other parties said they were making arrangements to ensure adequate representation at polling units nationwide.

Sunday PUNCH learnt that some parties would be relying on their political structures and financially capable candidates, while others were turning to organised labour and volunteers.

The preparations come ahead of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s deadlines for the submission of polling agents’ names, with parties outlining different strategies for recruitment, funding, and deployment to protect their interests during the polls.

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 has also set January 6, 2027, as the deadline for submitting the names of agents for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections scheduled for February 6, 2027.

APC to deploy party leaders, others

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH on the party’s moves, the APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, said the party was working to meet all INEC deadlines for submitting polling agents’ names.

He said the party would engage political stakeholders, committed members, and supporters to protect its interests at polling units.

“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 added.

Ibrahim reiterated that anyone appointed as a polling agent would be a card-carrying member or supporter of the APC, or someone committed to preventing opposition connivance to deprive the party of its votes.

“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.

PDP begins training for officials

Similarly, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, said the party was targeting full coverage of polling units nationwide and had commenced training party officials on recruiting and uploading polling agents.

He said the training, which began at the national level, would be extended to state, ward, and polling unit levels to ensure robust representation across the country.

“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.

“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. We have therefore charged the respective organs of the party to ensure that credible, patriotic, and competent party members are engaged to take up these responsibilities,” he said.

Mohammed added that the party possessed the structures, personnel, and financial capacity to deploy agents to all polling units and cover every elective position in the 2027 elections.

ADC eyes volunteers

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 planning to deploy polling agents within its available capacity for the 2027 general elections.

He said the party would also recruit competent volunteers to complement its efforts and ensure adequate coverage of polling units nationwide.

“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 added.

Efforts to obtain a reaction from the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, were unsuccessful, as he neither answered calls nor responded to messages sent to his phone number.

Labour Party: We will deploy NLC, TUC members free

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the Labour Party National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, said the party had reached an understanding with organised labour to deploy its members as polling unit agents.

He said the arrangement would involve members of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, which he described as institutional and constitutional members of the party.

Asogwa recalled that the two labour centres had offered to provide agents for the party across 176,000 polling units during the 2023 elections, but their offer was rejected by the party’s previous leadership.

He stated, “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.

“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 Labour Party is today the most structured political party in terms of polling unit presence because there is no polling unit area in Nigeria that you cannot find either a serving or a retired civil servant, and every civil servant in Nigeria is technically a member of the Labour Party.”

NDC candidates to have final say on agents

Meanwhile, the NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said the party had commenced recruiting polling agents through consultations involving state chairmen, secretaries, and candidates.

He said the party had candidates contesting governorship elections in the 28 states where polls would be held and ranked high in the number of candidates fielded across different electoral contests, according to the INEC list.

Director said candidates would have the final say in selecting agents where disagreements arose between them and party leaders.

He stated, “We have candidates contesting governorship elections in the 28 states where the polls are taking place. If you can see from the INEC list, we are among the highest in terms of political parties fielding candidates across the board in all the elections.

“So, we are going to have plenty of agents across the length and breadth of Nigeria. The 2027 poll will not be a repeat of 2023. We have started recruiting party agents, and this is done by involving all stakeholders, state chairmen, secretaries, and all candidates contesting elections to come together to recruit our party agents.”

Director disclosed that the recruitment process was almost completed and that the party would train and retrain its agents on electoral laws, security, and their legal responsibilities.

On funding, he said the party had the financial capacity to support its preparations and that its agents would be remunerated.

“We are capable of funding our election. They [agents] are going to be remunerated. That’s why I said we are training them to know their rights. These are party stalwarts and members who see themselves as stakeholders.”

SDP: Candidates, donors to fund agents

Meanwhile, SDP National Publicity Secretary Rufus Aiyenigba said the party would deploy trained and experienced members as polling agents across the country.

He said the exercise would be funded through contributions from candidates, individuals, and volunteers.

“The SDP will deploy its gatekeepers in each ward and at the local government and state levels as polling agents across all polling units in the federation. These are members who have been identified as loyal and committed party faithful. They have also been trained over time and equipped with the requisite tools and skills for the task.

“The party will fund the polling unit agents through contributions from its candidates, as well as support and donations from individuals and volunteers,” Aiyenigba added.

We have capacity to fund agents – APM

Also, the National Publicity Secretary of the Allied Peoples Movement, Abubakar Yusuf, said the party was working with its leadership and stakeholders at all levels to ensure the deployment of polling agents across the country.

He expressed confidence in the party’s organisational structures and financial capacity to mobilise and equip agents for effective coverage of polling units nationwide.

“Working in synergy with the party leadership at the state and ward levels, we will deploy as many agents as possible across polling units nationwide to ensure the success of the APM in the 2027 general elections.

“We have party structures across the units, wards, local governments, states, and at the national level, as well as committed stakeholders who will work together to ensure that we do not put all our eggs in one basket.

“Funding will not be a problem for us. We have the capacity and resources to mobilise polling agents across the country. We also have patriotic party agents and dedicated stakeholders at the unit, ward, local government, state, and national levels who are ready to contribute to the success of this exercise,” Yusuf added. (Punch)