INEC To Deploy 36,335 Staff For FCT, Rivers Elections

Senate President Bukola Saraki (3rd left), Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’allah (left), Deputy Chief Whip, Senator Francis Alimikhana (right), Executive Director, Centre for Citizens With Disabilities, Mr David Anyaele (4th right) and other members of the centre during their visit to the Senate President at the National Assembly in Abuja, yesterday.

The Independent Na
tional Electoral Commission (INEC) is to deploy a total of 36,335 permanent and ad-hoc staff for the conduct of the Rivers State rerun elections and the Area Council elections in Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
Both elections are scheduled to hold on March 19.
The INEC in its bulletin on Wednesday in Abuja said that 26, 402 staff would conduct the Rivers State rerun elections, while 9,933 of its staff would organise the council elections in the FCT.
The staff are made up of assistant presiding officers (APOs), presiding officers, supervising presiding officers (SPOs) collation officers and Returning Officers.
The bulletin noted that the Rivers State court-ordered re-run elections which has three senatorial constituencies, 12 federal constituencies and 22 state House of Assembly elections with a total of 2,538,535 registered voters will be manned by 17,673 Assistant presiding officers (APOs 1,11,111); 24,573 presiding officers (POS); 444 supervising presiding officers (SPOs); 341 collation officers; 37 Returning officers and 1,007 Reserves.
According to the bulletin, the Rivers State re-run elections will hold in 22 out of the 23 local government areas, and in a total of 4,442 polling units across the state. It further stated that the FCT Area council elections, with a total of 1,020, 799 registered voters in six Area Councils will be conducted by 6,624 Assistant presiding officers (APOs 1,11,111); 9, 375 presiding officers;  62 supervising presiding officers, 62 collation officers, 6 Returning Officers with 428 Reserves.
Meanwhile, the INEC has approved the use of continuous ( simultaneous) accreditation and voting of the FCT chairmanship and area council elections.
The commission said the election will commence at 8.00 am and end at 2pm.