By Onwuka Gerald
As part preparation for the upcoming House of Assembly bye-elections in Nganzai and Bayo constituencies of Borno state, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recruited 710 adhoc staff.
The disclosure was made at a press conference in Maiduguri on Friday by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mohammed Magaji
Magaji explained that the commission has every logistics in place that would help achieve a hitch-free election in the affected constituencies where the former members passed on.
According to him, “With regard to electoral personnel, a total of 710 adhoc officials were engaged and will now play part in the various categories of election duty scheduled for Saturday.
“In fulfilment of the INEC’s policy on the importance of training, a two-day train the trainer was earlier conducted for supervisory presiding officers, right before the election was postponed. It was meant to solidify further previous experiences garnered.
“Also, other categories of adhoc officials which comprises Polling Unit officials, were equally trained”.
“For publicity, Magaji said that several meetings had already been conducted with stakeholders to brief them of all required information.
He added that the commission, as part of publicity exercise, embarked on media announcements in English and local languages.
“The Saturday election would be conducted under strict adherence to the COVID-19 guidelines”, the commissioner added.