Political parties are stepping up preparations to deploy polling agents across Nigeria’s 176,846 polling units ahead of the 2027 general election.
Parties such as APC, PDP and ADC are also adopting different strategies to secure representation and protect their votes.
The parties are recruiting members, training officials and mobilising volunteers ahead of deadlines set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for submitting the names of polling agents.
While some parties plan to rely on their existing political structures and candidates’ resources, others are looking towards volunteers and organised networks to achieve nationwide coverage.
INEC has fixed December 10, 2026, as the deadline for political parties to submit the names of agents for the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027. The deadline for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections, scheduled for February 6, 2027, is January 6, 2027.
The APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, said the party was working within INEC’s timetable and would engage political stakeholders, committed members and supporters to represent it at polling units.
He said the party intended to have agents across all polling units, adding that those selected would be credible individuals committed to protecting the party’s interests and democratic values.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, said the party had begun training officials on the recruitment and electronic uploading of polling agents.
He explained that the exercise started at the national level and would extend to state, ward and polling unit structures to ensure adequate representation.
Mohammed said the party was targeting coverage of every polling unit and elective position, adding that it had the organisational structures, personnel and financial capacity to achieve its goal.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC), meanwhile, plans to combine party structures with volunteers to expand its coverage.
A senior member of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment, said party leaders and candidates would mobilise agents across the country.
He added that competent volunteers familiar with the electoral process would be engaged where the party’s resources were insufficient, particularly to protect the interests of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and other candidates.
Efforts to obtain comments from the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to calls or messages sent to his phone.
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