The Independent National Electoral Commission has started recruiting about 1.4 million ad hoc personnel for the 2027 general elections. The INEC ad hoc staff recruitment exercise went live on Friday, and Nigerians who want a place on the election-day workforce now have a little under two months to register.
INEC announced the exercise in a public notice issued on Thursday. Its online platform, the INEC Portal for Recruitment of Election Staff (INECPRES), opened at 8am on Friday, September 18, 2026, and will stay open until midnight on Wednesday, November 18, 2026. After that date, the portal closes.
What the INEC ad hoc staff recruitment covers
The workforce INEC is building is large. The commission plans to deploy roughly 1.4 million temporary workers across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide. These are the people voters meet at the polling unit, the ones who verify accreditation, issue ballot papers, and count votes in front of party agents.
Ad hoc personnel are temporary election officials recruited and trained by INEC to perform specific duties during elections. They are not permanent INEC staff, and their engagement ends once the elections are over.
Two rounds of voting are on the calendar. The Presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections follow on February 6, 2027. Successful applicants should expect to be available for both.
Positions open on the INECPRES portal
INEC is recruiting for five categories of election personnel: Supervisory Presiding Officers (SPOs), Presiding Officers (POs), Assistant Presiding Officers (APOs), Registration Area Centre (RAC) Managers, and Registration Area Technical Support staff (RATECHs).
Each role has its own entry requirements, and the portal expects you to pick only the one you qualify for.
Who is eligible to apply
The commission has cast a wide net. Eligible groups include serving NYSC members, former corps members who finished service within the three years before the election, students of federal and state tertiary institutions, federal and state government employees, permanent staff of ministries, departments and agencies, qualified INEC personnel, ICT professionals, and staff of institutions designated to host Registration Area Centres.
The specifics vary by role:
- Supervisory Presiding Officers: Public-sector workers on Grade Levels 10 to 14 are among those who may qualify.
- Presiding Officers and Assistant Presiding Officers: These roles are open to tertiary institution students and certain MDA employees with OND or NCE qualifications on Grade Levels 07 to 14, depending on the category.
- RAC Managers: These positions are tied to schools and institutions hosting registration centres, and the head or a staff member of such an institution at Grade Level 07 and above is eligible.
- RATECH: This category is for candidates with ICT backgrounds, including INEC IT staff not engaged in other duties and IT students from federal and state institutions.
There are also conduct rules that apply across the board. According to the portal, applicants must not belong to a political party and must not have shown or expressed support for any candidate or party. They must also live in the state they select, except RATECH applicants. Given how sensitive election duty is, expect INEC to take these conditions seriously.
Documents to prepare before you start
Nobody wants to be halfway through a form when the phone rings or the network drops, so get your paperwork ready first. INEC says applicants should have a working email address and phone number, a personal bank account, a recent passport photograph, valid staff or student identification where applicable, NYSC call-up information for eligible corps members, qualification documents and a valid means of identification.
The personal bank account deserves a note. It should be an account in your own name, since any payment tied to the assignment will presumably go there.
How to apply for INEC ad hoc staff recruitment
The process is done entirely online. Based on the commission’s notice and the guidance published so far, here is the sequence:
- Visit the portal. Go to the INECPRES recruitment portal through the official INEC website. The address is pres.inecnigeria.org.
- Read the instructions. Go through the eligibility requirements for each position and select only a position you qualify for.
- Fill in the registration form. Enter your personal, educational and employment details accurately. Mistakes here can cost you the slot.
- Review before you submit. INEC advises applicants to check their entries carefully and keep their registration details for future reference.
- Submit and save your details. The commission also urges applicants not to wait until the last day.
Where to get help
Portals tend to slow down as deadlines approach, and this one is likely to be no different. INEC says applicants having trouble with the platform can contact its IT Service Management helpdesk, which runs around the clock. The helpdesk can be reached on the 0700-CALL-INEC number or by email at inecpress@inec.gov.ng.
Beware of fake recruitment links
Any mass recruitment in Nigeria attracts scammers, and this one is no exception waiting to happen. INEC has advised applicants to use only its official platforms when submitting personal information or documents, and to verify any recruitment link before proceeding.
The practical rule is simple. Reach the portal from INEC’s own website, and never pay anyone who promises to “secure” you a slot. The application is done directly by you, and nobody outside the commission can guarantee a place.
