The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda has described election-day workers as the “silent casualties” of Nigeria’s polls and a largely ignored factor in low voter turnout.
He warned that thousands of Nigerians are effectively denied their right to vote on election day because they are deployed to protect and administer the electoral process.
This disclosure was made by the Special Adviser to the National Chairman of the APC on Media and Communications Strategy, Abimbola Tooki.
Speaking at a meeting of political party chairmen and secretaries with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja, Professor Yilwatda noted that INEC ad-hoc staff, security personnel, civil society observers, journalists, medical personnel and other essential support workers are routinely deployed on election day and are unable to cast their ballots as a result.
According to him, these citizens are later lumped into statistics on voter apathy, despite being absent from polling units in service to the nation.
“This contradiction,” Professor Yilwatda said, “demands serious policy reflection,” particularly on the long-standing debate around the introduction of early voting for election-day workers.
Professor Yilwatda urged Nigeria to confront the issue, stressing that strengthening democracy requires a careful balance between inclusivity, credibility, cost and electoral culture.
“No citizen should be excluded from the ballot simply because they answered the call to serve their country,” he said.
Early Voting
Responding, the Chairman of INEC, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, acknowledged that early voting had been considered as a possible reform capable of addressing the challenge.
He explained that although work on the Electoral Bill was largely concluded before his assumption of office, early voting stood out as a proposal that could accommodate essential election personnel.
However, the INEC Chairman cautioned that early voting presents significant operational and cultural risks.
He warned against a system in which votes are cast early and stored for later counting, noting that such an arrangement could undermine public trust and expose the process to manipulation.
“Nigerians want to vote and see results counted in real time,” he said, adding that fears of votes “suddenly appearing from somewhere” could damage the credibility of elections if early voting is not backed by an incorruptible system and deep public confidence.
Professor Amupitan also highlighted the financial burden of conducting nationwide elections in a single day, explaining that it would require almost double the volume of electoral materials currently used, since the staggered system allows for limited reuse of equipment.
He warned that a one-day nationwide election would significantly increase costs and place enormous strain on resources.