Former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner Mike Igini has warned that politicians could compromise Nigeria’s electoral process by allegedly infiltrating the list of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and introducing individuals with questionable identities as election officials.
Igini raised the concern while discussing electoral integrity ahead of the 2027 general elections, highlighting the importance of verifying the identities and credentials of personnel recruited to participate in election-day operations.
According to him, some politicians allegedly exploit weaknesses in the recruitment and verification process by introducing individuals who are not legitimate members of the institutions from which election officials are drawn.
He claimed that such individuals could be provided with NYSC uniforms and subsequently deployed to polling units under the guise of being authorised personnel.
“Politicians infiltrate the NYSC list with fake identities, sew NYSC uniforms for them, and deploy them as polling officials on Election Day,” Igini said.
The former electoral commissioner argued that the integrity of polling-unit personnel is crucial to ensuring credible elections, noting that presiding officers and other officials play important roles in voter accreditation, ballot counting and the recording of results.
He called for stronger verification procedures, urging the NYSC leadership to ensure that lists submitted for electoral assignments contain only legitimate and properly identified personnel.
Igini also emphasised the importance of transparency and technological safeguards in the electoral process, including measures that could help document proceedings at polling units and reduce disputes over election results.
His warning comes as political parties and electoral stakeholders prepare for the 2027 general elections, with concerns about electoral manipulation, result transparency and public confidence continuing to feature prominently in national discussions.
However, the allegations of infiltration and impersonation require independent investigation. Any specific individuals or organisations implicated in such activities would need to be identified through credible evidence before responsibility could be established.