PDP tells state executives to pick only loyal members as 2027 polling agents
- The PDP has warned state, local and ward executives against using non-members as polling agents in 2027.
- The party trained state officials in Abuja on uploading agents' details to INEC's online portal.
- State secretaries must submit their agents' details to the party by 2 December.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned its executives at state, local government and ward levels not to use people outside the party as polling agents for the 2027 general elections.
The warning came on Monday at a training session in Abuja for state secretaries and ICT officers, according to Premium Times. The session was on how to upload agents' details to the portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
National Chairman Abdulrahman Mohammed said the work of agents starts at the polling unit, where parties depend on them and canvassers.
He told participants to stay focused and pass the training on to members in their states and local governments, noting that the election process keeps changing as electronic systems replace manual ones.
Why the party is worried
National Organising Secretary Umar Bature said the training was needed so state offices can upload agents' details without technical problems on the INEC portal.
He said the party had just fought INEC over the uploading of candidates, and did not want the same trouble with agents.
Bature asked the officials to vet nominees carefully. He warned that some people become agents and turn out to be "double agents", leaving a candidate stranded. He urged them to pick dedicated party members who are often overlooked.
"Please fish them out and select them as agents," he said, adding that submitting the list on time matters to the party.
At the end of the training, state secretaries agreed to send their agents' details to the party by 2 December.
What happens next
INEC has fixed 16 January 2027 for the presidential and National Assembly elections, and 6 February 2027 for governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections.
The commission's online portal for parties to submit polling agents is open, and the deadline is 10 December 2026 at 11:59 p.m.
The portal asks for each agent's full name, phone number, gender, assigned polling unit, passport photograph and an ID such as a voter's card, National Identification Number or driver's licence. INEC also checks for the same person being nominated twice, across polling units or parties.
Polling agents watch voting at polling units, monitor electoral officials, observe sorting and counting, and can raise complaints with presiding officers. They also collect copies of results and other documents, as allowed by the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines.
INEC has introduced an electronic system for nominating and accrediting polling agents, replacing the manual submission of hard-copy lists used in previous elections.
