Election Day Workers Are Silent Casualties of Nigeria’s Electoral System, Says Yilwatda

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has expressed worry over Nigeria’s electoral process, pointing to what he described as a major but often ignored contributor to low voter turnout in elections.

Speaking at a meeting of Chairmen and Secretaries of political parties with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the Commission’s National Headquarters in Abuja, Yilwatda noted that thousands of Nigerians who were legally eligible to vote were effectively disenfranchised on election day because of the very roles they play in safeguarding the process.

The chairman in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications Strategy, Abimbola Tooki,  listed INEC ad-hoc staff, security personnel, civil society observers, medical doctors, journalists and other essential support staff who were deployed for election duties but were unable to cast their votes.

According to him, “These categories of citizens are later counted among those blamed for voter apathy, even though their absence from the polling booth is a direct consequence of national service.

Yilwatda stressed that this contradiction called for urgent policy reflection, particularly on the long-debated issue of early voting.

He emphasised that Nigeria must confront these realities honestly, balancing inclusivity, credibility, cost and culture, saying if the nation was serious about strengthening its democracy, it must ensure that no citizen was excluded from the ballot by virtue of service to the country.