Ahead of the 2027 polls, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has begun the process of recruiting polling agents, despite not having an election campaign council in place at the national level.

On Monday, the opposition party opened a training programme for its state secretaries, organising secretaries and ICT officers from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja. The programme is aimed at equipping them to identify and recruit trusted polling agents who would represent the party and protect its electoral interests.

Incidentally, the party’s national leader and FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, is a strong supporter of President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Findings by the Nigerian Tribune on Monday indicated that recent moves by the PDP to constitute a presidential campaign council had yet to materialise, reportedly leaving its presidential candidate, Senator Sandy Onor, helpless.

Speaking at the opening of the training programme, tagged “INEC Portal Capacity Building and Training”, the National Organising Secretary, Captain Umar Bature (retd.), said the party could not afford to repeat the challenges it encountered with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the uploading of its candidates.

Bature noted that the recruitment of polling agents required careful screening to prevent individuals who might compromise the party’s interests or work for rival political parties from being appointed.

He explained: “Uploading of agents is very important in the election process today. We have just finished the battle with INEC over the uploading of candidates, and you can see INEC doing whatever it wants to do, particularly after the Supreme Court judgment.

“So, we don’t want to have the same challenges with agents. We have a window until December 17, when all agents must be uploaded to the portal. I urge you to get the best hands because we have issues when elections are approaching. People become agents, and at the end of the day, they also become double agents, leaving our candidates stranded at some point.”

The organising secretary urged state party officials to prioritise loyalty and commitment when selecting agents, warning against engaging individuals who might abandon the party or compromise their responsibilities on election day.

He announced that the party had fixed December 10 as the deadline for state chapters to submit their nominees to the national secretariat for onward uploading to INEC, ahead of the commission’s December 17 deadline.

“Please, patronise those who are dedicated to this party. A lot of people are out there who are committed to this party. Fish them out and select them as agents. The importance of timely submission of this list is very important to all of us,” Bature added.

Bature further stated that the agents’ details would include their names, designated polling units and photographs, which would be used to produce their identification tags. He urged state officials to ensure that the nominated agents did not sell or hand over their tags to members of other political parties.

In his remarks, the Deputy National Secretary of the PDP, Otunba Bisi Kolawole, commended the NWC, particularly Bature, for organising the exercise and advised participants to comply with the guidelines provided, assuring them of the national secretariat’s support.

Kolawole said the training was part of efforts to rebuild the party and reposition it for electoral success in 2027.

He said at the session: “Our party will rise again. What we are doing is the beginning of that process. We are laying the foundation again and putting the party together. By the grace of God, we shall succeed.”

Similarly, the National Youth Leader, Ambassador Ibrahim Bala-Aboki, described the exercise as critical to the party’s chances of securing victory, stressing that only committed members should be entrusted with the responsibility of representing it at polling units.

He called on ICT officers to work closely with state chairmen and party secretaries in identifying suitable nominees, noting that the majority of polling agents and voters were young people.

Bala-Aboki warned that appointing individuals who were not sufficiently committed to the party could expose the electoral process to compromise, urging participants to exercise patience, tolerance and diligence in carrying out the assignment.

Also speaking, the National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, recalled the experience of a particular candidate in the 2023 presidential election, saying the candidate enjoyed considerable visibility on social media but lacked adequate representation at polling units.

“Let me quickly remind us of a presidential candidate in the 2023 election. He was everywhere on social media, but he was nowhere at the polling units. By that, I mean he had no agents at the polling units. Perhaps, if he had agents on the ground, the story would have been different,” Mohammed added.

The PDP spokesman used the opportunity to advise state party leaders to prioritise funding for the recruitment and deployment of credible polling agents, warning that rallies, funfairs and other campaign activities alone could not guarantee electoral victory. (Nigerian Tribune)