The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will deploy 22,282 ad-hoc personnel for the March 18 Governorship and State Assembly election in Bauchi State.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Alhaji Mohammmed Nura stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Bauchi.

He said the Commission had trained the personnel and addressed challenges to facilitate smooth conduct of the exercise.

Breaking down the figures, Nura said the personnel comprised 264 Returning Officers and 542 Supervisory Polling Officers (SPOs).

Others are 5,423 Polling Officers (POs) and 16,269 Assistant Polling Officers (APOs) drawn from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

He said the Commission also deployed 784 POs and APOs for additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), adding the measure was imperative to effectively man polling units created out of the congested ones.

The Commission, he said, took delivery of sensitive election materials which would be distributed on Thursday to the 20 local government areas of the state.

On transportation, Nura said the Commission had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with transport unions to facilitate smooth movement of personnel and materials in the upcoming election.

The parties to the agreement are: Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO).

According to Nura, the Commission is engaging relevant stakeholders, especially the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), to ensure safe delivery of election material and peaceful conduct of the election.

While reitrating commitment to free, fair and credible elections, Nura urged voters to conduct themselves peacefully during the election exercise.

"We are ready to go and appealed to the people of the state to conduct themselves orderly and peacefully during the election.

"People should turn out en masse to excercise their franchise in a peaceful atmosphere," he said. (NAN)