THE Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Suleiman Kazaure, has assured that corps members that will be chosen to work with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the 2019 general election will not be sent to volatile areas.

Kazaure, a Brigadier-General in the Nigerian Army, gave this assurance when he visited the NYSC Orientation Camp in Sagamu, Ogun State.

In the past, corps members have fallen victims of election violence in several parts of the country, but Kazaure said the ugly trend would not be allowed to continue.

He urged the corps members to always be security conscious and mindful of happenings in their environments.

“Your safety starts first by respecting the traditions of your host communities and being at peace with the people you’ve been called to serve,” Kazaure advised.

“Then you must always look out for one another and try to always move in groups. Unnecessary travelling should also be curtailed as this is not ideal of the NYSC scheme.

“At the elections, you must refrain from being partisan. As ad-hoc INEC staff, you must be neutral always and shun material or financial inducements from politicians for your own good and safety.

“I want to also state it here that no corps member will be used as ad-hoc staff in the volatile regions during the elections as their safety is of paramount concern to the scheme.”

Seven corps members were killed in Bauchi State during the violence that erupted after the 2011 general election. Also, one corps member was killed in Ahoada West local government area of Rivers State during the legislative rerun election in the state in March of 2016.

INEC had clarified that it intends to recruit corps members as ad-hoc staff during the 2019 election, as has been in the case in the past. Other people that could work for INEC during the elections are students of federal-owned tertiary institutions, as well as workers in federal government establishments.