By Austin Oyibode, Asaba
Despite records of deaths among corps members serving as adhoc staff with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Johnson Olawumi, a Brig. General, has said that it is not sufficient reasons to stop them from participating in national elections.
The NYSC DG stated this while speaking with journalists in Illah, Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, when he paid a condolence visit to the family of late Samuel Chukwudumebi Okonta, the corps member who was killed while serving during the bloody re-run elections in Rivers State.
“From the account received so far, the corps member completed the exercise without any problem, he submitted reports and he was just on his way back home. So, I don’t think it is sufficient that because of this we should stop corps members from taking part in elections. It is taking part in this elections that some of them come to know what election is all about in Nigeriam,” Olawumi stated.
The NYSC boss observed that the corps members themselves are happy partaking in elections because of the extra allowances they get and the opportunity it affords them to serve in the electoral process.
“Most of these young men and women this stipend from INEC means a lot to them, when I go to the camp to talk to them, the moment I get to the aspect of election and I say most of you will be part of the election wherever you will be deployed, you need to see how they jump up. So, they are so happy that they want to be part of the electoral process,” he noted.
“Should we say because people die in motor accidents, we shouldn’t enter vehicles again? What we will do is to continue to block all the gaps, strengthen our MoU with INEC, intensify our collaborations with security agencies, and see how we can take advantage of technology to drive what we do so that we can guarantee their safety and security”.
He pointed out that if corps members do not participate in elections, it would be other Nigerians that would also conduct the elections, wondering that “if anything happens to them is it because they are not corps members”?
He said the concern of Nigerians should be the safety of whoever is participating in elections, explaining that “the sad aspect is that they are serving their country and that is why we feel that when somebody is serving in your community, you owe him a duty to protect such a corps member”.
The NYSC boss said the scheme has set up an investigative committee to thoroughly find out the circumstances that led to the death of the Chukwudumebi, noting that the committee is working with the DSS, police and army to unravel the killers of the corps member.