Election: INEC to provide emergency insurance for corps members

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu, says the commission will prioritise the security of corps members and provide insurance cover in case of injury or other emergencies to all corps members involved in election duty.

Mr Yakubu said this on Friday in Abuja when he led the management staff of the commission to pay a courtesy visit on the Acting Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Christy Uba.

He described the role of corps members as the most critical in the election process.

According to the chairman, the corps members operate at the most important level of election, which is the polling unit, the only level where citizens actually vote.

“So, for that reason, we will also extend insurance cover in case of injury or other emergencies to all corps members involved in election duty.

“Working with the security agencies, we will also extend protection and security to the youth corps members’ lodges when they are deployed to the field on election days.

“This is because we have had some unhappy experiences before, when some hoodlums raided the corps members’ lodges in some places, while they were on election duty.

“So, we will continue to take whatever step that is necessary to protect and guarantee the security and welfare of the corps members,’’ Mr Yakubu assured.

The chairman said the commission would continually operate within the framework of the existing Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, between the commission and the NYSC.

“They will be responsible for the management of the polling units, management of elections resources including sensitive materials, accreditation of voters, using the Bimodal Voter Registration System (BVRS) on election days.’’

According to Mr Yakubu, the corps members are more involved immediately the voting processes are over.

“They record the results on the result sheets.

“When all the party agents have signed, then, they will be responsible for snapping the result at that level, using the BVRS, and transmitting same in real time.

Responding, Mrs Uba expressed NYSC’s continued readiness to partner with the commission, adding that a lot had been achieved over time.

“On the preparation for the 2023 general elections, we have directed state coordinators to encourage corps members to register on the INEC portal, and I believe they have done that.

“Corps’ Welfare and Service Department is expected to visit states to assure corps members and staff of the commitment of INEC and NYSC, of their safety while on election duties.

“This is to further encourage them, given the situation we have found ourselves. They need to be assured that their security is being taken care of.’’

Mrs Uba said that state coordinators had been directed to combine names and phone numbers of key security personnel in the states and local government areas for dissemination to corps members who wish to participate in the exercise.

She said that all state coordinators had also been directed to liaise with all State Security Service, SSS, and other security agencies to identify crisis-prone areas in the state.

According to her, such volatile areas will be forwarded to the NYSC headquarters for monitoring.

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