The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, has warned politicians and their thugs to stop attacking corps members during elections in the country.
Ibrahim who described the NYSC scheme as a critical stakeholder to credible, free and fair elections, noted that incessant attacks on corps members who were serving as ad hoc staff for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were a bad omen for the nation’s democracy.
The NYSC DG spoke during his visit to the corps members, Saidu Mohammed who was receiving treatment at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti from the gunshots wounds sustained during the violence that followed the Ekiti East constituency 1 bye-election last Saturday where three persons were killed.
In the entourage of the DG were, the Director of Special Duties NYSC national headquarters, Mr Afolayan James; Director of South West area office, Mr Emmanuel Attah and the Ekiti State coordinator, Mrs Mary Chikezie ;
He appealed to the Ekiti State governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, to ensure that the perpetrators were made to face the full weight of the law to serve as a deterrent to others in the society.
According to him, “You know NYSC has been involving in elections in this country for over 14 years now in collaboration with INEC and there have been meetings with security agencies and the other stakeholders to ensure that our corps members are saved because their apolitical and neutral during elections.
“I know involvement in the election is voluntary and for corps members to volunteer, that means the corps members are patriotic and when something like this happened, it is not a good one. I want to appeal to Nigerians that election is not a do-or-die affair, it is about service to humanity. They should let the process be seamless, free and fair not that people will start to be harming innocent citizens.
“Let me say this again, whenever there is an election in this country, don’t touch my corps members, nobody should touch our corps members. I keep telling people, without NYSC and corps members, we can’t organise free and fair election because these corps members are knowledgeable, patriotic and committed and they can be easily held accountable than other ad hoc staff. The corps are on national assignment for the development of the country.”
The NYSC boss said that the corps member was responding to treatment and the CMD has assured me that he will be discharged in the coming days.”
Speaking, the Chief Medical Director of FETHI, Professor Adekunle Ajayi, said the corps member suffered from several gunshots fired by the thugs during the election, assuring the DG that he would soon be discharged.
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NYSC DG warns politicians, thugs against attacks on corps members during elections