By Olayinka Olawale
Lagos, Feb. 13, 2019 (NAN) Maj.-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, Director-General (DG), National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), on Wednesday, charged all corps members participating in the forthcoming general elections to uphold the reputation of the scheme during the exercise.
Kazaure stated this at the grand finale of the sensitisation exercise for the 13, 637 corps members deployed as INEC ad-hoc staff, at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Directorate of State Services (DSS) and Nigeria Police Force were part of the sensitisation exercise.
The DG was represented by Mrs Olubunmi Araoye, Assistant Director, NYSC Directorate, Abuja.
He said the corps members had gone through series of training and urged them to put it into practice what they had been taught as they discharge their duties.
He said the NYSC had been having greater results in its participation in past elections.
“The message today is to uphold the reputation that NYSC has, that we are able to conduct free, fair and credible elections.
“We have encouraged them not to be bought with money by any means, we have encouraged them to be security conscious despite the fact that all security arrangement has been made for them.
“They are also advised to be the chief security officer of themselves; to be aware of their environment and to be good team players.
“We have given them tips on how to recognise issues that may generate to argument and how to avoid it.
“We have taught them to be courteous, to be patient and to perform the duty that has been handed over to them effectively,’’ the DG said.
He assured parents of safety of all corps members participating in the elections.
“God is the custodian of safety; we have put in all that is needed to make sure that the corps members are safe.
“They have been given various numbers that will be available 24 hours during the elections to get across within seconds of anything they notice that is going amiss.
“The parents should know that we are also parents to these corps members, they are our children and all the precautions that should be taken when our children are going out, we have taken them.
We want them to rest assured that their children are safe,’’ he said.
Kazaure urged politicians to accept the outcome of the elections in good fate.
“In a game, there will always be a winner and a loser, and politics should not be seen as a do or die affair,’’ he said.
Also speaking, Mr Mohammed Momoh, State Coordinator, NYSC Lagos, said a large percentage of the ad-hoc staff of INEC are corps members.
He said that all the stakeholders had gathered to further sensitise the corps members on the dos and don’ts of the election, as well as their welfare and security.
“Today is the grand finale of the sensitisation held for corps members who have been trained and deployed for the conduct of the 2019 general elections.
“Long before now, we have been having series of sensitisation conducted by the local government inspectors, zonal inspectors as well as the state coordinator.
“This we have been doing to equip the corps members with prerequisite information to ensure their safety and welfare during the elections,’’ Momoh said.
He said the patriotic young men and women were friends to everyone and foes to no one, and had been well trained, sensitised and equipped with not only the skills, but the knowledge to follow the electoral guidelines in order to conduct free, fair and credible elections.
Momoh said corps members were not in charge of announcing results, except the ones announced at the polling units, and they are not in charge of collation of results.
“Corps members will creditably discharge their responsibilities at the polling units and announce the results and paste it. That is where their job ends.
“They are not in any way in charge of collation of results.
“Corps members have been sensitised that as soon as they hand over all the documents in their possession, they should leave the polling units and return to their various homes,’’ he said. (NAN)
